Passive House Research Articles

Beyond passive House: use of evolutionary algorithms in architectural design

As buildings are accountable for one-fifth of the total greenhouse gas emissions, improving their energy efficiency is foreseen as a pivotal opportunity towards climate neutrality, answering the UN call for climate action. Thus, this work intends to study to what extent the optimisation of the geometrical characteristics of building envelope can contribute to reducing their energy consumption under different climatic scenarios. The case studies have focused on three single-family houses located in different climatic zones in southern Brazil. Therefore, an evolutionary algorithm was employed in a two-step optimisation approach. First the window area and secondly the shading solutions dimensions, considering the Passive House (PH) concept requirements. The optimisation of the window areas and shading solutions dimensions together with the PH concept resulted in a reduction of energy demand between 76 and 91% and an increase in thermal comfort between 89 and 93%. Regarding window dimensions, all scenarios experienced a significant reduction of glazed areas, from 38.9 to 60.5%. As conclusion, an adequate design of shading elements and windows significantly contribute to improve indoor thermal comfort and to reduce the buildings’ energy demand, an utmost relevant factor to be considered in the early stages of project design pursuing high energy performance buildings.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING: OPPORTUNITIES AND PROSPECTS FOR APPLICATION

Objective. To analyze the problems of implementation of modern energy efficient systems in Ukraine. The advantages of modern technologies over outdated ones are presented. The results of the study should form the basis for the development of recommendations for improving energy efficiency in civil engineering. Problems. Today in Ukraine, solving the problem of energy saving in civil engineering remains a constant priority. Overcoming this obstacle largely determines Ukraine’s recovery from the economic crisis. According to estimates, energy consumption for heating budgetary institutions in Ukraine is 2 … 3 times higher than in the EU countries for the same needs. This is based on the obsolescence of Ukraine’s building stock from the time of intensive construction in the 1960s and 1980s. Analysis. Many countries are already successfully implementing new technologies, materials, and designs that help improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Examples include: a construction concept based on the idea of creating a building that does not require active heating and cooling – a «passive house», the use of SIP panels made from recycled materials, the use of double-glazed windows with «warm edge» technology, the creation of energy-efficient envelope structures such as the construction projects «The Edge», «ZEB Pilot House», «BedZed». Scientific novelty. Analysis of current problems of energy efficiency policy implementation in Ukraine in terms of various aspects, such as legal, economic, technical, social, etc. Cases of successful implementation of energy efficient measures and technologies in civil engineering in European countries are considered. Practical significance. The analysis of the real energy status of the country’s building stock is the basis for the development and support of energy efficiency policy. The considered cases of energy efficient technologies implementation can become an important source of information for Ukrainian construction specialists, which will significantly improve the energy efficiency of new buildings, reduce energy dependence on critical infrastructure, save money for civilians and improve the comfort of living conditions.

Perlite concrete: a review

The thermal resistance of concrete significantly influences the energy consumption of the building. Consequently, concrete with high thermal resistance can contribute to the envelope’s energy efficiency. In order to obtain the thermal conductivity performance required for the passive house standard using the principles of sustainable development, it is essential to analyze the thermal improvement solutions of the concrete with a low impact on the environment. For this reason, it is necessary to analyze methods of improving concrete’s thermal performance by replacing aggregates with ecological materials like perlite. Perlite is a common term used for a glassy natural volcanic rock used in construction in various mixtures for its fire resistance, low density, and thermal and acoustic improvement properties. While processing raw perlite (cutting, grinding, and fractionation to various sizes), large amounts of powder are collected and stored as waste. Currently, only limited amounts of waste perlite powder are recycled in the construction industry, which urges the efficient use of this waste to limit the impact on the environment. There are various studies about concrete mixtures with perlite from the point of view of structural strength. However, the results are contradictory, influenced by the size of used particles and the replacement levels in the mixture. This article aims to present the current state of knowledge regarding the characteristics of the mixture between concrete and perlite.

