RSW FN-01

PASSIVE COOLING SYSTEMS - NATURAL VENTILATION

AR 224 L&S | TROPICAL DESIGN
AR II-2B-F

Arch. Camille Laureen A. Reyes Largo, Krizsa Jiene

Lee, Krizzia Mae
Longay, Zedick
Niñalga. Brandon
I. Introduction
Passive cooling is the use of building design and materials to regulate
temperature during hot weather. Passive cooling reduces the difference
between outdoor and indoor temperatures, improves indoor air quality, and
makes the building a better and more comfortable place to live or work. It
can also reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts, such as
greenhouse gas emissions. Passive cooling can play when meeting cooling
demands instead of active mechanical air conditioning systems such as
reducing the strain on electric grids and the carbon emissions brought on by
using less electricity to run these mechanical air conditioners are the first two
goals.

II. Method
In this research paper, the qualitative research method was used.
Qualitative research methods involve collecting and analyzing non-numerical
data, such as interviews, observations, or textual materials, to uncover
patterns, themes, and insights that contribute to a deeper understanding of
the studied phenomenon. We searched the internet to gather the information
that we needed, exploring different websites to confirm the said information.

III. Results
Cooling with Ventilation
Natural ventilation is a passive cooling strategy that uses natural forces like
wind and buoyancy to move cool outdoor air throughout a space. If properly
implemented, it has the potential to significantly reduce a building's cooling energy
consumption. Furthermore, natural ventilation not only helps to reduce energy
consumption in a building, but its high flowrates result in higher levels of indoor air
quality than mechanically cooled buildings. Lower contaminant levels in a space have
been linked to higher occupant productivity.

According to De Burca (2023), “The principles behind passive cooling and natural
ventilation are based on the laws of thermodynamics. Heat naturally flows from
warmer to cooler areas, and air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low
pressure. By understanding these fundamental principles, designers can create
buildings that utilize natural airflow and heat transfer to achieve optimal thermal
comfort.”

Design Strategies
1. Orientation: The orientation of a building can have a significant impact on its
thermal performance. By designing a building with its long axis facing
north/south, it can maximize solar gains in winter and minimize them in summer.
2. Cross ventilation: Cross ventilation is a form of natural ventilation that allows
wind to enter one side of a room and out another. Ideally, cross ventilation uses
wind-driven force to bring cooler air from outside and replace the stale, warm
interior air. When wind impacts your house from the windward side (side
facing the prevailing wind direction), it creates positive pressure. Openings
on the leeward side (the side opposite the prevailing wind direction) are
usually in negative pressure since the wind is flowing away from it.

3. Roof space ventilation: Well-ventilated roof spaces contribute to passive cooling

by providing a buffer zone between internal and external spaces in the most
difficult area to shade: the roof. Ventilators such as whirlybirds can reduce the
temperature differential across ceiling insulation, increasing its effectiveness. The
use of foil insulation and light-colored roofing limits radiant heat flow into the
roof space. Always ensure that the ceiling is sealed against any draughts.

Well-ventilated roof spaces form a buffer between

internal and external areas
Examples
1. Startup Lions Campus
According to the Kéré Architecture architects: The startup lions Campus is an
information and communication technologies (ICT) campus, located on the banks
of Lake Turkana, Kenya. The building takes inspiration from the towering mounds
built by termite colonies in the region. Tall ventilation towers create a stack effect
to naturally cool the main working spaces by extracting warm air upwards, while
fresh air is introduced through specially designed low-level openings. This system
allows the campus to withstand high temperatures and is especially well suited as
it prevents dust from damaging the IT equipment. In addition to their functional
role, the towers create a landmark in the surroundings.

