Abstract
Natural ventilation is an energy-efficient way to provide fresh air and enhance indoor comfort levels. The wind-driven natural ventilation in courtyards has been investigated by many researchers, particularly the influence of the spatial configuration and environmental parameters on the ventilation and thermal comfort performance. However, previous research has mainly focused on the courtyard region instead of the indoor spaces surrounding it. Additionally, as a microclimate regulator, courtyards are rarely assessed in terms of the impact of vegetation, including its impact on energy consumption and thermal comfort. Evapotranspiration from vegetation can help lower air temperature in the surrounding environment and, therefore, its influence on the ventilation and thermal comfort in buildings with courtyards should be evaluated. The present study investigates the impact of vegetation on the aero-thermal comfort conditions in a courtyard and surrounding buildings in hot climates. Computational fluid dynamics was employed to evaluate the aero-thermal comfort conditions of the courtyard and surrounding buildings with different configurations of vegetation. The modeling was validated using previous works’ experimental data, and good agreement was observed. Thermal comfort indices were used to assess thermal performance. The study also evaluated the cover, height and planting area of vegetation in the courtyard. The results of this study can help develop tools that can assist the addition of vegetation in courtyards to maximize their effects. Future works will focus on looking at the influence of the strategies on different designs and layouts of courtyards.
Highlights
Introduction and Literature ReviewThe building sector consumes a great amount of energy and resources
Based on the evaluated conditions, the results have shown that the addition of vegetation in the courtyard significantly influenced the wind and thermal environment of the indoor courtyard building
For the wind environment inside the courtyard building, the comparison of the results of the three different cases indicated that the wind speed inside each room was significantly low due to the low wind speeds in the courtyard and small window openings that affected the natural ventilation into the rooms
Summary
Introduction and Literature ReviewThe building sector consumes a great amount of energy and resources. Of the world’s energy demand comes from buildings and is still increasing [1]. A passive cooling strategy can play an important role in enhancing energy efficiency, reducing indoor overheating and improving thermal comfort [2]. The integration of such strategies in building design has been gaining popularity among architects [3]. Appropriate selection and integration of passive cooling technology are critical in reducing energy consumption in buildings. As the awareness of the cost and environmental impact of energy use increases, passive cooling technologies such as natural ventilation have become increasingly attractive methods compared with the more common mechanical ventilation methods [4,5]
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