VENTILATION?

Fresh air is required in buildings to alleviate

odours, to provide oxygen for respiration,
and to increase thermal comfort.
NATURALLY INDUCED VENTILATION
Natural ventilation, unlike fan-forced ventilation, uses the natural forces of wind and buoyancy to deliver fresh air into buildings.
Wind-induced ventilation
Wind can blow air through openings in the wall on the windward side of the building, and suck air out of openings on the leeward side and the roof.

How to achieve wind induced ventilation?

 Use irregular, articulated building footprints to increase the exposure of walls to low- and high-pressure areas.
This provides more opportunities to catch the wind from different directions in each space, and to cool and
ventilate more interior spaces independently.
 Low- and high- pressure areas can be created with articulations of the walls and roofs, using features such as bay
windows, recesses and projections, roof monitors and clerestories. These shapes can allow designers to cross-
ventilate even spaces with only one exterior wall.
 If the shape and size of the lot allows it, orient the long face of the building southwest to create the greatest
pressure difference between the windward and lee faces. This can allow cross-ventilation across the full depth of
the building.

Cautions
 Effectiveness depends on the configuration of upwind obstructions.
 Orienting to the wind and increasing exposed wall and roof area also improves the potential for daylighting and
view, but may increase solar gain.
Buoyancy/Stack effect
•Buoyancy results from the difference in air density. The density of air depends on temperature and humidity (cool air is heavier than
warm air at the same humidity and dry air is heavier than humid air at the same temperature)

•Buoyancy ventilation may be temperature-induced (stack ventilation) or humidity induced (cool tower). The two can be combined by
having a cool tower deliver evaporatively cooled air low in a space, and then rely on the increased buoyancy of the humid air as it
warms to exhaust air from the space through a stack.

Stack effect ventilation

•Stack effect can induce natural cooling and ventilation within a building, though typically it creates lower pressure differences than wind.
•Columns of warm air rise, and if allowed to exit from the top of a space, will draw air in at lower levels. Stack ventilation is especially useful for deep core spaces,
spaces with only one exposed side, and with atria and courtyard designs.
•Pressure differences due to buoyancy are directly proportional to both height and the temperature difference between incoming and outgoing air.
As a result, there are two ways to increase buoyancy-driven flow: increasing the height of spaces, and heating air within the building.

Stack effect ventilation is an especially effective strategy in winter, when indoor/outdoor temperature difference is at a maximum.
Stack effect ventilation will not work in summer (wind or humidity drivers would be preferred) because it requires that the indoors be warmer than outdoors,
an undesirable situation in summer.

In general, natural cooling should be examined on a whole-building basis to ensure airflow paths into, through and out of occupied zones and spaces, and to
ensure safety in the event of fire. Room-by-room analysis is helpful when placing windows and openings, and to help place interior partitions.

How to achieve stack effect?

•Use roof monitors, atria or tall chimneys to increase stack height, and thus buoyancy pressure differences. These features can be placed at the center of a
building, creating cross-flows from the sides of the building; or at one end of the building, creating cross-flow from one side to the other.
•Limit the maximum depth of spaces from the air inlet to the stack outlet to less than five times the ceiling height (~45 to 50 ft.).
•A chimney heated by solar energy can be used to drive the stack effect without increasing room temperature.
•A solar chimney may be an effective solution where prevailing breezes are not dependable enough to rely on wind-induced ventilation and where keeping
indoor temperature sufficiently above outdoor temperature to drive buoyant flow would be unacceptably warm.
 Caution
•Airflow should be examined at low, mid and high heights within the building to ensure adequate ventilation under a variety of wind conditions.
•Interior spaces should be arranged to ensure that dead-air pockets in occupied zones do not occur.
•Ventilation openings must be carefully sized, with smaller openings at lower floors, and larger openings at higher floors to provide equal ventilation rates.
Smoke & fire implications of natural ventilation strategies must be carefully considered.

Cool tower
The cool air supply to the space is pressurized by weight of the column of cool air above it. Within the cool tower itself the effect of temperature
and humidity are pulling in opposite directions (temperature down, humidity up). Within the room, heat and humidity given off by occupants
and other internal sources both tend to make air rise. The stale, heated air escapes from openings in the ceiling or roof and permits fresh air to
enter lower openings to replace it.