Comparative Study of Mediterranean Courtyard Houses and the Bioclimate Impact on Their Design from Four Axes: Historical, Environmental, Social and Geometry

As a result of the many efforts made in recent decades to implement bioclimatic criteria and passive house models in Mediterranean areas, traditional architectural typologies can play a role in the contemporary environmental architectural framework. The interactive and adaptive relationship between climate, site, and building is a fundamental rule in the climate-responsive approach to reducing environmental impacts. Lately, this idea has been extended to include protecting the cultural identities of places. Many cases in the Mediterranean Basin show that conventional courtyard houses can provide high adaptability, sustainability, and functionality. Mediterranean courtyard houses are founded on a set of adaptable and sustainable standards derived from a combination of active and passive design approaches. This paper presents a comparative study of courtyard houses in five Mediterranean countries: Spain, Türkiye, Greece, Libya, and Palestine, addressing four areas of interest: history, environment, society and geometry. Considering the bioclimatic approach as a critical component in reorienting the construction process, the study’s goal is to compare and evaluate the inner courtyards of these Mediterranean countries, analysing the most important constant factors and modification paths. The study concludes that the courtyard morphology is a shared human legacy with a past and future as it meets its inhabitants’ physical and sociocultural requirements. Furthermore, despite the differences in some aspects, courtyard houses were constructed throughout the Mediterranean with a common meaning of heaven on earth; this could imply that the courtyard garden is the world’s meaning.

Passive house: a practice of low carbon and sustainable development in china

The construction field plays an essential role in addressing global environmental issues regarding contaminants, natural resources, and energy efficiency. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the building industry produce a huge amount of global carbon emission with a percentage of 38 and this figure is growing each year. Previous studies have analyzed many factors that have a significant influence on the sustainable performance of building. Passive house is a promising type of construction project with superior energy efficiency and less emissions. The main objective of this study is to analyze the environmental sustainability of passive house compared with conventional buildings and present the development of passive house in China. This paper analyzes the characteristics of passive house in different regions according to the climate zoning of China. Results show that the passive house, as a sustainable building, has a promising trend. The outcome also indicates that China needs more mature technology and professional personnel to further promote the development of passive house.

Indoor air quality in Hungarian Passive Houses

The indoor air quality (IAQ) was investigated in 15 Passive Houses in the heating and non-heating seasons between 2019 and 2021 in Hungary. The concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, PM2.5 mass, carbon dioxide, bacteria, fungi, and pollen were measured together with the monitoring of temperature, relative humidity and air change rate (ACR). The IAQ varied considerably among the investigated buildings. Significant seasonal differences were obtained for all physical parameters (temperature, relative humidity, ACR), certain VOCs (benzene, α-pinene, limonene), acetaldehyde, and airborne fungi. Considerable health concern was associated with the indoor concentrations of PM2.5 mass and nitrogen dioxide in many cases based on the evaluation of IAQ in relation to potential adverse health effects, while the peak concentrations of other pollutants (e.g. trichloroethylene, α-pinene, certain aldehydes, fungi) were also of concern in a couple of cases. The median indoor/outdoor concentration ratios of benzene, PM2.5 mass, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and fungi indicated that these pollutants are mainly of outdoor origin, while the other VOCs, aldehydes and bacteria showed higher concentration indoors. Overheating, the lack of proper particle filters in the mechanical ventilation system, and low ACR and relative humidity were identified as frequent problems related to the building characteristics. The emissions from building materials and furniture, the proximity of construction works and unpaved roads, and the allergenic vegetation might considerably influence IAQ. The results highlight that risk reduction measures are needed to create healthier indoor environment in the Passive Houses.

Thermal Performance Optimization Simulation Study of a Passive Solar House with a Light Steel Structure and Phase Change Walls

Phase change materials are used in passive solar house construction with light steel structure walls, which can overcome the problems of weak heat storage capacity and poor utilization of solar heat and effectively solve the thermal defects of light steel structure walls. Based on this, on the basis of preliminary experimental research, this study further carried out theoretical analysis and simulation research on the thermal performance of a light steel structure passive solar house (Trombe form) with PCM walls. Through the heat balance analysis of heat transfer in the heat collecting partition wall, the theoretical calculation formula of the phase change temperature of the PCM was obtained, and it verified theoretically that the phase change temperature value should be 1–3 °C higher than the target indoor air temperature. The evaluation index “accumulated daily indoor temperature offset value” was proposed for evaluating the effect of phase change materials on the indoor temperature of the passive solar house, and “EnergyPlus” software was used to study the influence of the phase change temperature, the amount of material, and the thickness of the insulation layer on the indoor air temperature in a natural day. The results showed that there was a coupling relationship among the performance and between of the thickness of the PCM layer and the phase change temperature. Under typical diurnal climate conditions in the northern Tibetan Plateau of China, the optimal combination of the phase change temperature and the layer thickness was 17 °C and 15 mm, respectively. Especially at a certain temperature, excessive increases in the thickness of the phase transition layer could not improve the indoor thermal environment. For this transition temperature, there exists an optimal transition layer thickness. For a Trombe solar house, the thickness of the insulation layer has an independent impact on indoor temperature compared to other factors, which has an economic value, such as 50 mm in this case. In general, this paper studied the relationship between several important parameters of the phase change wall of a solar house by using numerical simulation methods and quantitatively calculated the optimal parameters under typical meteorological conditions, thus providing a feasible simulation design method for similar engineering applications.

