Natural Ventilation –

capabilities and limitations

(comfort and energy efficiency
in domestic dwellings)

ATA Melbourne Branch presentation

April 2008
Jim Lambert
 Ventilation - a few scenarios
Summer:
• Cooling sensation from airflow
• Structural cooling on summer nights
General (Winter or summer):
• How much ventilation does a “healthy” house
need?
• How does ventilation affect heating and
cooling?
• How does ventilation affect the energy
needed for heating and cooling?
• How do we achieve comfort and energy
efficiency together?
Cooling sensation from airflow
• In a mild summer, natural ventilation can
reduce the apparent temperature
(e.g.up to 80C at an airflow of 2 m/s or so)
10
Cooling sensation deg. C

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Airflow (m/s)

Source: Natural Ventilation in Buildings, Tony Rofail, NEERG seminar,

31 Aug 2006, Windtech Consultants
 Cooling sensation from airflow
Question: If you have natural ventilation and no
mechanical cooling, what is the hottest summer
temperature that allows indoor comfort?
• People feel comfortable in still air at about 20 0C to
230C
• Therefore it should be possible to have indoor
comfort up to an air temperature of maybe 300C if
you can get an indoor airflow of 2 m/s
• The reference below has some interesting
guidelines for achieving good natural ventilation
Source: Natural Ventilation in Buildings, Tony Rofail, NEERG seminar,
31 Aug 2006, Windtech Consultants
 Some guidelines for good airflow
cooling
• Maximize air velocities in occupied rooms
• Two openings on opposite sides increase airflow.
Locate windows on opposite sides of the house.
• An inlet window smaller than the outlet creates
higher inlet velocity (e.g. 50% smaller)
• Horizontal window openings are more effective
than square or vertical openings
• Vertical air shafts or open staircases or roof
ventilation can take advantage of “stack effects”
to increase airflow
Source: Natural Ventilation in Buildings, Tony Rofail, NEERG seminar,
31 Aug 2006, Windtech Consultants
 Structural cooling on summer
nights
• The same kind of ventilation that gives a cooling
effect in daytime also helps to cool the structure
on summer nights
Issues:
• Thermal storage (e.g. concrete floors, masonry
walls) can use this structural cooling to keep
indoor temperature cooler during the next day .
• Windows need to offer security while allowing
ventilation airflow
 Summer Example

30
Temperature (deg C)

20

10 Outside
temperature

6am 12noon 6pm midnight 6am

day night
time
 Summer Example

30
Temperature (deg C)

20
Inside
temperature

10 Outside
temperature

6am 12noon 6pm midnight 6am

day night
time
 Summer Example
Comfort
range with
moving air
30
Temperature (deg C)

20
Inside
temperature
Normal
10 Outside comfort
temperature range

6am 12noon 6pm midnight 6am

day night
time
 Summer Example
Comfort
Open all range with
windows moving air
30
Temperature (deg C)

20
Inside
temperature
Normal
10 Outside comfort
temperature range

6am 12noon 6pm midnight 6am

day night
time
 Summer Example
Close all
Comfort
Open all windows
range with
windows moving air
30
Temperature (deg C)

20
Inside
temperature
Normal
10 Outside comfort
temperature range

6am 12noon 6pm midnight 6am

day night
time
 Summer Example
Close all Start Comfort
Open all windows internal range with
windows fan moving air
30
Temperature (deg C)

20
Inside
temperature
Normal
10 Outside comfort
temperature range

6am 12noon 6pm midnight 6am

day night
time
 Summer Example
Close all Start Open all
Comfort
Open all windows internal windows
range with
windows fan moving air
30
Temperature (deg C)

