CLIMATOLOGY

Ventilation & Air movement

 TOPICS
• Function of ventilation
• Air Movement & Ventilation
• Types of ventilation
• Air movement standards
• Effect of opening on ventilation
Functions of ventilation

Supply of fresh air

ventilation
Convective cooling

Physiological cooling air movement

 Functions of ventilation
Supply of fresh air
Requirements of fresh air supply are
governed by the type of occupancy,
number and activity of the
occupants and by the nature of any
processes carried out in the space

Measured in terms of m3/h person,

or in number of air changes per
hour.

For natural ventilation usually certain limited solutions are prescribed and not the expected
performance.
• The provision of 'permanent ventilators', i.e. of openings which cannot be closed, may be
compulsory. These may be grilles or 'air bricks' built into a wall, or may be incorporated with
windows.
• The size of openable windows may be stipulated in relation to the floor area or the volume of the
room.
 Functions of ventilation
Convective cooling
The exchange of indoor air with fresh out-door air can provide cooling, if the
latter is at a lower temperature than the indoor air. The moving air acts as a
heat carrying medium.
A situation where this convective
cooling is a practical proposition,
can arise in moderate or cold
climates, when the internal heat
gain is causing a temperature
increase,
also in warm climates, when the
internal heat gain or solar heat
gain through windows would raise
the indoor temperature even
higher than the outdoor air
temperature.
 Functions of ventilation
Provision for Ventilation : Stack effect

Ventilation, i.e. both the supply of fresh air and

convective cooling, involves the movement of air
at a relatively slow rate. The motive force can be
either thermal or dynamic (wind).

The stack effect relies on thermal forces, set up by

density difference (caused by temperature
differences) between the indoor and out-door air.
It can occur through an open window (when the
air is still): the warmer and lighter indoor air will
flow out at the top and the cooler, denser outdoor
air will flow in at the bottom.
 Functions of ventilation
Physiological cooling

The movement of air past the skin surface accelerates heat dissipation in two
ways:
1 increasing convective heat loss
2 accelerating evaporation

Eg
• 30°C DBT and 25°C WBT will give an ET
of 27°C with still air (less than 0.1 m/s);
and 22°C with a 7.5 m/s air velocity.
• The upper comfort limit at 40% RH is
30°C with still air but 36°C with a 1 m/s
air movement.
 Functions of ventilation
Physiological cooling

• In very low humidities (below 30%) this cooling effect is not great, as there is
an unrestricted evaporation even with very light air movement.

• In high humidities (above 85%) the cooling effect is restricted by the high
vapour pressure preventing evaporation, but greater velocities (above 1.5 to
2 m/s) will have some effect.

• It is most significant in medium humidities (35 to 60%).

• Cooling by air movement is most needed where there are no other forms of
heat dissipation available, when the air is as warm as the skin and the
surrounding surfaces are also at a similar temperature.
Air Movement
 Air Movement

Factors which affect the indoor air flow (both patterns and
velocities):
a) orientation
b) external features
c) cross-ventilation
d) position of openings
e) size of openings
f) controls of openings
 Orientation

Effect of direction on the Effect of wind direction and inlet opening

width of wind shadow size on air velocity distribution
 External features
• Wind shadows created by • The wind velocity gradient is made steeper
obstructions upwind, by an uneven surface, such as scattered
should be avoided in buildings, walls fences, trees or scrub
positioning the building
on the site and in • External features of the building itself can
positioning the openings strongly influence the pressure build-up
in the building.
 Cross-ventilation
• Air flow loses much of its kinetic energy each time it is diverted around or over an
obstacle.
• Several right-angle bends, such as internal walls or furniture within a room can
effectively stop a low velocity air flow.
• Where internal partitions are unavoidable, some air flow can be ensured if partition
screens are used, clear of the floor and the ceiling

Lack of cross-ventilation Effect of opening positions

 Position of openings
• Air movement must be ensured through the space mostly used by the occupants:
through the 'living zone' (up to 2 m high).
• The relative magnitude of pressure build-up in front of the solid areas of the
elevation (which in turn depends on the size and position of openings) will, in fact,
govern the direction of the indoor air stream and this will be independent of the
outlet opening position.