Optimizing overheating, lighting, and heating energy performances in Canadian school for climate change adaptation: Sensitivity analysis and multi-objective optimization methodology

This paper aims to develop long-term adaptation strategies for the existing Canadian school buildings under extreme current and future climates using a developed methodology based on global and local sensitivity analysis and Multi-Objective Optimization Genetic Algorithm. The calibrated simulation model based on indoor and outdoor measured temperature for a school of interest is used to evaluate the optimization strategies. This paper aims to search for the optimum school building design under three simultaneous conflicting objective functions: (1) the minimization of overheating hours to less than 40 h as required by Building Bulletin BB101 building code by using passive mitigation measures, (2) the minimization of heating energy use to less than 15 kW/m2 according to passive house requirements and thus the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and (3) the minimization of artificial lighting energy use to less than the current lighting energy use by maximization of daylighting usage without exceeding acceptable glare index in classrooms. Ten building design variables are selected, which could generate approximately 300,000 solutions. The developed methodology reduced the numbers to 14,400 solutions and found seven Pareto solutions that comply with the three objectives and their constraints. High energy-efficient building envelope, appropriate window-wall ratio and window type, natural ventilation during the day, and night cooling can play a key role in achieving the objectives under current weather conditions. An additional cool roof and external overhang will be needed in the medium-term future climate, and an additional movable screen shading will be needed in the long-term future climate.

Comparative Analysis Optimal Designs for Passive, Electrified, and Net Zero Energy Residential Buildings

Abstract In this paper, a life cycle cost-based optimization analysis is carried out to compare the energy and cost performance of diverse sustainable designs of a residential building. These designs include code optimal, net zero energy building, and passive house. It is found that in the case where natural gas is employed, a total energy savings of 77% is optimal. The cost optimal design for electrification achieves 100.12% of energy savings relative to the baseline design but results slightly high life cycle cost than that of the gas cost optimal design. In addition, the results indicate that due to the additional capital costs for the required energy efficient measures, the passive house case is less economically optimal than NZEB design options. Overall, the most cost-optimal designs are found to be for natural gas heated homes with marginally better energy performance than the applicable currently energy efficiency code with 10 kW solar panels.

The urgent task of mass construction of «passive houses» in Ukraine

An analysis of energy consumption per m2 of housing showed that in the EU countries the average value of energy for heating is about 95 kWh/(m2) per year, while in Ukraine this value is about 200-250 kWh/(m2) per year. The main mechanisms for reducing energy costs for heating residential premises in the EU countries are shown and the dynamics of this decrease to the level of 15 kWh/(m2) per year is disclosed. The role of the «passive house» strategic building standard (nZEB) as a pioneer in reducing residential energy consumption is shown. Data on the number of "passive houses" built around the world, and data on single houses of this type in Ukraine are given. The urgent task need for the use of the "passive house" standard in Ukraine to reduce the consumption of thermal energy for heating housing, as well as harmful emissions into the atmosphere, has been identified. The topic of availability in our country of local constructive and heat-insulating building materials, technologies and engineering systems was discussed. The basic principles of creating a "passive house", its main digital technical characteristics are listed and it is shown that they are suitable for the climatic conditions of Ukraine. Recommendations are given on the use of structural and thermal insulation materials, special windows, air tightness, mechanical ventilation with exhaust air heat recovery and design of buildings without cold bridges. It has been determined that a "passive house" with simple engineering heating (cooling) systems is more sustainability and anti-crisis. The main methods for calculating a "passive house" are analyzed, the need to involve additional 3D modeling programs is determined to obtain more accurate numerical characteristics of the building and the choice of engineering systems. It is emphasized that the creation in Ukraine of entire eco-settlements from such houses will affect the general increase in the awareness of our society, broad awareness of new technologies and, as a result, the breakdown of the inertia of the entire system and the introduction of new, innovative building codes, which will entail the mass construction of "passive houses”, significant savings in energy resources throughout the country, reducing harmful emissions and improving the quality of life of people.

