The effect of atrium configurations on energy usage and natural ventilation in high-rise office buildings in Tehran climate

Abstract

Most buildings in Iran, including Tehran, have not yet met the requirements of climate design. In addition, they do not seem to have their traditional Iranian architecture. The present study aims to search for suitable forms with energy efficiency and maximum indoor air quality by providing natural ventilation in the warm seasons. For this purpose, the location and geometry of the atrium as two factors are considered simultaneously. The used tool to evaluate atriums is computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the energy usage simulation of the building in an integrated way. The results show that in both square and rectangular (in the east-west direction) plans, the greatest decrease in energy load is related to 1-side atriums. Although, in terms of reducing the lighting load and using more daylight, four-side atriums perform better. Based on the prevailing wind, air change per hour (ACH) was selected as an index for evaluating natural ventilation in ten atrium shapes with the best energy performance. Accordingly, this research can help designers choose the best building atrium form in high-rise office buildings in early-stage design.