2. FarmED
FarmED is a sustainable farming education center in the Cotswolds, England,
designed by Timothy Tasker Architects. The center’s goal is to educate
communities on the importance of regenerative farming in combating the climate
emergency. As part of a thermal strategy, the southern roofs of the center’s
three buildings cantilever by two meters, keeping the summer sun at bay.
“Passive ventilation allows varying amounts of air to be drawn up through glazed
elevations to automated openable roof panels, negating the need for energy
intensive air-conditioning or mechanical ventilation,” says the architect.
Radiant Cooling
According to Messana Hydronic Technologies(2023) radiant cooling is an
energy-efficient cooling technology that, unlike traditional forced-air systems that
cool the air, employs chilled radiant surfaces like ceilings or floors to directly absorb
the heat radiated by objects and people within a space. It creates a comfortable,
even distribution of coolness, without the need for visible and noisy equipment.In
the context of HVAC systems, radiant cooling is primarily based on this mechanism
of thermal radiation. It’s important to note, however, that it is not about transferring
“cold.” Instead, it represents a form of negative heat transfer—essentially, it’s the
opposite of radiant heating. In essence, radiant cooling is unique in its approach.
Rather than battling warm air, as is common with traditional systems, it directly
tackles the heat sources within a space. This results in a more efficient and evenly
spread cooling experience.

How does Radiant Cooling work?

Radiant floor heating, a popular choice among homeowners, operates by
circulating warm water through pipes embedded in the floor. This warms up the
floor, which then radiates heat upwards, warming objects and people directly
without primarily heating the air.

On the flip side, radiant cooling builds upon this concept but in the opposite manner.
While it can be achieved using floors, it’s more commonly facilitated through radiant
panels embedded in the ceiling. Chilled water flows through these panels, cooling
the ceiling’s surface. This cooled surface then absorbs the infrared heat radiation
from objects and people in the room, providing a direct sensation of coolness.
Additional 30% convection in ceiling-based radiant cooling
One distinct advantage of ceiling-based radiant cooling is the added convection
component. The thin layer of air in direct contact with the cold ceiling surface gets
cooled and descends, then it’s replaced by warmer air from below. This continuous
downward flow of cooler air sets up a convective loop. This natural convection
process contributes to around 30% of the total cooling capacity. The remaining 70%
stems directly from radiation or the absorption of heat through thermal radiation. In
contrast, floor-based radiant cooling relies solely on radiation, with no convection
component

Design Strategies
Based on Hu, Y., Xia, X., & Wang, J. (2022) radiant cooling systems have
been recognized as the preferred technology due to their higher energy saving
potential and better indoor comfort than conventional convective systems.They have
proved to have broad application prospects. In terms of comfort, the radiant system
is better than the convective system in both thermal and acoustic comfort. The
reasons can be summarized as follows: the convective system has problems such as
draft sensation, noise, and large temperature gradient. In contrast to the convective
systems, the large radiant terminal area is conducive to providing uniform heat
transfer to the room and the human body. In addition, the air volume of the
dedicated outdoor air system for radiant cooling systems is generally smaller than
that for the convective system. The smaller air volume indicates slight noise and
low-speed airflow. The low-speed airflow helps improve occupant comfort by
avoiding large vertical temperature differences and draft sensation. Experimental
results show that the actual overall dissatisfaction and unacceptability rate is much
lower than the calculated predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) because the
radiant cooling system effectively reduces local discomfort.

The cooling system can be optimized to reduce energy consumption through the
following methods:
1. improving the energy efficiency of equipment;
2. reducing the demand of occupants for cooling;
3. using special/better insulation configuration;
4. taking advantage of free cold sources;
5. adopting the appropriate operation schemes.

For the radiant cooling system, the set room temperature of the radiant
cooling system under the same indoor comfort is usually higher than that of the
convective cooling system, which reduces the demand for cooling. In addition,
radiant cooling system uses high-temperature cold water to transmit cooling energy,
which improves the efficiency of cooling energy distribution and production and
facilitates the use of natural cold sources. The above characteristics also indicated
that radiant cooling systems have lower exergy consumption and higher second law
efficiency than the convective cooling system. However, several factors have
constrained the practical application of radiant cooling systems. Due to the
disadvantages of slow response, condensation risk, and low cooling capacity, radiant
cooling systems, especially in hot and humid climates with potential condensation
risk, is more challenging in simulation, control, and integration. When the radiant
cooling system operates intermittently, indoor comfort may not be guaranteed for a
long time after the air-conditioning mode is turned on. Moreover, the risk of
condensation in the initial operation of the radiant cooling system may increase due
to the continuous infiltration of outdoor hot and humid air into the room during the
shutdown period.

