Evaporative Cooling - Nocturnal Radiation

cooling - Passive Desiccant Cooling – Induced

Ventilation - Earth Sheltering -Wind Tower –
Earth Air Tunnels
Sources of heat gain
• There are three major sources of unwanted
summer heat: direct solar impacts on a building
and through windows and skylights;
• heat transfer and infiltration, of exterior high
temperatures, through the materials and elements
of the structure;
• and the internal heat produced by appliances,
equipment, and inhabitants.
Comfort target
Passive cooling
Passive solar design
 Natural ventilation
• The oldest, straightforward convective
method admits cool night air to drive out
the warm air.
• If breezes are predominant, high vents
or open windows on the leeward side
(away from prevailing breeze) will let the
hottest air, located near the ceiling,
escape.
• The cooler night air sweeping in
through low open vents or windows on
the windward side will replace this hot air
and bring relief.
• To get the best cooling rates, leeward
• Locate cool air inlet vent on the openings should have substantially larger
building side which receives predominant total area (50% to 100% larger) than
cool summer breezes. those on the windward side of the house
 NATURAL VENTILATION
Outdoor breezes create air movement through the house interior by the 'push-pull'
effect of positive air pressure on the windward side and negative pressure (suction) on
the leeward side.
In order to have a good natural ventilation, openings must be placed at opposite
pressure zones.

Also, designers often choose to enhance natural ventilation using tall spaces called
stacks in buildings.
With openings near the top of stacks,
warm air can escape whereas cooler air
enters the building from openings near
the ground.

The windows, play a dominant role in

inducing indoor ventilation due to wind
forces.
In most homes, exhausting the warm air
quickly can be a problem.

With the design of high ceilings throughout

the breeze zone combined with clerestory
windows at the 14′ ceiling height on three
walls, the rising hot air is allowed to escape
which in turn does two things.

Firstly the rising air creates a low pressure

zone on the cool mass floor, pulling air along
the floor from other areas of the house as
well as any open doors.

Secondly the rising and escaping air creates

an interior low pressure that should pull in
large volumes or exterior air from the patio
doors.

Depending on the primary wind direction

and which doors are opened relative to time
of day and shade, we can create a breeze of
cooler incoming air.
Thermal chimneys
• If there are only light breezes at the
site, natural convection can still be used
to ventilate and cool a house, then
• The coolest air around a house is
usually found on the north side,
especially if this area is well shaded by
trees or shrubs and has water features.
• Cool air intake vents are best located
as low as possible on the north side.
• The greater the height difference
between the low and high vents, the
faster the flow of natural convection and
the more heat mitigation can occur.

• To aid in natural ventilation, during summer use high ceiling vaults, and thermal
chimneys to promote rapid air changes.
Stack induced ventilation
 SHADING

Solar control is a critical requirement for both cooling-load

dominated and passively solar-heated buildings.

•The most effective method of cooling a building is to shade windows,

walls and roof of building from direct solar radiation.

•Heavily insulated walls and roofs need less shading.

•Can use overhangs on outside facade of the building.

Each project should be evaluated depending on its relative

cooling needs:

Extend the overhang beyond the sides of the window to

prevent solar gain from the side.

Use slatted or louvered shades to allow more daylight to enter,

while shading windows from direct sunlight.

Reduce solar heat gain by recessing windows into the wall.

COURTYARD EFFECT
Due to incident solar radiation in a courtyard, the air gets warmer and rises.

Cool air from the ground level flows through the louvered openings of rooms
surrounding a courtyard, thus producing air flow.

At night, the warm roof surfaces get cooled by convection and radiation.
If this heat exchange reduces roof surface temperature to wet bulb temperature of air,
condensation of atmospheric moisture occurs on the roof and the gain due to
condensation limits further cooling.

Courtyard as a moderator of internal climate

Ventilation through courtyards
• If the roof surfaces are sloped towards the internal courtyard, the cooled air sinks into the
court and enters the living space through low-level openings, gets warmed up, and leaves the
room through higher-level openings.

• However, care should be taken that the courtyard does not receive intense solar radiation,
which would lead to conduction and radiation heat gains into the building.
Earth air cooling
• Another convective cooling
strategy is the drawing of
outdoor air is drawn through
tubes buried in the ground and
dumped into the house.
• Made of material that allows
easy thermal transfer, these
tubes are buried several feet
deep to avoid the warmer
daytime surface temperatures.
• Warm outdoor air entering the
tube gives up its heat to the
cooler earth, and cools
substantially before entering the
house
EVAPORATIVE COOLING METHODS
• Evaporative methods can be used
to enhance the cooling rates in
convective cooling systems. One
way of doing this is to bring the
outdoor air into the house
through a moist filter or pad
• The familiar evaporative cooler, is
a mechanical system which uses
these principles with a motor to
force air movement and
distribution. • Swamp cooler - drier outside air is
drawn through a moist pad. As moisture
is picked up by the air heat is absorbed by
the water, the result is cooler air.
 EVAPORATIVE COOLING
• Evaporative cooling lowers indoor air temperature by evaporating water.