Operational performance evaluation of a Passive house residential building in northern China based on long-term monitoring in winter

Passive houses, called nearly zero energy buildings in China, are developing rapidly. These constructions in China are mainly located in cold climate zones. Due to highly efficient energy-saving technology, Passive houses can decrease space heating demand (SHD) by 70%–90% compared to local conventional buildings. However, this energy-saving rate is still a theoretical result and needs to be verified by real data. There is a lack of studies evaluating the performance of residential Passive houses through monitored data in China. This article selects a newly built multi-storey residential Passive house building in Qingdao to accurately quantify its energy performance. Through energy consumption monitoring throughout winter, the average SHD of this building at an occupancy rate of 47% was found to be 28 kWh/(m2·a) and the primary energy consumption was 96.7 kWh/(m2·a), while maintaining a high level of indoor comfort. Compared with local conventional Green Buildings, the SHD of the case building was reduced by 86.3% and the total energy consumption was reduced by 69.2%. The results demonstrate that Passive houses have a great energy-saving potential and provide evidence supporting the use of Passive houses as an option for sustainable building in northern China.

Life Cycle Assessment of building energy systems on neighbourhood level based on semantic 3D city models

This study presents a method which allows conducting an energy and emission related Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and cost-related Life Cycle Cost Assessment (LCC) of large residential building stocks focusing on selected heating system components. Using this method the status quo as well as two refurbishment scenarios for an entire neighbourhood with 196 residential buildings in Munich, Germany, is assessed. Within the status quo and the refurbishment scenarios, among other things, the use of different energy systems and energy standards of the building envelope are investigated. CityGML semantic 3D city models serve as a source of building-specific information for these assessments. The results show that even if all residential buildings are refurbished to passive house standard and powered by renewable energies by 2035, life cycle-based energy demands and emissions will still be present, that counteract the goal of achieving climate neutrality. In addition, the life cycle-based costs exceed the savings achieved by the refurbishment. The developed method is implemented in Java which provides on the one hand a new approach to assessing building stocks on a life cycle basis and on the other hand its transferability. This results in innovative evaluation and assessment possibilities for political and municipal decision-makers.

Evaluating the energy-saving potential of earth-air heat exchanger (EAHX) for Passivhaus standard buildings in different climates in China

The significance of constructing low-carbon buildings has been on the rise because of the growing public concern about global warming and energy prices. The Passive House (or Passivhaus) standard is widely applied throughout Europe to reduce building energy consumption. However, a large percentage of the world’s population lives in regions with not only heating demand in winter but also high cooling and dehumidification energy consumption in the hot and humid summer, such as in several regions in China. The energy consumption of buildings in these regions could not be reduced by designing or retrofitting the buildings to Passivhaus standard only, but applying appropriate low energy cooling and dehumidification technologies are also necessary. The earth-air heat exchanger (EAHX) system is a suitable solution for utilizing low-temperature soil in summer, but the performance of the EAHX system in different climates was not previously evaluated. Thus, this research aims to evaluate the energy-saving potential of the EAHX system in a multi-storey Passivhaus standard building in different cities in China with different climatic conditions. A model of the Passivhaus building with the EAHX system was developed and verified using the Passive House Institute (PHI) prediction tool, PHPP and the commercial building energy simulation tool, IES Virtual Environment (VE). The results have shown that the EAHX system achieved an annual building energy load saving of up to 12.8 kWh/m2 in regions with hot and humid summers and cold winters, such as Beijing and Shanghai. The present study shows the potential of the addition of the EAHX in enhancing the building performance to satisfy the Passivhaus standard in hot and humid climates.