20
Inside
temperature
Normal
10 Outside comfort
temperature range

6am 12noon 6pm midnight 6am

day night
time
 Summer Example
Close all Start Open all
Comfort
Open all windows internal windows
range with
windows fan Gentle forced moving air
30 ventilation
Temperature (deg C)

overnight

20
Inside
temperature
Normal
10 Outside comfort
temperature range

6am 12noon 6pm midnight 6am

day night
time
 Comments on Summer Example
Good features:
• “Natural approach” with minimum energy
consumption
• Comfort level is fairly reasonable
Limitations:
• Poor safety margin for warmer days
• Must pay attention to outside temperature
• Needs lots of “hands-on” actions
• Limited parts of the house are comfortable
 How much ventilation does a
“healthy house” need?
We need ventilation in these areas:
• Humid or smelly places (bathrooms,
kitchens)
• Where there are people living and
breathing (family room, bedrooms, etc.)
How much ventilation do we need?
• This question does not seem to have a
simple answer
 How much ventilation does a
“healthy house” need? (continued)
There are Australian Standards about
minimum ventilation
• e.g. Australian Standard AS1668.2 1991 The use of
ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings Part 2 –
mechanical ventilation for acceptable indoor air
quality (superseded)
• e.g. Australian Standard AS1668.2 2002 The use of
ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings Part 2 –
mechanical ventilation for acceptable indoor air
quality (plus 2 amendments and 1 supplement)
 How much ventilation does a
“healthy house” need? (continued)
• BUT people say that (for comfort) you
really need MORE ventilation than the
statutory minimum
 How does (natural) ventilation
affect home heating and cooling?
Summer (hotter outside than inside)
• Good effects:
– Movement of air around people (helps with
cooling effect – already covered)
– Venting of roof space (removes heating effect
of hot air above ceiling)
• Bad effects:
– When external air is too hot for airflow cooling,
fresh air flow for health requires energy for
cooling
 How does (natural) ventilation
affect home heating and cooling?
(continued)
Winter (colder outside than inside)
• Good effects:
– None (although you do need ventilation for health)
• Bad effects:
– When external air is cold, fresh air flow for
health requires energy for heating
– If roof space is ventilated, then potentially
useful heat may escape to the atmosphere
How does ventilation affect the energy
needed for heating and cooling?
• Ventilation replaces inside air with outside air
• In winter, you need to heat the new air
• In summer you need to cool the new air
(if outside air temperature is more than say 30oC)
• How much energy does this take?
Effect of ventilation on energy for heating
or cooling
Sample calculation
• Assumptions:
• Size of ventilated space: 250m3
(floor area 100m2, ceiling height 2.5m)
• Temperature difference 10oC inside
versus outside
• Rate of ventilation
case 1 (low flow) case 2 (high flow)
0.1 ACH 3.0
ACH (ACH [Air Exchanges per Hour])
• Heat capacity of air 3.4*10-4 kWHr/m3 oC
Effect of ventilation on energy for heating
or cooling
Sample calculation
Heat/Cool power required (10oC difference):
• Case 1: (0.1 ACH)
Power required to maintain indoor temperature

85W (like 1 conventional light globe)

• Case 2: (3.0 ACH)
Power required to maintain indoor temperature
2.55 kW (like 1 hefty radiator)
How do we achieve comfort with
energy efficiency?
The problem:
• Comfort/health needs ventilation
• Ventilation introduces outside air
• Outside air is often at the “wrong”
temperature
• Heating or cooling the air needs energy
How do we achieve comfort with
energy efficiency?
A solution –
HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation)
(will be covered in Bernard Desormeaux talk)
 Other Ideas
(from Danish experiment - see ref below)
• In cold weather, draw incoming air from under PV
panel to get solar pre-heating of the air
• In hot weather, vent the roof space to atmosphere,
draw external air over the ceiling to minimise heat
load
Guidelines used in experiment:
• Efficiency of heat recovery at least 80-90%
• Power consumption of ventilation 30-40W for a household
• Building completely airtight (natural infiltration 0.1 air exchanges/hour)
(assumes optimised insulation, low energy windows)
• Noise level less than 25dB

(ref “Cost effective PV assisted energy efficient ventilation systems for

housing” Pederson, Cenergia Energy Consultants, Denmark)
Winter heating example
(Solar Venti)
Winter heating example
Summer cooling example
 Review
Summer:
• Cooling sensation from • These can limit the need
airflow for air conditioning
• Structural cooling on • They could benefit from
summer nights mechanical ventilation
General (Winter or summer):
• How much ventilation does
Quite a lot (Bernard will
a “healthy” house need?
give a better answer)
• How does ventilation affect
heating and cooling? Natural ventilation “wastes”
• How do we achieve energy
comfort and energy
efficiency together? (Bernard will cover this)