Natural

Ventilation: Theory
Hal Levin

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 Natural Ventilation: Theory
Definitions
Purpose of ventilation
• What is ventilation?
Types of natural ventilation (Driving forces):
• Buoyancy (stack effect; thermal)
• Pressure driven (wind driven; differential pressure)
Applications
• Supply of outdoor air
• Convective cooling
• Physiological cooling
Issues
• Weather-dependence: wind, temperature, humidity
• Outdoor air quality
• Immune compromised patients
• Building configuration (plan, section)
• Management of openings
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Natural and Mixed Mode Ventilation Mechanisms

Natural Ventilation

Mixed Mode Ventilation

Cross Flow Wind Wind Tower Stack (Flue) Stack (Atrium)

Mixed Mode Ventilation

heated/cooled chilled pipes
ceiling void

Sketch of school system

heated/cooled
pipes Sketch of B&O Building

Fan Assisted Stack Top Down Ventilation Buried Pipes

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Courtesy of Martin Liddament via Yuguo Li

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 Climate Typology (oversimplified!)
Not in handout materials – to be completed by class

Climate type Diurnal Steady daily Seasonal No seasonal

swing cycle variation variation
Hot humid Singapore

Hot dry Low desert

Temperate humid London Milan, Italy

Temperate dry High desert Quito, Ecuador

Temperate Boston Lima Montreal,

seasonal -- Temp Canada
Temperate San
seasonal – RH Francisco
Mt. Fuji
Cold humid

Cold dry Bogotá 6

What is ventilation?
Definitions covering ventilation and the flow of air into and
out of a space include:
• Purpose provided (intentional) ventilation: Ventilation
is the process by which ‘clean’ air (normally outdoor air)
is intentionally provided to a space and stale air is
removed. This may be accomplished by either natural or
mechanical means.
• Air infiltration and exfiltration: In addition to intentional
ventilation, air inevitably enters a building by the process
of ‘air infiltration’. This is the uncontrolled flow of air into
a space through adventitious or unintentional gaps and
cracks in the building envelope. The corresponding loss
of air from an enclosed space is termed ‘exfiltration’.
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 Three elements of ventilation
(source: Yuguo Li, personal communication)

Element Description Requirements/ Design or Buildings Cities

Guideline Operation

Primary External air Minimum ACH Fan, duct, ASHRAE ?

flow rate Minimum L/s openings or 62
streets
1-12 ACH

Secondary Overall flow Flow clean to Pressure Positive/ Dirty industry

direction “dirty” spaces control negative downwind
between zones through 2.5-15 Pa
airflow Isolation/ Buy upwind
imbalance smoke
Prevailing control
winds
Tertiary Air Ventilation Use of CFD Ventilation Urban
distribution effectiveness, Smoke strategies planning
within a space no short- visualization
circuiting

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Isolation room ventilation

Goal: ~12 ach or 160 l/s-p (?)

Suspended ceilings

23oC 23oC 23oC 23oC

Toilet/bathroom
Anteroom
Corridor

Cubicle

The purpose is Not to have a 2.5 Pa negative pressure, but no air leaks to the corridor!

Recommended negative pressure is – 10 Pa with wind, -2.5 Pa without wind 9

Courtesy of Yuguo Li

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 Types of natural ventilation

Stack effect (buoyancy) Wind-driven (pressure)

• Warm air is lighter (less dense)
than cold air
• Warm air rises, cold air falls
• Intentional chimneys (stacks)
can create larger differences
between top and bottom,
increasing the air flow rate
• Pressure differences result in
air mass movement
• “Packets” of air flow from
higher to lower air pressure
regimes

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Wind driven vs. Stack effect

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Natural Driving Mechanisms – Pressure:
Wind-driven air flow

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Natural Driving Mechanisms – Pressure:

Wind-driven air flow

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Natural driving mechanisms -- Buoyancy
Stack effect

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Hot air = buoyancy

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Natural driving mechanisms -- Buoyancy
Stack effect

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Applications: Supply of outdoor air

• Supply of outdoor air … removal of pollutants

– In air changes per hour (AER or h-1) or liters per person per
second (l/s-p)
– What happens if you have a very tall space?
• Pollutant concentration = source strength/removal rate
– Removal rate includes dilution/exhaust plus deposition on
surfaces or chemical interactions/transformation
– Chemicals: source strength expressed as mg of pollutant / m2-h
or mg/h
– Dilution/exhaust rate expressed as dilution ventilation (air
changes per hour)
– Deposition: gcm-1s-1