How does future climatic uncertainty affect multi-objective building energy retrofit decisions? Evidence from residential buildings in subtropical Hong Kong

Energy consumption of and carbon emissions from buildings, which substantially depend on outdoor climate conditions, may be susceptible to future climate change. However, how future climatic uncertainties affect decision-making regarding building energy retrofits is unclear from the life-cycle analysis perspective. This study used typical high-rise public rental housing buildings in subtropical Hong Kong as a case study to consider future climatic uncertainties under representative concentration pathway scenarios and in different general circulation models to estimate their effect on multi-objective building retrofit decisions considering trade-offs among different objectives, namely, life-cycle economics, life-cycle carbon emissions, and operational energy use impacts. The results indicate the significant influence of future climatic uncertainties on the optimal values of building energy retrofit measures. The passive house infiltration standard and thick (0.06–0.1 m) polyurethane foam insulation can be recommended for long-term future climatic conditions (RCP8.5–2065s). By contrast, optimal values of glazing materials, horizontal shading projection factors, and window-to-wall ratio are not susceptible to future climatic uncertainties. Uncertainties from different general circulation models are another notable factor affecting optimal values and retrofit options. This study reveals the importance of considering future climatic uncertainties when deciding optimal values and selecting building energy retrofit options.

Cost Effectiveness of the Zero-Net Energy Passive House

Abstract The authors main idea is to build energy plus buildings by means of architectural processes to design passive houses according to the Darmstadt Standard with additional equipment powered by renewable energy. The article presents a comparative financial analysis of passive house buildings with an additional source of power to charge electric cars in Poland and the United States. The analysis is based on market data while also taking into consideration inflation and increases in energy costs. The methodology is based on the calculations required by USA banks for obtaining credit. The emphasis is also on the distinction between commonly used term passive house and the term passive house in accordance with the Darmstadt Standard. The authors are introducing a new terminology to define buildings wrongly named as “passive”. Now Authors will name them Pseudo-Passive Buildings. The research shows that it is profitable to construct nearly zero-energy buildings with photovoltaic installation and the discounted rate on return of investment does not exceed the mortgage length.

The 4th Industrial Revolution Brings a Change in the Design Paradigm for New and Retrofitted Buildings

The Fourth Industrial Revolution forms a smart grid with diverse sources of energy through the interconnectivity of data. Buildings that were previously the biggest users of energy are now becoming energy producers. Yet, buildings are also continually changing. The ecological definition of buildings, in addition to the building itself, includes solar panels and geothermal energy storage. The need for decarbonization and energy-efficiency brought about the implementation of heat pumps in buildings. The most economic type of heat pump is a water-sourced heat pump with hot and cold tanks or a connection to the District Energy System. Monitoring using building automatics allows HVAC optimization in the occupancy stage. Until the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the EU and the US differed in their air handling methodology, but the pandemic showed the limitations of both approaches and led to the creation of a new, integrated approach. These new ventilation systems, based on filtration instead of dilution, come together with decarbonization and the demand for new and retrofitted buildings to be smart, have zero emissions and excellent indoor environments, and be affordable. To fulfill these conditions, design teams must extrapolate experience with passive houses and introduce expertise in building automatic controls (BAC). The authors analyze the heating cooling and ventilation aspects of dwellings in a technology called Ecological Thermo-Active (ETA) technology that can also be applied to the interior retrofitting of buildings, including those with historic facades. The building “with classic form and ultramodern function” is an example of this changing design paradigm.

Αn integrated life cycle assessment and life cycle costing approach towards sustainable building renovation via a dynamic online tool

Building stock retrofitting is essential to achieve the ambitious sustainability goals of the building sector due to its high energy consumption rates. The evaluation of the various building interventions shall be holistically assessed in terms of environmental and costing impact. The aim of this paper is twofold: First, it presents the innovative characteristics of a developed online tool (Virtual intEgrated platfoRm on LIfe cycle AnalYsis - VERIFY) able to perform dynamic life cycle analysis and global warming impact assessments by capitalizing on the well-known LCA and LCC methodologies, applicable in the case of building renovation. VERIFY is able to analyse dynamic life cycle inventories that consider the temporal profiles of energy consumption, and the time-dependent temperature changes, while being also interoperable in terms of exchanging data with other available energy simulation engines, or even using real-time monitoring data from sensors, processing any data time granulation. Second, the paper evaluates, from a life cycle perspective, the impact of specific energy retrofitting measures, meeting the Passive House Standard, for the case of a multi-family residential building in Athens, Greece. The proposed energy-retrofitting scenario examines actions related to the deep retrofitting of the building envelope and the upgrade of the thermal components as well as to the incorporation of clean electricity generation based on renewable energy systems; all aiming to drastically reduce the environmental impact of the building, rendering it almost near zero energy. Through the planned infrastructure installations, the primary energy needs and CO2eq emissions were reduced by 91 % and by 95 % respectively, while for a building operational lifespan of 25 years, savings up to 515 k€ compared to the baseline scenario, can be achieved.