Principle of Radiant Cooling

Circulating water is more efficient than circulating air because of its physical
and thermal properties. Water can carry 3,400 times the energy that air can
carry for the same volume. This property of water is used to achieve a maximum
advantage in a radiant cooling system. Also, the natural way the human body
dissipates heat is mainly through radiation, as shown in the figure. These two
criteria are utilized in radiant cooling. Cold water flows through pipes embedded in
the slab and cools the entire slab resulting in the slab surface being maintained at
about 20 ℃. Cooling inside the space is achieved when the cold slab absorbs the
heat (radiation) generated by people, computers, lighting, and other equipment
which are exposed to the slab. Fresh air is supplied through an air system to
maintain a healthy indoor environment and to control the moisture inside the office
space. In other words, the sensible heat load can be addressed by the cooled slab,
and the latent heat load can be addressed by the Dedicated Outdoor Air System
(DOAS).

Examples
1. SDB- Building, Hyderabad
The building (Software Development Block-1, Pocharam campus, Hyderabad) has a
total built-up area of about 24000 sqm. distributed into east and west wings of
11600
sqm. each and a central wing of about 800 sqm. About 85% of the total building
area is air-conditioned office area and the total occupancy of the building is about
2500.

RESULTS
Energy
The design of the building and the building systems was such the building was
estimated to be about 40% more efficient than ASHRAE baseline building. The
building was equipped with energy meters for each of the equipments of the air-
conditioning system as well as the radiant cooling system so that individual
equipment level efficiencies could be compared accurately. Also, the building
features a state of the art Building Automation System to monitor and control the
operation of the building systems accurately. The distribution of energy shows that
the contribution of air handling system is very low in the radiant cooling system
compared to conventional air-conditioning system.The average chiller plant
efficiency observed was in the range of 0.6 kW/TR for conventional air-conditioning
system and 0.45 kW/TR for the radiant cooling system,
though these vary through different seasons.
Comfort
The radiant cooling system inherently provides a healthier indoor air quality as there
is no recirculation of air in the
system. Treated fresh air provided to the occupants for maintaining healthy
conditions as well as to remove moisture from the space. In principle, the radiant
cooling system reduces the Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT) of the space since the
slab is cooled. Therefore the perception of thermal comfort is expected to be higher
for a radiant cooling system.

Cost
One of the most important aspects while implementing any new technology is the
capital cost involved. Higher capital cost usually means higher risk and therefore
slow
adoption by the society. In the case of radiant cooling, it was a completely different
case where the capital cost of the system was slightly lower than the conventional
air conditioning system.

Evaporative Cooling
According to Seeley International (2023) Evaporative air conditioning uses
evaporation to help cool the air. Based on the principles of evaporation, hot and dry
outside air is drawn through water-soaked cooling pads. As the air is pushed through
these pads, the water evaporates and the heat in the air is absorbed, which lowers
the air temperature. A fan then pushes the cool air throughout the house via a
network of ducts.

The key to effective evaporative air conditioning is ensuring that each of the cooling
pads are completely saturated during operation and that the systems fan and motor
are sized and designed to deliver the appropriate airflow for the space. The
evaporative cooling air process works by evaporating liquid water into vapor using
heat from the air while the total energy in the air is maintained.

The heat used to evaporate water into water vapor is called latent heat (hidden heat
that cannot be detected with a thermometer) of evaporation. For example, it is the
heat from the hot pavement that evaporates the water after a summer rainstorm. As
the liquid water changes its state into vapor, it absorbs heat from its surroundings;
the energy it absorbs is contained in the molecular structure of the vapors.
Evaporative cooling is only possible because of this natural phenomenon of latent
heat. This results in the temperature and the sensible heat (that you can feel or
sense) of the air dropping. The moisture vapor that is added to the air increases the
humidity and the latent heat of the air. An evaporative air conditioner is a system
that cools air through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling is different from
traditional air conditioning systems, which use chemical vapor compression
refrigeration cycles.

Evaporative cooling and evaporative coolers describe this natural phenomenon,

however, many other terms are commonly used with the same meaning including
evaporative air conditioning, adiabatic cooling, ducted evaporative cooling, swamp
coolers and desert coolers.