• It is effective in hot and dry climate where the atmospheric humidity is low.

• In evaporative cooling, the sensible heat of air is used to evaporate water, thereby cooling the
air, which, in turn, cools the living space of the building.

• Increase in contact between water and air increases the rate of evaporation.

• The presence of a water body such as a pond, lake, and sea near the building or a fountain in a
courtyard can provide a cooling effect.

•The most commonly used system is a

desert cooler, which comprises water,
evaporative pads, a fan, and pump.

1. Ground cover
2. Water sprinkler
3. Insulated roof
4. Shading trees
5. Water trough

A TYPICAL SECTION SHOWING PASSIVE SOLAR FEATURES OF WALMI BUILDING,BHOPAL

 PASSIVE DOWN DRAUGHT COOLING
•Evaporative cooling has been used for many centuries
in parts of the middle east, notably Iran and turkey.

•In this system, wind catchers guide outside air over

water-filled pots, inducing evaporation and causing a
significant drop in temperature before the air enters the
interior.

•Such wind catchers become primary elements of the

architectural form also.

•Passive downdraught evaporative cooling is particularly

effective in hot and dry climates. It has been used to
effectively cool the Torrent Research Centre in
Ahmedabad.
Cooling towers
• Cool towers use gravity to
move cool air without any
fans, although fans may be
used to reduce the size of the
towers.
• The most common cool
towers do this by having a wet
pad medium in the top of the
tower. Since cool air is heavier
than warm air, it will fall,
creating its own airflow.
• Wind is not required, but will
improve the airflow in a cool
tower.
Cooling towers
• This is the most common cool tower
in use.
• As wind blows through the wet pads,
the water evaporates and cools the
air.
• Cooler pads sit at the top of a tower
with a pump re-circulating water
over them.
• As hot air passes through the pads it
is cooled by the evaporation of the
water.
• Cool moist air is heavier than hot
dry air and drops down the tower
and into your house. In order for the
cool air to flow in, hot air must be
exhausted.
Nocturnal Radiative & evaporative cooling
 EARTH SHELTERED BUILDINGS

ROOF SPRAYS
Earth air tunnel
EARTH AIR TUNNELS

•Daily and annual temperature fluctuations decrease

with the increase in depth below the ground surface.

•At a depth of about 4 m below ground, the temperature

inside the earth remains nearly constant round the year
and is nearly equal to the annual average temperature
of the place.

•A tunnel in the form of a pipe or otherwise embedded

at a depth of about 4 m below the ground will acquire
the same temperature as the surrounding earth at its
surface.

•Therefore, the ambient air ventilated through this

tunnel will get cooled in summer and warmed in winter
and this air can be used for cooling in summer and
heating in winter.
•This technique has been used in the composite
climate of Gurgaon in RETREAT building.

•The living quarters (the south block of RETREAT)

are maintained at comfortable temperatures
(approx. 20-30 degree Celsius) round the year by
the earth air tunnel system, supplemented, when-
ever required, with a system of absorption chillers
powered by liquefied natural gas during monsoons
and with an air washer during dry summer.

•However, the cooler air underground needs to be

circulated in the living space. Each room in the
south block has a 'solar chimney; warm air rises
and escapes through the chimney, which creates an
air current for the cooler air from the underground
tunnels to replace the warm air.

•Two blowers installed in the tunnels speed up the

process.

•The same mechanism supplies warm air from the

tunnel during winter. PASSIVE SPACE CONDITIONING USING
EARTH AIR TUNNEL SYSTEM
Earth coupling uses the moderate and consistent temperature of the soil to act as a heat sink to cool a building through conduction.
This passive cooling strategy is most effective when earth temperatures are cooler than ambient air temperature, such as hot
climates.

EARTH COUPLING

DIRECT COUPLING INDIRECT COUPLING

1. UNDERGROUND EARTH SHELTERING 1. EARTH AIR TUNNELS

2. EARTH BERMS
DIRECT COUPLING-EARTH SHELTERING
Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth against building walls for external
thermal mass, to reduce heat loss, and to easily maintain a steady indoor air temperature.

