Passive Design

Goals for Various Climates

 Cool Climates
 Maximum thermal retention
 Maximum heat gain
 Maximum wind resistance
 Temperate Climates
 Moderate thermal retention
 Moderate heat gain
 Slight wind exposure (humidity control)
Goals for Various Climates
 Hot-humid climates
 Maximum wind exposure
 Maximum internal airflow
 Minimum heat gain
 Hot-dry climates
 Minimum heat gain
 Moderate wind resistance
 Moderate internal airflow
Passive Design
 Design that works with the environment to exclude
unwanted heat or cold and take advantage of sun and
breezes (inducing comfort conditions in the building
interiors), therefore avoiding or minimizing the need for
mechanical heating or cooling
Passive Cooling
 The use of passive cooling principles in the tropics results
in a building that is comfortable, energy efficient and
results in substantial savings in running costs of both
cooling and lighting
 A cooling system using a building’s
design and construction to maintain a
comfortable temperature with the
building
 Passive design is essentially low-energy
design achieved by the building’s
particular morphological organization
rather than electromechanical means
Some passive cooling methods used in building design are:
1. Building configuration, site layout and site planning
2. Building orientation
3. Façade design
4. Wind and natural ventilation
5. Others: passive daylight devices, building envelope
color, vertical landscaping
Active Cooling
 A building design approach that addresses the problem of
inducing comfort by means of equipment that consume
energy
Principles of Passive Design
 Avoid heat gain
 Encourage natural ventilation
 Make use of natural light
 Create cool outdoor areas
Avoid Heat Gain
1. Orient the building to reduce exposure to midday sun,
particularly summer sun
2. Use materials with low thermal mass as a general rule
3. Shade walls and windows, particularly any walls with
high thermal mass
4. Use glazing on windows that cannot be effectively
shaded
5. Use insulation, light colors and heat-reflective surfaces
Encourage Natural Ventilation
1. Orient the building and windows towards prevailing
winds
2. Include operable windows and ceiling vents that enable
the building to naturally ventilate
Make Use of Natural Light
1. Install shaded windows
2. Install shaded skylights, light tubes and other natural
lighting devices
Create Cool Outdoor Areas
1. Use verandas and deep balconies to shade and cool
incoming air
2. Use landscaping to provide shade without blocking
cooling breezes and use planting to reduce ground
temperature and minimize reflected heat
Passive Design Considerations
Main Considerations
1. Orientation
2. Ventilation
3. Landscaping
4. Thermal Mass
5. Insulation
6. Windows
7. Natural Lighting
1. Orientation
Orientation concerns the position of the building on the site
as well as the arrangement of the rooms within it

Two main goals to consider:

 Orientation for minimal solar heat gain
 Shaded and admit northern sun
 Orientation for maximum air flow
 Prevailing winds; convection flow
The rule of convection:
Warm air rises, cool air sinks
2. Ventilation
 Circulation of air or to replace stale air with fresh air
Passive Ventilation
 Designing a building in a way that maximizes natural
ventilation will greatly reduce the need for air-
conditioning
 Air movement over the body, even if the air is not much
cooler, creates a feeling of cool due to the evaporation of
moisture from the skin
Passive Ventilation Methods
Maximizing breezes
 Orient the building to make the most of prevailing winds
in the locality
 Align vents, windows and doors (reasonably straight line)
to allow air to flow through the building)
 Minimize internal obstacles or blockages such as internal
walls to allow for unimpeded ventilation
 Raise the building off the ground to catch breezes
Passive Ventilation Methods
Removing hot air
 Design for convection air flow to remove hot air from the
building
 This can be achieved by placing low window openings
across a space from high window openings
 This will be even more effective if the incoming air is
being drawn from a shaded area where plants/trees grow
Passive Ventilation Methods
Designing for “mixed-mode” use
 It will rely on natural ventilation in cooler months and use
energy-efficient air conditioning in hotter months
 Low thermal mass materials are particularly suitable for
mixed-mode buildings, provided that the building is well
insulated
Passive Ventilation Methods
Roof ventilation
 Ventilating the ceiling cavity is an effective way of
replacing accumulated hot air with cool air from outside
using convection
 It also reduces heat radiated from the ceiling cavity
towards the inner parts of the building
 Example: ridge vents can let hot air out while cool air
enters through the eave vents
3. Landscaping
Reducing the extend of paving and other hard surfaces with
vegetation
 The hard surfaces of pavement around buildings absorb
and re-radiate heat, creating a hotter microclimate
 Thus, it is smart to minimize the extent of paving and
replace them with vegetation
 Planting areas around the building creates a cooler
environment due to a plant’s ability to transpire or lose
moisture, which cools the air
 External temperatures can be reduced by over 5ºC by
using ground cover or lawn instead of paving
 Denser vegetation provides a greater cooling effect
 Air that is drawn from planted areas is much cooler than
air drawn from paved areas
4. Thermal Mass
 The ability of materials to absorb, store and release heat

