Passive Solar and Natural Ventilation

Bibliography

Maximize Reflectivity of Materials

AIA Research Corp. Survey of Passive Solar Buildings.

Fisher, Thomas. Well-Tempered Tropics. Progressive Architecture. April
84. Pg. 98-103.
Fullerton, R.L. Building Construction in Warm Climates Volume 3. Oxford
University Press. 1977.
Montgomery, Miles. Solar Decision Book of Homes. 1982.
Wade, Cook, Labs, Selkowitz. Passive Solar.
Watson. Climatic Design. 1983.

Strategies.

Radiation is either absorbed or reflected.

Create a barrier with highly reflective materials.
Use a radiant barrier in tropical construction.
Aluminum foil backed insulation facing an airspace.
This technique reduces heat flow by 42%.
Highly reflective materials reduce absorption.
Reflectivity is important for a low R-value wall.
Use light colors.

High sun delivers heat load to roof, east and west walls.
South will receive little radiation even with a small overhang.

Light colors and highly reflective materials increase reflection and lower absorption.

Massing/Orientation/Roofs
Stategies.

No east or west windows.

Use the east and west for buffer spaces (laundry, storage, and closets).
Use thermal mass (insulated concrete) to stabilize temperature swings.
Decrease roof area, increase wall area (increase height).
Flat roofs are hard to ventilate.
Use a highly reflective roof color/material.
Orient perpendicular to prevailing wind (if any).
Use plantings to funnel winds
Use single deep rooms or create in/outlets to each room.
Elevate the building to maximize breezes and keep the underside dry.

Roof Geometry has little effect on solar gain in high

latitudes, but flat-pitched roofs are hard to vent.

Single deep rooms are more suitable for cross ventilation.

Elevated buildings catch stronger wind currents and keep the underside of the building
dry in hurricane season.

Air Envelope Construction

What it is.
This strategy is design of the shell as a ducting system to collect, transport and distribute energy.
How it works.

Double walls and openings create passages that channel warmer air to designated outlets.
The shell is exposed to sunlight.
The heated air column rises by natural convection.
Cool air is introduced from below.

Why it may not be applicable.

Cool air is brought from below. The double shell acts as a duct to vent hot air to the top and out.

This strategy is cost prohibitive, using twice

material to create the envelope.

Why it is good.

Minimizing Reflectivity of Ground

Minimizes reflected radiation/

heat into the building.
Lowers the outside air temp, lowering temp of
breezes.

How it works.

Reflected Radiation on a vertical wall is that of the amount striking the horizontal
surface.
The reflectivity of the ground surface adds significantly to cooling requirements.
Shrubbery intercepts sun, creating a lower reflectivity than grass.
Black pavement reduces reflectivity, but defeats the purpose by increasing outside
air temperature.

Why it may not be applicable.

Dense shrubs absorb low angle sun, minimizing reflection.

Reflective ground materials increase reflected heat gain.

Minimizes reflected daylighting (low heat daylight).

Why it is good.

Covered porches lower conductive/ reflective

heat gain, lowering inside temperature.
Porches create a low outdoor air temperature, and pleasant outdoor spaces.
A sunscreen/ light shelf reduces daylight 8%.
Shading decreases glare.
Overhangs and louvers are easy to design
and add to a buildings character.

Shading

What it is.
Shading is the prevention of solar gain through radiation and conduction into the
building.
How it works.

Trees aid greatly in shading roofs and walls.

3 kinds of shading: exterior, interior, and by glazing

Use double roofs, wall screens, vertical louvers, broad overhangs, verandas, or trees.
For the east and west shading use dense trees, Vertical louvers and egg-crate louvers.
Desirable overhang W=H/SLF.
Louvered overhangs allow hot air to escape.
Interior shades are roller shades, drapes, blinds, and skylight baffles.

Overhang dimension W=H/SLF

Louvered overhangs release heat near the building.

Covered porches keep sun off walls and create pleasant outdoor spaces. Skylights can be shaded internally from high angle sun with internal baffles.

Why it may not be applicable.

Shading does not allow for heat locally to

induce ventilation.
Mature tree plantings are expensive and unlikely.
Shading decreases daylight possibilities.
Interior devices allow more heat into buildings.
Double/triple glazing is expensive.

Cross Ventilation
What it is.
Natural Ventilation includes promoting airflow through openings such
as windows, doors, skylights, and roof ventilators.
How it works.

Use operable windows to help control air flow.

Casement windows catch wind at parallel angles to walls.
Awning windows catch wind at right angles to walls.
Passive cooling of people requires an unobstructed path to maximize air speed.
For cooling buildings requires directing the air along the wall and ceiling.
Avoid rooms with only one window and no outlet, because air will not enter the
space.
Projections perpendicular to the building and downwind of inlets will funnel winds.
Wing walls should be as long as the window is wide.
Open plans aid the flow of air through the building.

Plantings that funnel prevailing winds to the building.

Parapets increase wind pressure on a faade.

Why it may not be applicable.

No prevailing wind on the island.

Why it is good.

Plantings creating a negative effect on ventilation.

Plantings with a positive effect on people cooling. Windows created expected results on flow.

It works for people cooling (air moving on

people).
It flushes heat from building mass.

Stack Effect (Solar Chimney)

What it is.
Hot air rising from lower adjacent spaces to taller spaces where it can be
vented out of the building.
How it works.

Place inlets low on the high-pressure side, and outlets high on the negative pressure side.
Create adjacent lower spaces feeding the taller thermal chimney.
The sun will heat the mass of the chimney.
The warm air will be displaced and will rise where it can be vented out of the building.
Ridge vents will draw hot air from attic spaces.
Do not place attic vents near inlets, because you will draw the exhaust air back into
the building.
The stack effect increases linearly with the height difference between openings
It also increases linearly with the difference in temperature between inside and out.
This creates potential for internal airflow even under breezeless outdoor
conditions.

Why it is good.
Open stairways create the stack effect.

Open grates allow hot air to

rise to the attic to be vented.

Soffit and ridge vents cool attic spaces.

Heat will always rise.

Sun and wind are catalysts but not ingredients.

Induced Ventilation

What it is.
Induced ventilation makes use of sunshine to induce air movement to augment
natural ventilation.
How it works.

Uses the sun to heat one area lower than adjacent non-heated area.
Hot air rises.
Venting occurs outside or by using a solar chimney, drawing cooler air from living
spaces.
Living spaces pull cooler air from outdoors (north).

Why it is good.

The south side of the building is solar heated, drawing cool air from the north, pushing hot air out of the building.

Hot air rises with sun as a catalyst, not ingredient.

This strategy maximizes daylighting potential.
Creates ventilation without prevailing breezes.