Design strategies
Water evaporation absorbs a large amount of heat and this decreases the air
temperature while improving relative humidity which is a great opportunity in hot
and dry climate to make an indoor thermal comfort. This strategy is one of the
oldest passive cooling techniques that were used in Persian and Egyptian traditional
architecture. They have been used windcatchers to direct the air flows through the
subterranean water in a Qanat or indoor pools and conduct the cool humid air into
the building. Courtyard houses also benefit this strategy using plants and pools. Roof
ponds and water curtains are other passive techniques that cool the spaces by
evaporation according to Share Your Green Design (2023).

Over the years, traditional wisdom has supported the idea of a water body such as
pond, lake or a fountain to provide cooling effect to the surrounding environment.
This effect lowers the indoor air temperature – a widely known concept of
evaporative cooling. This phenomenon is largely witnessed in systems such as
desert coolers in most Indian households. Evaporative cooling lowers the indoor air
temperature thus lowers the energy cost for air-conditioning in buildings. Reduced
energy load contributes towards meeting the NZEB design goals. However,
evaporative cooling is mostly effective in hot and dry climate where the humidity is
low based on Evaporative Cooling- NZEB (2023).

Their classification of the evaporative cooling system. The evaporative cooler is in

general two types: direct evaporative cooling (DEC) and indirect evaporative cooling
(IEC). A semi-indirect evaporative cooler is the modification of indirect evaporative
cooler and a hybrid evaporative cooler is the combination of these two or/and
combination with other technologies. Direct Evaporative Cooler (DEC)In the direct
evaporative cooling, the process or conditioned air comes in direct contact with the
wetted surface and gets cooled and humidified. The unsaturated warm inlet
airenters in a pad that is sprayed with water and gets cooled and dehumidified due
to the simultaneous transfer of sensible and latent heats between air and water. The
heat is transferred by the air stream as sensible heat and is absorbed by the water
as latent heat. The temperature of the outlet air decreases due to the sensible heat
transferred by the air, but the enthalpy of the outlet air will be the same with the
enthalpy of inlet air as the effect of the latent heat recovered into the air as
moisture. The working process is realized at constant enthalpy as it can be observed
on the chart. Again DEC may be active or passive. In the active system, the fan or
blower is used for airflow and the pump is used for water flow. The most commonly
used evaporative cooling system in north India is the active DEC (also swamp cooler,
swamp box, desert cooler and wet air cooler) consisting of water, evaporative pads,
a fan and a pump. In the passive system, no external energy is needed (airflow is
natural). The use of wetted wick material or pad in window and pond around the
buildings are some examples of passive DEC. For buildings and areas that do not
have a central air conditioning system, direct air evaporative cooling can be a very
economical and achievable way to reduce the temperature. The main advantage of
DEC is represented by the very simple construction of the equipment. If not properly
designed direct type evaporative coolers may pose the following problems: The
cooled air may be excessively humid, may result in discomfort; The high rate of air
flow and a large number of air changes, which are necessary for effective cooling,
cause large variation in the air speed and the associated thermal sensation within
the cooled space. This results in a waste of energy, which has been used to cool the
discharged air.

Indirect evaporative cooler (IEC)In indirect evaporative cooling (IEC), the

indoor air is cooled without any moisture addition (i.e. moisture contentment will
remain constant; the temperature will decrease) and hence, the wet-bulb
temperature of air decreases. Therefore, the IEC is more effective for humid climate
and it is gaining popularity because it cools air more than DEC. IEC may be classified
as passive and active. Roof pond is one example of passive IEC. Roof ponds provide
cooling benefits through indirect evaporative cooling or radiant cooling. The roof acts
as a heat exchanging element which is cooled by evaporation on its surface, long-
wave radiation to the sky, or both. It then functions as a heat sink which absorbs
indoor heat and the heat penetrating into the building. Since the ceiling is thermally
coupled to the roof pond, the interior space is also cooled by radiation and
convection. Driving forces behind evaporation and radiation are respectively, the
difference between vapour pressure at water surface temperature and vapor
pressure of surrounding air and difference between water surface temperature and
effective sky temperature. Since the roof acts as a heat exchanging element, roof
pond cooling does not elevate the indoor moisture content of the air accoding to
Editor (2020).

