Natural Ventilation

capabilities and limitations

(comfort and energy efficiency
in domestic dwellings)
ATA Melbourne Branch presentation
April 2008
Jim Lambert
Ventilation - a few scenarios
Summer:
Cooling sensation from airflow
Structural cooling on summer nights
General (Winter or summer):
How much ventilation does a healthy house
need?
How does ventilation affect heating and
cooling?
How does ventilation affect the energy
needed for heating and cooling?
How do we achieve comfort and energy
efficiency together?
Cooling sensation from airflow
Source: Natural Ventilation in Buildings, Tony Rofail, NEERG seminar,
31 Aug 2006, Windtech Consultants
In a mild summer, natural ventilation can
reduce the apparent temperature
(e.g.up to 8
0
C at an airflow of 2 m/s or so)
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Airflow (m/s)
C
o
o
l
i
n
g

s
e
n
s
a
t
i
o
n

d
e
g
.

C
Cooling sensation from airflow
Source: Natural Ventilation in Buildings, Tony Rofail, NEERG seminar,
31 Aug 2006, Windtech Consultants
Question: If you have natural ventilation and no
mechanical cooling, what is the hottest summer
temperature that allows indoor comfort?
People feel comfortable in still air at about 20
0
C to
23
0
C
Therefore it should be possible to have indoor
comfort up to an air temperature of maybe 30
0
C if
you can get an indoor airflow of 2 m/s
The reference below has some interesting
guidelines for achieving good natural ventilation
Some guidelines for good airflow
cooling
Source: Natural Ventilation in Buildings, Tony Rofail, NEERG seminar,
31 Aug 2006, Windtech Consultants
Maximize air velocities in occupied rooms
Two openings on opposite sides increase airflow.
Locate windows on opposite sides of the house.
An inlet window smaller than the outlet creates
higher inlet velocity (e.g. 50% smaller)
Horizontal window openings are more effective
than square or vertical openings
Vertical air shafts or open staircases or roof
ventilation can take advantage of stack effects
to increase airflow
Structural cooling on summer
nights
The same kind of ventilation that gives a cooling
effect in daytime also helps to cool the structure
on summer nights
Issues:
Thermal storage (e.g. concrete floors, masonry
walls) can use this structural cooling to keep
indoor temperature cooler during the next day .
Windows need to offer security while allowing
ventilation airflow
Summer Example
time
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
d
e
g

C
)

30
20
10
6pm 6am 6am midnight 12noon
day night
Outside
temperature
Summer Example
time
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
d
e
g

C
)

30
20
10
6pm 6am 6am midnight 12noon
day night
Outside
temperature
Inside
temperature
Summer Example
time
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
d
e
g

C
)

30
20
10
6pm 6am 6am midnight 12noon
day night
Outside
temperature
Inside
temperature
Normal
comfort
range
Comfort
range with
moving air
Summer Example
time
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
d
e
g

C
)

30
20
10
6pm 6am 6am midnight 12noon
day night
Outside
temperature
Inside
temperature
Normal
comfort
range
Comfort
range with
moving air
Open all
windows
Summer Example
time
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
d
e
g

C
)

30
20
10
6pm 6am 6am midnight 12noon
day night
Outside
temperature
Inside
temperature
Normal
comfort
range
Comfort
range with
moving air
Open all
windows
Close all
windows
Summer Example
time
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
d
e
g

C
)

30
20
10
6pm 6am 6am midnight 12noon
day night
Outside
temperature
Inside
temperature
Normal
comfort
range
Comfort
range with
moving air
Open all
windows
Close all
windows
Start
internal
fan
Summer Example
time
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
d
e
g

C
)

30
20
10
6pm 6am 6am midnight 12noon
day night
Outside
temperature
Inside
temperature
Normal
comfort
range
Comfort
range with
moving air
Open all
windows
Close all
windows
Open all
windows
Start
internal
fan
Summer Example
time
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
d
e
g

C
)