Wind towers, often topped with fabric sails that direct wind into the building, are a common feature in historic Arabic architecture, and are
known as "malqafs."
The incoming air is often routed past a fountain to achieve evaporative cooling as well as ventilation. At night, the process is reversed and the
wind tower acts as a chimney to vent room air.
A modern variation called a "Cool Tower" puts evaporative cooling elements at the top of the tower to pressurize the supply air with cool,
dense air.
Design Recommendations

The specific approach and design of natural ventilation systems will vary based on building type and local climate. However, the amount of ventilation depends
critically on the careful design of internal spaces, and the size and placement of openings in the building.
•Sometimes wind flow prevails parallel to a building wall rather than perpendicular to it. In this case it is still possible to induce wind ventilation by architectural
features or by the way a casement window opens. For example, if the wind blows from east to west along a north-facing wall, the first window (which opens
out) would have hinges on the left-hand side to act as a scoop and direct wind into the room. The second window would hinge on the right-hand side so the
opening is down-wind from the open glass pane and the negative pressure draws air out of the room.
•Maximize wind-induced ventilation by setting the ridge of a building perpendicular to the summer winds.
•Naturally ventilated buildings should be narrow.
It is difficult to distribute fresh air to all portions of a very wide building using natural ventilation. The maximum width that one could expect to ventilate
naturally is estimated at 45 ft. Consequently, buildings that rely on natural ventilation often have an articulated floor plan.

•Each room should have two separate supply and exhaust openings. Locate exhaust high above inlet to maximize stack effect. Orient windows across
the room and offset from each other to maximize mixing within the room while minimizing the obstructions to airflow within the room.
•Window openings should be operable by the occupants.
•Provide ridge vents.

A ridge vent is an opening at the highest point in the roof that offers a good outlet for both buoyancy and wind-induced ventilation. The
ridge opening should be free of obstructions to allow air to freely flow out of the building
•Allow for adequate internal airflow.
In addition to the primary consideration of airflow in and out of the building, airflow between the rooms of the building is important. When possible, interior doors
should be designed to be open to encourage whole-building ventilation. If privacy is required, ventilation can be provided through high louvers or transoms.
•Consider the use of clerestories or vented skylights.
A clerestory or a vented skylight will provide an opening for stale air to escape in a buoyancy ventilation strategy. The light well of the skylight could also act as a
solar chimney to augment the flow. Openings lower in the structure, such as basement windows, must be provided to complete the ventilation system.
•Provide attic ventilation.
In buildings with attics, ventilating the attic space greatly reduces heat transfer to conditioned rooms below. Ventilated attics are about 30°F cooler than
unventilated attics.
•Consider the use of fan-assisted cooling strategies.
Ceiling and whole-building fans can provide up to 9°F effective temperature drop at one tenth the electrical energy consumption of mechanical air-conditioning
systems.
•Determine if the building will benefit from an open- or closed-building ventilation approach.
A closed-building approach works well in hot, dry climates where there is a large variation in temperature from day to night. A massive building is ventilated at
night, then, closed in the morning to keep out the hot daytime air. Occupants are then cooled by radiant exchange with the massive walls and floor.
An open-building approach works well in warm and humid areas, where the temperature does not change much from day to night. In this case, daytime cross-
ventilation is encouraged to maintain indoor temperatures close to outdoor temperatures.
•Open staircases provide stack effect ventilation, but observe all fire and smoke precautions for enclosed stairways.

APPLICATION
Among the primary types of buildings that can benefit from the application of natural ventilation are:
•Bus stations, picnic shelters, and other structures where stringent space conditioning is not expected,
•Barracks and other single- and multi-family housing projects,
•Most small, free-standing structures in warm and temperate climates and
•Warehouses, maintenance pools, and other high-bay facilities in warm climates.
 CASE STUDIES

TERI
The Energy and Resources Institute, Bangalore is among South India’s first energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable campuses. It serves as a model fo
future development in similar geographical and climatic conditions.

Ventilation
•A blank wall towards the south (facing the drain) allows the breeze to flow over the building. This creates a negative pressure which pulls fresh air from the
north into the building.
•The sections are designed such that hot air rises to the top and make the building breathe.
•Air in the cavity in the south wall on the south creates negative pressure, thereby enhancing the convection currents in the building .

Sections showing induced ventilation created in the building through an effective design of sections and the cavity wall on the south creating convection currents
CII GODREJ
The CII – Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad is the first LEED Platinum rated building in India.
•Locally available materials and sustainable energy sources have been used extensively in the building.
•Natural lighting and ventilation enhance the energy-efficiency of the building.
•Adequate green spaces help in controlling the micro-climate providing visual delight at the same time.

Ventilation
•Effective measures are taken to properly ventilate the building while saving energy at the same time.
•Air caught by the wind towers is carried through an earth-air tunnel which pre- cools the air entering into the AHU’s. This saves energy required in the cooling
process.

Wind towers carry air through an earth air ‘Jaalis’ help in cooling and shading the building and
tunnel to cool it before being supplied to the inducing ventilation
AHU’s (Sourced)

•‘Jaalis’ on the outer façade of the building also help in cooling, shading and ventilation of the building .
PEDA OFFICE COMPLEX, CHANDIGARH, INDIA
To achieve a climate responsive building, an innovative concept in architectural design has been developed. In place of the
‘central loaded corridor’ plan stacked on top of each other to make various floors- which has become virtually the generic
form for an office- the PEDA building is a series of overlapping floors a different levels in space floating in a large volume of
air with interpenetrating large vertical cut-outs.