Examples
According to Kharrufa, S. N., & Adil, Y. (2008)
“The weather in Baghdad, Iraq is hot dry in the summer while water is plentiful and
cheap. These are conditions which encourage the use of evaporative cooling. A
building with one space in it was used to test the effect of a roof pond which was
ventilated mechanically for summer cooling.”
Results with no pool
This is the benchmark case. The measurements were taken for the bare room
without the pool installed. The minimum outside temperature was 32 °C, the
maximum 44 °C. Minimum inside temperature was 39.5 °C and maximum was 43.5
°C. The most notable thing which the readings exposed was that the average inside
temperature of 41.8 °C was actually higher than the outside of 38.6 °C. This is
typical for non-cooled buildings in Baghdad in the summer. Longer daily sunshine
hours result in longer times for

Results with pool, no cover and no fan

With a pool installed the interior temperatures stabilized significantly. The minimum
temperature was 31 °C and the maximum 34.5 °C. The readings were taken on a
much cooler day. The maximum outside temperature was 41 °C and the minimum
26.5 °C. The water temperature dropped to a minimum of 19 °C and rose to a
maximum of 35 °C. The water temperature in the pool was between 19 and 34.5 °C.

Results with pool and fan

The results for the final test with a cover around the pond and a fan installed were
the main objective of this work. It was anticipated that a significant improvement
could be achieved. There was improvement but not to the anticipated extent.
The basic statistics showed that the minimum inside temperature was 34 °C and the
maximum 37 °C. This was at a time when the maximum outside temperature
reached 47 °C. The minimum was 28 °C. The water temperature peaked at 28.5 °C
and its minimum was.
Thermal analysis of results
The first notable observation from the pool results with and without a fan was that
the new added thermal mass stabilized the indoor temperature. Variations became
limited to 3.5° without a fan and 3° with one.
The comparison of the remaining thermal measurements of the three cases however
cannot be taken at face values with a direct comparison of inside temperatures. This
is because the outside temperatures are not the same between them. The correct
comparison would be to see how each

Cooling load
To define the effect of the pool on different room conditions, the resultant cooling
load necessary to drop the temperature inside the room to 26 °C was calculated.
These were done using a building thermal simulation program called Ecotect.
Version 5.2 was used. The conditions input into the program were as follows:
•the room dimensions and material as in the test room;
•the insulation when added was in the form of 5 cm cavity to the walls;
•no insulation was added to the roof when the pool was.

Conclusion
1. Without a pool average interior temperatures in a non-cooled exposed room in
Baghdad are actually higher than outside temperatures.
2. Adding a roof pond reduces the temperature especially during the day.
3. The pond also stabilizes interior temperatures. Rises and falls become less.
4. Adding a fan to increase evaporation and cooling lowered interior temperatures
further.
5. The fan reduced water temperatures in the pool by a much larger margin than the
interior suggesting that treating the remaining exterior

Earth Cooling
Earth cooling is a drop in temperature that occurs globally and causes
glaciers. Throughout Earth's history, there have been recurring periods of warmer
and colder climates, known as glaciations or ice ages. The end of the last glacial
period was roughly 10,000 years ago. During global temperatures had dropped
during the 1940s, experts thought that a period of global cooling would be coming in
the 1970s based on temperature data.

Because the earth acts as a vast heat sink, this technique can be utilized for both
passive cooling and heating of buildings.

PRINCIPLE: The temperature of the soil stays nearly constant year-round to depths
of more than 4 to 5 meters below the earth's surface when daily and seasonal
variations cease. Thus, the earth's constant temperature is employed to chill the air
that enters buildings. The Earth cools the air effectively by absorbing heat from the
atmosphere and acting as a heat sink.

Design Strategies
Air travels through pipes that are buried between four and five meters below the
surface of the earth.
•The air that travels through a few-meter-deep tunnel or buried pipe gets heated in
the winter and cooled in the summer.
• The earth's cooling effect causes the air in these pipes to enter houses. This air is
occasionally drawn out of the pipes using a fan.
• The exchange of heat between the air and the surrounding soil is influenced by
various parameters, including the surface area of the pipe, the length and depth of
the tunnel below ground, the earth's moisture, and the humidity of the incoming air
velocity.

Earth ducts are a technique of indirectly coupling a building to the earth.