30
20
10
6pm 6am 6am midnight 12noon
day night
Outside
temperature
Inside
temperature
Normal
comfort
range
Comfort
range with
moving air
Open all
windows
Close all
windows
Open all
windows
Gentle forced
ventilation
overnight
Start
internal
fan
Comments on Summer Example
Good features:
Natural approach with minimum energy
consumption
Comfort level is fairly reasonable
Limitations:
Poor safety margin for warmer days
Must pay attention to outside temperature
Needs lots of hands-on actions
Limited parts of the house are comfortable
How much ventilation does a
healthy house need?
We need ventilation in these areas:
Humid or smelly places (bathrooms,
kitchens)
Where there are people living and
breathing (family room, bedrooms, etc.)
How much ventilation do we need?
This question does not seem to have a
simple answer
How much ventilation does a
healthy house need? (continued)
There are Australian Standards about
minimum ventilation
e.g. Australian Standard AS1668.2 1991 The use of
ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings Part 2
mechanical ventilation for acceptable indoor air
quality (superseded)
e.g. Australian Standard AS1668.2 2002 The use of
ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings Part 2
mechanical ventilation for acceptable indoor air
quality (plus 2 amendments and 1 supplement)
BUT people say that (for comfort) you
really need MORE ventilation than the
statutory minimum
How much ventilation does a
healthy house need? (continued)
How does (natural) ventilation
affect home heating and cooling?
Summer (hotter outside than inside)
Good effects:
Movement of air around people (helps with
cooling effect already covered)
Venting of roof space (removes heating effect
of hot air above ceiling)
Bad effects:
When external air is too hot for airflow cooling,
fresh air flow for health requires energy for
cooling
How does (natural) ventilation
affect home heating and cooling?
(continued)
Winter (colder outside than inside)
Good effects:
None (although you do need ventilation for health)
Bad effects:
When external air is cold, fresh air flow for
health requires energy for heating
If roof space is ventilated, then potentially
useful heat may escape to the atmosphere
How does ventilation affect the energy
needed for heating and cooling?
Ventilation replaces inside air with outside air
In winter, you need to heat the new air
In summer you need to cool the new air
(if outside air temperature is more than say 30
o
C)
How much energy does this take?
Effect of ventilation on energy for heating
or cooling
Sample calculation
Assumptions:
Size of ventilated space: 250m
3

(floor area 100m
2
, ceiling height 2.5m)
Temperature difference 10
o
C inside
versus outside
Rate of ventilation
case 1 (low flow) case 2 (high flow)
0.1 ACH 3.0 ACH
(ACH [Air Exchanges per Hour])
Heat capacity of air 3.4*10
-4
kWHr/m
3 o
C
Heat/Cool power required (10
o
C difference):
Case 1: (0.1 ACH)
Power required to maintain indoor temperature
85W (like 1 conventional light globe)
Case 2: (3.0 ACH)
Power required to maintain indoor temperature
2.55 kW (like 1 hefty radiator)
Effect of ventilation on energy for heating
or cooling
Sample calculation
How do we achieve comfort with
energy efficiency?
The problem:
Comfort/health needs ventilation
Ventilation introduces outside air
Outside air is often at the wrong
temperature
Heating or cooling the air needs energy
How do we achieve comfort with
energy efficiency?
A solution
HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation)
(will be covered in Bernard Desormeaux talk)
Other Ideas
(from Danish experiment - see ref below)
In cold weather, draw incoming air from under PV
panel to get solar pre-heating of the air
In hot weather, vent the roof space to atmosphere,
draw external air over the ceiling to minimise heat
load
Guidelines used in experiment:
Efficiency of heat recovery at least 80-90%
Power consumption of ventilation 30-40W for a household
Building completely airtight (natural infiltration 0.1 air exchanges/hour)
(assumes optimised insulation, low energy windows)
Noise level less than 25dB
(ref Cost effective PV assisted energy efficient ventilation systems for
housing Pederson, Cenergia Energy Consultants, Denmark)
Winter heating example
(Solar Venti)
Winter heating example
Summer cooling example
Review
Summer:
Cooling sensation from
airflow
Structural cooling on
summer nights
General (Winter or summer):
How much ventilation
does a healthy house
need?
How does ventilation affect
heating and cooling?
How do we achieve
comfort and energy
efficiency together?
These can limit the need
for air conditioning
They could benefit from
mechanical ventilation


Quite a lot (Bernard will
give a better answer)

Natural ventilation wastes
energy

(Bernard will cover this)