Topic
Windcatcher
About: Windcatcher is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 90 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1315 citations. The topic is also known as: wind catcher & badgir.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared different theoretical and experimental methods employed by researchers in different case studies to assess the indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort aspects of windcatchers and found that satisfactory IAQ were generally achieved using the windcatcher.
Abstract: The most prominent challenge in 21th century is global warming which seriously threats the mankind. Building sector with 40% of global energy consumption and GHG emission play a key role in this threat. In this regard, the impact of cooling systems cannot be ignored where along with ventilation and heating systems totally account for 60% of energy consumed in buildings. Passive cooling systems can be a promising alternative to reduce energy consumption. One of the oldest passive cooling system that is still being used today is windcatcher. By manipulating pressure differences and the buoyancy effect, an adequate level of ventilation in buildings can be provided by windcatchers. Since most of the previous windcatcher studies assessed the design characteristics, the current investigation focused on the indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort aspects. The review details and compares the different theoretical and experimental methods employed by researchers in different case studies to assess the IAQ and thermal comfort. It was found that most IAQ studies were conducted in the UK using CFD and experimental techniques. Previous studies assessed IAQ based on several parameters such as air flow rate, air change rate, CO2 concentration, air change effectiveness and mean age of air. The findings of the studies revealed that satisfactory IAQ were generally achieved using the windcatcher. On the other hand, thermal comfort studies of windcatchers were mainly conducted in hot climates such as in the Middle East. In addition to night ventilation, the review also looked into the different types of cooling methods incorporated with windcatchers such as evaporative cooling, earth to air heat exchangers (EAHE) and heat transfer devices (HTD). Night ventilation was found to be effective in temperate and cold conditions while additional cooling using evaporative cooling, EAHE and HTD were found to be necessary in hot climates.
196 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors looked at the ability of natural ventilation to provide adequate thermal comfort, resilience against heatwaves, and good indoor air quality in warm climates and found that single-sided ventilation demonstrates the poorest ability to provide thermal comfort while cross ventilation highlights better performance in terms of reducing indoor air temperatures compared to outdoor.
Abstract: In buildings, energy is primarily consumed by mechanical air conditioning systems. Low energy alternatives, such as natural ventilation, are needed. However, they need to be able to cope with increasing heatwaves and pollution, particularly in warm climates. This review paper looked at the ability of natural ventilation to provide adequate thermal comfort, resilience against heatwaves, and good Indoor Air Quality in warm climates. Single-sided ventilation demonstrates the poorest ability to provide thermal comfort, while cross ventilation highlights better performance in terms of reducing indoor air temperatures compared to outdoor. However, windcatchers and solar chimneys displayed even better performance by producing relatively high ventilation rates. During heatwaves and future climatic scenarios, natural ventilation, by cross-ventilation, was not able to meet internal thermal comfort standards. A potential low energy solution could be combining solar chimneys or windcatchers with water evaporation cooling. A critical synthesis of the literature suggests that these systems can generate high ventilation rates and keep indoor temperatures around 8 °C cooler than outdoor temperatures in warm weather (>35 °C). However, no studies were found testing these systems against future climate scenarios, and further studies are recommended. The literature supported natural ventilation being effective in removing pollution generated indoors due to adequate ventilation rates. However, using unfiltered natural ventilation for areas with high outdoor pollution can increase the indoor deposition of harmful particulate matter. With increasing air pollution, further studies are urgently required to investigate filter enabled natural ventilation, particularly with solar chimney/windcatcher incorporated.
175 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of a solar chimney coupled with a wind tower to induce natural ventilation has been studied analytically, and it is estimated that the effect is relatively much higher for lower wind speeds.
172 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed and provided a comprehensive literature on windcatcher system for space cooling and ventilation, and discussed the pros and cons of this green architectural feature have been highlighted and the future research need in this realm of study is proposed.
Abstract: Mechanical cooling systems in buildings are the main producers of carbon dioxide emissions, which have negative impacts on environment and amplify global warming, particularly in hot climate. Due to the lack of energy supply, windcatchers can be utilized as a sustainable attempt for cooling and ventilation purposes. The objective of this paper is to review and provide a comprehensive literature on windcatcher system for space cooling and ventilation. The concepts were discussed according to the relevant parameters of windcatcher, i.e. windcatcher attributes, windcatcher configurations and windcatcher technologies. The pros and cons of this green architectural feature have also been highlighted and the future research need in this realm of study is proposed.
156 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a numerical study of assessment of the performance of windcatcher using computational fluid dynamics is presented, where a 500mm square windcatchers system connected to the room has been modeled for different wind speeds in the range of 0.5-6m/s and four different wind directions.
126 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2020 | 15 |
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2018 | 5 |
| 2017 | 7 |
| 2016 | 5 |