• An earth duct is a subterranean tube through which supply air passes before
entering a structure.
•Conductive heat transfer between the soil and the concrete tubes cools the supply
air. As a result, unless the soil temperature is lower than the intended room air
temperature, earth ducts will not function effectively as a cooling source.
-Long tubes are usually needed for earth ducts in order to chill the supply air to the
proper temperature before it enters the structure. To bring the cool air from the
subterranean duct into the structure, a fan is needed.

Examples
Vertical Ground Loop System
•Mostly used in commercial structures or in small spaces.
•Two loops of pipe with a U-tube at the bottom are added after vertical holes dug
100 to 400 feet deep.
• Grout is subsequently used to seal the borehole and provide good soil contact.
•A benefit of the system is that the earth's temperature is more steady below the
surface.
• Parking lots and structures may have vertical ground loop fields beneath them.
• More than 50 years are expected to live.

Horizontal Ground Loop System

When the loop has enough room, or when the project is tiny, this kind of design
works well.
• Parallel plastic pipes are installed inside of trenches dug three to six feet deep.
• Loops can also be installed using these pipes.
• Depending on the mode of operation, the fluid/air is then circulated, either
rejecting or absorbing heat to the ground.
•Depending on the kind of soil and the pipe configuration, a horizontal loop's length
can vary from 400 to 600 feet for every ton of heating and cooling.
Lake/Pond Loop System
When a project is situated next to a body of water, this kind of design is cost-
effective. •Underwater, fluid circulates through polyethylene piping in a closed
system in a manner similar to that of ground loops.
•To accommodate more surfaces into a given amount of space, the pipes can be
coiled like a slinky. Depending on the load, the lake must meet minimum dimensions
for both depth and size.
• The aquatic system is not negatively impacted by lake loops.

Factors of Affecting Earth Duct:

The length, number of bends, thickness, depth, diameter, and air velocity of an
earth duct are some of the variables that impact its performance. Ten feet or more
down, the earth's temperature is marginally higher than the yearly average for air
temperature. The following methods can be used to further reduce this temperature:
•mulching to a depth of four inches or more with pea stone or wood chips; irrigating
as needed to supply moisture for evaporation. Vapor permeable mulch is a need.
•Providing shade for the earth's surface, one method of which is to elevate the
structure above the ground using posts.
Dehumidification with Desiccant
According to B (2023), Desiccant dehumidifiers use a desiccant substance instead of
a refrigerant and compressor to remove moisture from the air. Using a desiccant
wheel and a process called adsorption, plus a small internal heater, they function
more quietly and at much lower temperatures than refrigerant dehumidifiers, even
low-grain refrigerant (LGR) units.

In addition to this fact, desiccant dehumidifiers, also called desiccant dryers, operate
very efficiently with reduced power peaks, making them much more environmentally
friendly.

HOW IT WORKS:
–Desiccant dehumidifiers work using a process called adsorption.

–Adsorption works by attracting water molecules in damp air and holding them on
the surface of the adsorbent (desiccant) instead of absorbing them into it. If you
remember the game of Tetris, that’s a great illustration of adsorption, as blocks of
four are adsorbed onto the surface below.

You are probably familiar with some of these substances without realizing it.
Activated carbon is used in air filters to adsorb odors and gases. Freshness packets
found in medicine bottles are filled with silica gel to adsorb moisture that
accumulates in the bottle.

It’s this same silica gel that is used in desiccant dehumidifiers to adsorb moisture in
the air. Because silica gel is non-toxic and highly stable, it is effective at very low
temperatures.

WHERE AND WHEN TO USE?

–Desiccant dehumidifiers help prevent clogging and bulking, the development and
spread of microbials, corrosion, condensation, icing, mold, and more. They are ideal
for industries where production processes create humidity, or must function at low
temperatures or in a high dry-air environment. The following is by no means an
exhaustive list.
-Pharmaceutical Industry
-Printing & Paper Industry
-Ship-building, Boat & Marine Environments
-Commercial Food Production & Processing
-Indoor Growing – Harvest Drying & Curing
-Storage and Packing Facilities
-Unfinished Buildings & Construction Sites
-Electronics
-Museums, Preservation, & Archives
–Some additional characteristics of industrial desiccant dehumidifiers are that they’re
sturdy, lightweight, and more compact than most commercial refrigerant
dehumidifiers.