Earth sheltering
has become
relatively more
popular in modern
times, especially
among environme
ntalists and
advocates passive
solar and sustaina
ble architects.
However, the
practice has been
around for nearly
as long as humans
have been
constructing their
own shelters.
EARTH SHELTERING

CHARACTERISTICS OF EARTH:
A very important factor which makes earth sheltered buildings energy
efficient and advantageous for passive heating and cooling is due to the
thermal characteristic of soil.:
If air could not easily move from one place to another the weather
would be a lot calmer and if it took a lot of energy to change the
temperature of air, then there would be practically no weather changes
at all. Such is the case within the earth. Outside of earthquakes or
mudslides, earth does not move at all so convection is non existent and
since soil is about a 1000 times denser than air, it takes a lot of energy to
change the temperature of a small mass of soil. The resultant is a stable
soil climate. Rapid change is almost non-existent below ground and any
change is small in comparison to that above ground.

These homes are in real terms friendly with Mother Nature. These houses
blend with nature, giving an impact that, they are part of the
environment, and save up to 60 to 70-percent on typical electrical bills.
EARTH SHELTERING
There are two basic types of earth-sheltered. Certain characteristics such as the location and soils
of the site, the regional climate, and design preferences are central to which type will work best for
a particular place.
Both types usually have earth-covered roofs, and some of the roofs may have a vegetation cover to
reduce erosion.
1. Underground earth sheltering
2. Earth berms
Underground housing means an entire structure built below ground or completely underground
EARTH SHELTERING
A bermed structure may be above ground or partially below ground, with outside earth surrounding one or more walls.
EARTH SHELTERING
EARTH HOUSE ESTATE LÄTTENSTRASSE, DIETIKON, SWITZERLAND.
These earth covered houses are centered around a small artificial lake with the entrances well
hidden and integrated into the sides of the settlement. The residential settlement consists of nine
houses, one a 7 bedroom home!
The daytime
areas are
situated
towards the
south, the
night time
areas towards
the north. In
the middle,
you find the
bathrooms
and the
connecting
stairs to the
basement. All
the bathrooms
get natural
light through
rooftop
windows.
EARTH AIR TUNNELS
Earth- air tunnels may be considered as special types of wind towers connected to
an underground tunnel. The cooling process is based on the fact that the
temperature a few meters below the ground is almost constant throughout the
year. A wind tower is connected to the underground tunnel, which runs from the
bottom of the wind tower to the basement of the building. The wind tower catches
the wind which is forced down the tower into the tunnel. The temperature of the
tunnel, being lower than that of the ambient temperature, cools the air before it is
circulated into the living space. In winter, the temperature of the air tunnel is
higher than the ambient temperature and hence warms the air passing through it.
EARTH AIR TUNNELS
Sensible cooling can be aided by evaporative cooling. To reduce the underground temperature,
the ground can be shaded using vegetation and can be wetted by sprinkling water. This water
seeps through and dampens the tunnel walls. Consequently, air from the tunnel is evaporatively
cooled as it passes through the tunnel. Another variation possible is to use buried pipes instead
in place of tunnel.

There can be various ways

of implementing this
technique:
1. Mechanical suction of
the outside air into the
tube using fans.
2. Natural suction,
although this will
require a straight
tunnel for 90mts.
 EARTH AIR TUNNELS
TERI UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, NEW DELHI:
The campus is equipped with three types of cooling systems (i)Variable Refrigerant
Volume system (VRV), (ii) Earth Air Tunnel (EAT) and (iii) Thermal Mass Storage The
VRV system is proposed for the peripheral commercial block and the administrative
block of the institute. This state-of-the-art air conditioning system, which is similar to
a split AC is highly efficient under partial loading conditions and beneficial to areas
with varying occupancy. It allows customized control of individual zones eliminating
the use of chilled water piping, ducting and plant room.
The use of Earth Air Tunnel gives an energy saving of nearly 50% as compared to the
conventional system
Thermal mass storage used for cooling the classrooms and labs involves storing energy
when available and using it when required. Here, cooling of thermal mass is done
during night. This cool thermal mass is used to cool air in day time. This system gives
an energy saving of up to 40%
EARTH AIR TUNNELS
TERI UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, NEW DELHI:
The Earth Air Tunnel (EAT) is used in the hostel blocks. This is a dual heating-cooling
system using the heat sink property of the earth to maintain comfortable
temperatures inside the building. Air which passes through the buried pipes gets
cooled in summer and heated up in winter.
WIND TOWER
Wind towers are specifically designed to use prevailing wind to draw air out of a space and,
sometimes, to push air into the space. This helps circulate cool air in the building.
When hot ambient air enters the tower through openings in it, it cools, becomes heavier and
sinks. Inlets and outlets in rooms induce cool air movement. In the presence of wind, air is cooled
more effectively and flows faster down the tower and into the internal area.
After a whole day of air exchanges, the
tower becomes warm in the evening.
During the night, cooler ambient air comes
in contact with the bottom of the tower
through the rooms.
The tower walls absorb
heat during the daytime
and release it at night,
warming the cool night air
in the tower. Warm air
moves up creating an
upward draft and draws
cool night air through the
doors and windows into
the building. The system
works effectively in hot
and dry types of climate
where diurnal variations
are high.
WIND TOWER
The pressure differential on one side of the building causes air to be drawn down into the passage
on the other side. The hot air is brought down into the tunnel (canal)and is cooled by coming into
contact with the cool earth and cold water running through the tunnel. The cooled air is drawn up
through the wind tower. On the whole, the cool air flows through the building, decreasing the
structure's overall temperature. The effect is magnified by the water vapor from the tunnel.
WIND TOWER