In tropical climates, the use of materials with low thermal

mass is preferable particularly on walls that are directly
exposed to the sun
 This is because lightweight construction such as timber
respond quickly to cooling breezes, allowing the building
to cool down faster
Trombe Wall
 A system for indirect solar heat
gain.
 Consists of a dark colored wall
of high thermal mass facing
the sun, with glazing spaces in
front to leave a small air space
 The glazing traps solar
radiation like a small
greenhouse
5. Insulation
 Controls the rate at which a building loses or gains heat,
keeping warmer air in during winter and excluding
external heat in summer
 One of the most effective ways to reduce heat input to a
building and can be installed in the roof, ceiling and walls
of the building
Types of Insulation
1. Bulk Insulation
2. Reflective Insulation

In the tropics, reflective insulation installed under roof

sheeting is highly effective as it does not trap heat inside the
building
Bulk Insulation
 Acts as thermal mass and resists the transfer of heat.
 Includes materials such as:
 Mineral wool
 Cellulose fiber
 Polyester and polystyrene
ROCK WOOL
 A type of insulation that is
made from actual rocks &
minerals.
 Commonly used in
building construction,
industrial plants and in
automotive applications
due to its excellent ability
to block sound and heat
GLASS WOOL
 Insulating material made
from fibers of glass
arranged using a binder into
a texture similar to wool
 The process traps many
small pockets of air between
the glass, and these small air
pockets result in the thermal
insulation properties
Reflective Insulation
 Mainly resists heat flow due
to its high reflectivity and
low ability to re-radiate heat
and is more effective when
installed with an air layer
next to the shiny surface
 Usually shiny aluminum
foil laminated onto paper or
plastic
6. Windows
 Important way to encourage and direct air flow into a
building
 Louvers and casement style windows allow building users
to control how much natural air enters the building
 Well-placed louvers or windows, at floor level and at the
highest point of the room, create convection air flow
which draws air into the building and creates breezes to
cool occupants
 In a tropical climate, windows should ideally be shaded
from direct sunlight all year round and should open to
allow air flow
 Where effective shading cannot be achieved, insulating
windows against heat transfer can reduce cooling costs
TINTED GLASS
 Has a tint applied to the
glass during manufacture,
to reduce the amount of
heat transmitted through it
REFLECTIVE COATINGS
 Are thin films of metal or metal
oxide that are applied to
standard glass
 Stops greater amounts of heat
gain than some toned glass,
however, they have the
potential to create glare
problems for neighbouring
properties, and can significantly
reduce the quantity of light
admitted through the glass
SOLAR SHADING
 Shield windows and other glazed areas from direct
sunlight in order to reduce glare and excessive solar heat
gain in warm weather
 Horizontal overhangs are most effective
when they have southern orientations

 Horizontal louvers parallel to a wall permit

air circulation near the wall and reduce
conductive heat gain
 Louvers may be operated manually or
controlled automatically with time or
photoelectric controls to adapt to the solar
angle
 Slanted louvers provide more
protection than those parallel to a wall
 Angle varies according to the range of
solar angles

 Louvers hung from a solid overhang

protect against low sun angles
 Louvers may interfere with view
 Vertical louvers are most effective
for eastern or western exposures
 Louvers may be operated manually
or controlled automatically with
time or photoelectric controls to
adapt to solar angle
 Separation from wall reduces
conductive heat gain
 Eggcrates combine the
shading characteristics of
horizontal and vertical louvers
and have a high shading ration
 Eggcrates, sometimes reffered
to as brise-soleil, are very
efficient in hot climates
 Solar blinds and screens can
provide up to a 50% reduction
in solar radiation depending on
their reflectivity
 Heat-absorbing glass can
absorb up to 40% of the
radiation reaching its surface
7. Natural Lighting
 Maximizing the amount of natural light that enters the
building can lead to significant energy savings by
reducing the need for artificial lighting
Maximizing Natural Light
 Skylights
 Atria
 Light shelves
 Clerestory windows
 Light tubes
SKYLIGHTS
 Can provide good quality
light to work spaces that
are away from windows.
But they need to be shaded
and glazed to prevent heat
transfer
 Some skylights are also
vented to allow hot air to
escape
ATRIA
 An atrium is a large open
space, often several stories
high and having a glazed
roof and/or large windows
 The benefits of an atrium
is that hot air can be
vented at the top rather
than accumulating near the
building users
LIGHT SHELVES
 An architectural element
that allows daylight to
penetrate deeper into a
building
 A horizontal light-
reflecting overhang which
is placed above eye-level
and has a high-reflectance
upper surface
CLERESTORY WINDOWS
 High, vertically placed
windows that are ideally
north facing
 Can be a good source of
diffuse light, and can also
be useful in allowing hot
air to leave the building
LIGHT TUBES
 Also called solar tubes or
light pipes
 Used for transporting or
distributing natural or
artificial light