Air flow in a two storey

Pressure build-up at inlet building
 Size of openings
• The largest air velocity will be obtained through a
small inlet opening with a large outlet.
• This is partly due to the total force acting on a
small area, forcing air through the opening at a
high pressure, and partly due to the 'venturi
effect': in the broadening funnel (the imaginary
funnel connecting the small inlet to the large
outlet) the sideways expansion of the air jet
further accelerates the particles.
 Controls of openings

• Louvres and shading

devices may also
present a problem.
• The position of blades
• Sashes can divert the air • A gap left between the in a slightly upward
flow upwards. Only a building face and the position would still
casement or reversible canopy would ensure a channel the flow into
pivot sash will channel it downward pressure, thus the living zone (up to
downwards into the a flow directed into the 20° upwards from the
living zone living zone horizontal)
 Air flow around buildings

Air stream separation at the face of buildings Reverse flow behind a tall block

Air flow: grid-iron lay-out Air flow: checkerboard lay-out

Day light
 TOPICS
• Natural light sources.
• Daylight factors
• Daylight contours & calculation
 Natural Light Sources
The ultimate source of daylight is, of course, the sun and reach at interior point
in following ways
• diffused or skylight, through a window or opening
• externally reflected light (by the ground or other buildings), through the same
windows
• internally reflected light from walls, ceiling or other internal surfaces
• direct sunlight, along a straight path from the sun, through a window to the
given point
Natural Light Sources
 The daylight factor
Interior daylight is measured using a parameter known as Daylight factor(DF).
The daylight factor is defined as:

The Daylight Factor is a combination of 3

separate components:
• The sky component(SC)- The light
received directly from sky.
• The externally Reflected component
(ERC) -the light reflected by reflection
from buildings and obstructions outside
the room.
• The Internally reflected component
(IRC)- the light received from surfaces
inside the room.
 The daylight factor
Design variables
The magnitude of each of these components depends on the following design
variables:
• SC - the area of sky visible from the point considered and its average
altitude angle (i.e. the luminance of sky at that angle), therefore: window
size and position in relation to the point, thickness of window frame
members, quality of glass and its cleanness, any external obstructions

• ERC - the area of external surfaces visible from the point considered and
the reflectance of these surfaces

• IRC - the size of room, the ratio of wall, etc., surfaces in relation to window
area and the reflectance of these indoor surfaces
Daylight factor contours

The daylight factor inside a room will vary

according to position. Daylight factors are
often given as working plane contours.
 Daylighting in the tropics
In Warm climates both the physical and the psychological effects would be
disadvantageous. Due to the accompanying thermal radiation over-lighting
would mean overheating. And overheating would cause much greater
discomfort than under-lighting. Furthermore, a slightly under-lit room would be
psychologically more acceptable, as light is mentally associated with warmth
and reduced lighting with coolness.

The tasks and problems of day lighting in tropical climates can be summarized
as follows :
• To provide adequate daylight, even if the windows are protected by louvers
or grilles for thermal reasons

• To exclude from the visual field excessively bright (light colored, sunlit, etc.)
surfaces, which would cause glare
 Design considerations In warm
climates
 Externally reflected light can be used providing
that great care is taken to avoid glare.
 the sky component would be insufficient either
due to smaller size or due to shading device
hindrance
 Internally reflected light would be the most
convenient form of daylighting. One suitable
arrangement is a high level window
 sunlit surfaces of shading devices should either
be non-reflective, or positioned so that they are
not directly visible.
 Low level windows are acceptable if they open
onto a shaded and planted courtyard.
 When a sunlit view through a window is
unavoidable, the strong luminance contrast
between the view and the window surround can
be reduced by:
 Some definations
 Glare is a visual sensation caused by excessive and uncontrolled brightness.
It can be disabling or simply uncomfortable

Example of lighting that can result in Example of how reduced glare

disability and discomfort glare improves the lighting
• Illumination (symbol, E) is the amount of flux falling on unit
area, i.e. lm/m2 which is the lux

• Luminance (symbol: L) is the measure of brightness of a surface

Illuminance levels recommended for various tasks

At the operating theater

upto 10000 lux

 Recognize facial
features: 20 lux

At the work place 1000-2000 lux

 Effect of opening on daylighting
A daylight zone, also called the daylight area (expressed in square feet), is
defined by the ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010 energy standard as “the floor area
substantially illuminated by daylight.” In other words, it should consistently
receive significant quantities of daylight during the day.
 Effect of opening on daylighting
Visible transmittance is the amount of
light in the visible portion of the
spectrum that passes through a glazing
material
Effect of opening on daylighting
 Design Recommendations

• Increase perimeter daylight zones—extend the

perimeter footprint to maximize the usable
daylighting area.

• Allow daylight penetration high in a space.

Windows located high in a wall or in roof
monitors and clerestories will result in deeper
light penetration and reduce the likelihood of
excessive brightness.

• Reflect daylight within a space to increase room

brightness. A light shelf, if properly designed, has
the potential to increase room brightness and
decrease window brightness.
 Design Recommendations

• Slope ceilings to direct more light into a space. Sloping

the ceiling away form the fenestration area will help
increase the surface brightness of the ceiling further into
a space.

• Filter daylight. The harshness of direct light can be

filtered with vegetation, curtains, louvers, or the like, and
will help distribute light.

• Understand that different building orientations will

benefit from different daylighting strategies; for example
light shelves which are effective on south façades are
often ineffective on the east or west elevations of
buildings.