A Wind catcher, Wind scoop

or Badgir is a traditional
Persian architectural element
to create natural ventilation
in buildings
 WIND TOWER
CII - Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Hydrabad
• High efficiency HVAC system
• Passive cooling system using wind towers.
• Use of aerated concrete blocks for façades to reduces the load on
air-conditioning by 15% to 20 %
• This technique can be found in Persian architectural building
constructions.
NOCTURNAL RADIATION COOLING
The roof absorbs the highest amount of solar radiation during summer. On a hot summer day, the
surface temperature of the roof could reach up to 65 °C. The roof also has the largest exposure to
the sky dome and hence can be used effectively for night sky radiation.
Night sky radiation is based
on the heat that is lost
through long wave radiation
from a body towards another
body of lower temperature,
which plays the role of a heat
sink. In the case of a
building, the cooled body is
the building and the heat
sink is the sky, since the sky
temperature is lower than
the temperatures of most
objects on the earth.
Similarly, if we expose the
water on the terrace, it gets
cooled because the
temperature of the night sky Water is cooled by exposing water to night sky thru corrugated
is much less than the sheet
temperature of the water.
NOCTURNAL RADIATION COOLING
Nocturnal radiation cools roofs as much as 18°F (10°C) below ambient on clear nights and the
chilled air adjacent to the roof has the ability to reduce or even displace conventional air
conditioning from sunset to sunrise. As warm night air touches the cooler surface of the collector, it
transfers its heat to that surface and the cooled air is then drawn in through the perforated surface.
PASSIVE DESICCANT COOLING
Desiccant cooling systems are basically open cycle systems, using water as refrigerant in direct
contact with air. The thermally driven cooling cycle is a combination of evaporative cooling
with air dehumidification by a desiccant, i.e. a hygroscopic material.
Desiccants are materials that attract and hold moisture, and Desiccant dehumidification air-
conditioning systems provide a method of drying air before it enters a conditioned space. With
the high levels of fresh air now required for building ventilation, removing moisture has
become increasingly important. Desiccant dehumidification systems are growing in popularity
because of their ability to remove moisture from outdoor ventilation air while allowing
conventional air-conditioning systems to deal primarily with control temperature.
PASSIVE DESICCANT COOLING
Desiccant cooling systems are particularly well suited to hot, humid
climates where airconditioning accounts for the majority of a
building's energy requirements. Desiccant materials such as silice
gels and certain salt compounds naturally absorb moisture from
humid air. Moisture laden desiccant materials will release the stored
moisture when heated. a charateristic that allows them to be reused
in a solar desiccant system, the sun provides the heat needed to
recharge the desiccants. Once the air has been dehumidified with
desiccants, it can be chilled through evaporative cooling or other
techniques to provide relatively cool, dry air. A desiccant is a
hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains a state of dryness
(desiccation) in its local vicinity in a moderately well-sealed
container. Commonly encountered pre-packaged desiccants are
solids, and work through absorption or adsorption of water, or a
combination of the two. Desiccants for specialised purposes may be
in forms other than solid, and may work through other principles,
such as chemical bonding of water molecules. Pre-packaged
desiccant is most commonly used to remove excessive humidity that
would normally degrade or even destroy products sensitive to
moisture. Drierite,Silica gel, calcium sulfate, calcium chloride,
montmorillonite clay, and molecular sieves are commonly used as
desiccants.
INDUCED VENTILLATION
There are two main types of natural ventilation;
1. Buoyancy induced ventilation
2. Wind induced ventilation.

Buoyancy ventilation systems take advantage of the difference in pressure of fluids at different temperatures and humidities.
Buoyancy driven ventilation arise due to differences in density of interior and exterior air, which in large part arises from
differences in temperature. When there is a temperature difference between two adjoining volumes of air the warmer air will
have lower density and be more buoyant thus will rise above the cold air creating an upward air stream. Forced upflow
buoyancy driven ventilation in a building takes place in a traditional fireplace. Passive stack ventilators are common in most
bathrooms and other type of spaces without direct access to the outdoors
In contrast, wind ventilation makes use of prevailing winds and wind induced by the topography or microclimate in a specific
location. Wind driven ventilation depends on wind behavior, on the interactions with the building envelope and on openings or
other air exchange devices such as inlets or chimneys.