Reducing CO2 in Passivhaus-Adapted Affordable Tropical Homes

On average, houses including those in the tropics are responsible for almost 39% of the global carbon emission caused by non-renewables, first and foremost by fuel. Looking at the worldwide map of residential buildings’ contribution compared with commercial, the worldwide national maximum of 33.5% CO2 of housing is caused by residential buildings in Uzbekistan. In an overwhelming number of most countries, their values are significantly lower, due to comparably lower energy demand than commercial buildings and because affordable homes increasingly use small PV to cater for their own basic needs. However, with the rising temperature and a likewise growing imperative to cool homes from about 30 °C onwards basically by split-unit air conditioners, the residential houses’ portion of CO2-emission might dramatically increase to survive such more common hot periods in the future. In combination with air conditioners needing some airtightness, the first purpose of this entry is to show that bv 2050 in tropical regions, there will be no alternative to relatively airtight houses if the temperatures rise at the present speed. This is one alternative to an uncontrollable and life-threatening migration of millions of people to cooler but still livable regions in 2050. To trigger necessary changes toward homes that can better avert the heat, using the method of qualitative comparative content analysis, passive houses (PH) have emerged as adaptations to the tropical climate. Therefore, the second purpose of this in-depth study with the perspective of social science, is to reveal a comparative closer qualitative look at the tropicalized PH-approach. It is probably the most civilized building energy-saving strategy on the planet and can systematically keep the threatening increasing heat outside. However, before utilizing the concept, herein need to investigate why PH-technology as a whole concept with all its modules discussed earlier has been very slow to “go South” into the tropical region (the original PH will be referred to as “PH1”). The reason is that some qualitative differences of the more affordable and more simplistic tropicalized “PH2” make it easier and more realistic to penetrate the market, without letting go meaningful R&D-insights of PH1. As a probably facilitating future solution, the result is the triple-tabled option to utilise more synergies between the usually closed PH1 and the more open and flexibly naturally ventilated PH2. Unlike the PH-platform, ZEMCH is a related concept which tries to cater specifically to the significantly growing market for lower-income homes to go for carbonless energy. The conclusion is that scaling for residential buildings as mass products using passive house technology in combination with ZEMCH could turn out to become an important topic. It comprises the question in how far low or no carbon affordable homes based on the PH-concept in combination with ZEMCH-applications also may come into play as standard and to help mother Earth’s struggle for survival.

Energy Consumption of Apartment Conversion into Passive Houses in Hot-Summer and Cold-Winter Regions of China

Passive houses have strong thermal insulation and airtightness of doors and windows, and they are generally used in cold climates. This case study aims to evaluate the energy-saving potential of this technology in the hot-summer and cold-winter areas (Cf in Köppen climate classification) of China. The results show that after enhancing the thermal insulation and airtightness, the energy consumption in winter significantly decreased by 62% overall. However, the energy consumption of cooling in the transition season and summer increased, which is caused by overheating. Hybrid ventilative cooling and shading can solve this problem. In particular, when the indoor temperature range is set to the adaptive thermal comfort of natural ventilation, the energy consumption from air conditioner cooling can be greatly reduced by 81% overall. Passive houses combined with ventilative cooling has significant application value in this climate zone.

Experimental study on augmentation of mixing within a stratified indoor environment by erosion of density interface

The current study aims to address the problem associated with warm air heating in passive houses. Warm air eating is cheaper and easy to operate in passive houses, however, this creates problems of shortcut ventilation and thermal discomfort due to stratification as warm air is confined to the ceiling. In the current study, we explore a new method of creating resonance between stratification frequency and the periodic variation of the ventilation supply frequency to increase mixing of the supplied warm air and the room air consequently destratifying the room conditions. A basic water model study is used to understand the interaction between the frequency variations and the resulting standing waves with stratification characteristics in a room. Measurements at three different input frequencies and at three input paddle locations have been performed, gathering vertical temperature gradients and visualization data from them. The results show the shift in the inversion point because of an increase augmentation across the inversion between the fluids with different densities close to resonance. There is also a dependency on paddle location showing that the type of ventilation system will have different mixing rates due to different fluid energetic behaviours.