These vertical cut outs are integrated with light wells and solar activated naturally ventilating, domical structures. This system of
floating slabs and interpenetrating vertical cut outs is then enclosed within the envelope of the building.

The envelope attenuates the outside ambient conditions and the large volume of the air is naturally conditioned by controlling
solar access in response to the climatic swings, i.e., eliminating it during hot dry period and maximizing its penetration in cold
period.

The large volume of air is cooled during the hot period by a wind tower, integrated into the building design, and in cold period
this volume of air is heated by solar penetration through the roof glazing, generating a convective loop. The thermal mass of the
floor slabs helps attenuate the diurnal swings.
CONVECTIVE COOLING

Convective cooling relies on air movement, more exactly, on hot air rising and exiting at some higher
window or vent point in the house, while fresher air enters into the home at some lower point. This cooler
air may come from the shaded part of the house (north, in northern hemisphere countries; south, in
southern ones) or from breezes.

Locate cool air inlet vent on the building side which To aid in natural ventilation, during
receives predominant cool summer breezes. summer use high ceiling vaults, and
thermal chimneys to promote rapid air
changes.

VENTS AND WINDOW SIZE

•To get the best cooling rates, large enough openings - clerestory windows, roof ventilators, vented ridges, or other openings - will allow
hotter air to exit the home even in situations where there are minimal or no breezes
•These openings in the leeward side of the house should be larger (between 50% and 100% larger) than those on the windward side.
•The greater the height difference between the low entering points and the high located air-exiting points, the faster will be the natural
convection and the more effective the cooling
BREEZE INTENSITY AND ALTERNATIVES

There are two basic ways to enhance the convective cooling rate:
1) increase the volume of air escaping per minute,
2) bring in cooler air.

They can be effective ways to ensure stronger convective air-movement. Some strategies also consider earth coupled floor slabs and buried tubes (to
cool the air entering the home.
EARTH COUPLED FLOOR SLABS
If the ground temperatures around the house are fresh enough, earth coupled slabs can be considered. They will cool the outside air, before it enters
into the home.

UNDERGROUND AIR CHAMBERS(UNDERGROUND TUBES)

Properly built and sized underground tubes or air chambers (properly dumped into the building) can be an effective way of supplying cool air during
the hotter hours, in dry-hot climates. Obviously, this strategy demands relatively low ground temperatures (which aren’t difficult to get in most sites).
 
 
The tubes are made with high thermal transfer materials and should be buried deep enough to get those low ground temperatures. This strategy is
often inadequate in temperate, cold and rainy climates due to drainage or condensation problems (or sealing problems during the winter). Drainage
should be considered and duly assessed, and the intake end should be located in shady
Of the many ways to dissipate heat in electronic components, forced convection cooling is the most effective.
Once the decision is made to use forced convection cooling, several points must be considered before a fan can
be specified.

Forced convection heat transfer can be effected in two ways:

Evacuation or pressurization of the cabinet. When evacuating a cabinet (fan on the exhaust side), the air
distribution inside the cabinet is flexible. Cooling ports can be placed at any position in the cabinet to insure proper
cooling in desire locations. Heat from the fan itself is not dissipated into the cabinet. However, filtering the fan on
the exhaust side is extremely difficult.  

Pressurizing the cabinet is the preferred method, since incoming air can be readily filtered. With the cabinet under pressure, any cracks or crevices will
have a small amount of leakage from the cabinet and dust will not seep in. The fan is handling cooler, denser air, and it will have a slightly higher pressure
capability. Fan life and reliability are increased because the fan ambient temperature is lower. The disadvantage of pressurization is that heat generated
by the fan is dissipated into the cabinet.

basic 5 steps to be followed when designing for a cooling fan.

•Locate the fan to pressurize the enclosure assuring lowest fan operating temperature.

•If air flow is to be vertical through the equipment to be cooled, place fan at the
bottom so that it works to aid natural convection.

•Place largest heat source toward air exit so that it will have maximum heating
effect on air cooling low power areas of the system.

•If air filters and RFI screens are required in a given application, their air impedance
must be considered in air mover selection.

•Avoid as many obstructions in the packaging of the equipment at fan outlet and
general air path since more resistance to flow means a larger, more power consuming a
air moving device. Leave a fan radius between obstructions and the fan inlet and exhaust
TUBE HOUSE-Ahmedabad
The Tube House was the first prize
winner for an all india competition for
low cost housing ganosed by the
Gujarat Government.Though the
program specified walk up
apartments these row houses
provided the same density and larger
living space per family.
As seen in the section the hot air rises
and escapes from the top setting up
convection currents of natural
ventilation

HINDUSTAN PAVILLION,DELHI

The industrial fairs were a great opportunity for

architects to experiment. The circulation pattern
was similar to the handloom pavilion but the form
had metamorphosed due to long narrow site and
becuse of the structural system used random
folded rcc plates united insitu encasing ramps and
platforms below- creating huge cannons which set
up convection currents of air through fractured
scaleless spaces.