DESCRIPTION OF STRATEGY

According to ASHRAE (2018):

• Desiccant dehumidification
In this process, a desiccant is used to remove moisture from air. During this
process the moisture content of the air reduces and increases
temperature. The high temperature air then passes over a post-cooling coil to cool it
down to the required supply air temperature . This process, if optimized, can have a
lower cooling load compared to the base case.

Desiccant dehumidification systems have the capability to dry the air to any desired
humidity level, which is an advantage for certain applications. The limitation of this
system is the need for high grade heat (about 180°F) to regenerate the desiccant.
Thus, the best fit for this system is if the space needs to be maintained at a low
(<50%) relative humidity or if there is a source of waste heat
available to regenerate the desiccant.

Desiccant dehumidification applied:

Prince of Songkhla University

(Hat Yai, Thailand)
According to Taweekun and Akvanich (2013) the experimental setup consisted of
dehumidification and air-conditioning systems set up at the 2nd floor of the low-
energy house in Prince of Songkla University located in the Southern part of
Thailand, as shown in Figure 1. The experimental dehumidification system used the
desiccant dehumidifiers to remove water vapor from the ventilation air before
passing into the air-conditioning system. The desiccant wheel testing is illustrated in
Figure 2.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Two solid desiccant dehumidification system designs suitable for tropical humid
climate meant for the reduction of latent load of air-conditioning systems and
improvement of the thermal comfort were proposed and the performance was
analyzed through simulations and experimental studies. The simulations were
performed using the commercial software packages ANSYS and TRASYS. The
desiccant dehumidifier designs under investigation were the stationary desiccant
column and the rotary desiccant wheel. Amount of desiccant in the bed was 15 kg,
and the desiccant considered was silica-gel, with average diameter of 3 mm. The
main findings of the simulation study are: the pressure drop and the adsorption rate
of desiccant column are higher than those of the desiccant wheel; the most feasible
and practical adsorption rate of the desiccant wheel used in this experiment was
0.102 kgw/h at air flow rate 1.0 kg/min, regenerated air temperature 55˚C and at
2.5 rpm wheel speed; the effect of air flow rate and air temperature on DCOP were
more than that of the humidity ratio and wheel speed. The experimental studies with
a desiccant wheel humidifier coupled to a split type air conditioner confirmed the
accuracy of simulations. Use of desiccant cooling system reduced the humidity ratio
of conditioned space and the cooling load of the air conditioner by 14% and 19.26%
respectively. Consequently, the thermal comfort was improved from 0.5 PMV
(10.12% PPD) to 0.3 PMV (7.04% PPD).

IV. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Passive cooling is becoming more important as our climate

changes. Climate change will see our average temperatures increase, and extreme
events such as heatwaves occur more often. With careful design for passive cooling,
we can keep our homes comfortable and reduce energy costs. Passive cooling also
means using design choices to reduce heat gain and increase heat loss.

Using ventilation for a passive cooling system is an essential strategy for sustainable
architecture, contributing to improved thermal comfort, reduced energy consumption,
and a healthier indoor environment. Not only do these strategies reduce a building’s
carbon footprint, but they also provide numerous benefits for building occupants.

Meanwhile, radiant cooling system is easier to build since it requires fewer

equipment and the overall cost of the system is slightly lower than the conventional
air conditioning system. It occupies just one-third of the space compared to
conventional air-conditioning systems and its efficiency is about 33% better than a
highly efficient conventional air conditioning system. Radiant cooling system provides
better indoor air quality and thermal comfort.

On the other hand, based on the principles of evaporation, hot and dry outside air is
drawn through water-soaked cooling pads. As the air is pushed through these pads,
the water evaporates and the heat in the air is absorbed, which lowers the air
temperature.

Earth cooling system provides unmatched efficiency and operates more efficiently
than conventional heating and air conditioning systems.

Furthermore, Desiccant dehumidifiers produce much drier air than refrigerant

dehumidifiers, making them ideal for pulling moisture out of dense materials and
complex construction assemblies. Powerful drying in low RH conditions. Desiccants
remove moisture down to 0% RH
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