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Pollutant concentration as a function of outdoor air
exchange rate

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C o n c e n tra tio n (µ g /m 3 )

5 2
EF = 1 µg/m •hr

4 EF = 5 µg/m2•hr

3
EF = 10 µg/m2•hr

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Ventilation air changes per hour (ach)

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Applications: Convective cooling

• convection /con·vec·tion/ (kon-vek´shun) the act of conveying or
transmission, specifically transmission of heat in a liquid or gas by
bulk movement of heated particles to a cooler area.
• Air flow person can be caused by the higher temperature of the
person’s skin relative to the air around it, giving rise to an air flow
known as the “thermal plume,” air movement predominantly in an
upward direction.
• Or, it may be caused by forced air movement, as from a fan or
wind.

Temperature variation in an object

cooled by a flowing liquid
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 Convective cooling

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Physiological cooling

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 Applications: Physiological cooling

“Ectothermic cooling”
• Vaporization:
– Getting wet in a river, lake or sea.
• Convection:
– Entering a cold water or air current.
– Building a structure that allows natural or generated air flow for cooling.
• Conduction:
– Lie on cold ground.
– Staying wet in a river, lake or sea.
– Covering in cool mud.
• Radiation:
– Find shade.
– Enter a cave or hole in the ground shaped for radiating heat (Black box
effect).
– Expand folds of skin.
– Expose skin surfaces.

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Convective + Physiological cooling

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 Physiological cooling

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Impact of wind and temperature

difference on natural ventilation

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 Concept of the neutral level

External
pressure T0
gradient Ti
Neutral
h2 plane
Internal
pressure
gradient

h1
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Single-sided ventilation

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 Influence of wind and temperature (stack
effect) on ventilation and air flow pattern

(source: AIVC, 2009) 28

Cross flow ventilation

(source: AIVC, 2009)

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Stack ventilation (dwellings)
(source: AIVC 2009)

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Stack ventilation (atrium)

(source: AIVC 2009)

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 Stack driving flows in a building

_ _ + +
_ + _ _
+
Indoor air
temperature Neutral
+ _ +
Indoor air Neutral
is greater pressure temperature pressure
than plane is less than plane
outdoor outdoor

+ _ _ + _ + + _

(A) (B)

Indoor air warmer Indoor air cooler

than outdoor than outdoor

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119.5m
Stack effect
Memorial Hall

Graduate School

Wind floor 18F

Canteen Stack effect in a
Lecture
high rise
Rooms
building
Liberty Tower,
Meiji University,
Offices Roof Garden
Tokyo
Roof Garden
Entrance Hall
Library Car Parking

Rain Water Tank Heat Storage Tank

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 Meiji University Liberty Tower, Tokyo, Japan
(source: Professor Toshihara Ikaga, Keio University)

Wind Floor
for Hybrid
Ventilation

Gross Floor Area: 59000 m2

completed in 1998

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Natural ventilation in buildings

Francis Allard, Mat Santamouris, Servando Alvarez, European
Commission. Directorate-General for Energy, ALTENER Program

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 Natural ventilation in buildings
By Francis Allard, Mat Santamouris, Servando Alvarez, European Commission.
Directorate-General for Energy, ALTENER Program

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1tdQMyhPA2gC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Na
tural+ventilation+theory&ots=mFzmfd4mct&sig=XA3zksH_OBkkS8tILbxmwJqbWyo
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Natural ventilation in buildings

Francis Allard, Mat Santamouris, Servando Alvarez, European
Commission. Directorate-General for Energy, ALTENER Program

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 Indoor air velocities for naturally ventilated spaces
under different wind directions and different number of
apertures and locations

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Effects of inlet / outlet sizes in cross-ventilated

spaces with openings on opposite walls

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Velocity as percent of wind velocity: openings
on opposite walls, wind perpendicular to inlet

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Effect of oblique wind direction with

openings on opposite walls

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Velocity as percent of wind velocity: Openings
on opposite walls, wind oblique to inlet

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Effects of inlet / outlet sizes in cross-ventilated

spaces, openings on adjacent walls

Wind perpendicular Wind oblique

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Effect of inlet and outlet sizes, openings on
adjacent walls, wind perpendicular to inlet

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Simple formulation for Vent Calculation

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Single-sided ventilation

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 Single-sided ventilation

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Natural and Mixed Mode Ventilation Mechanisms

Natural Ventilation

Mixed Mode Ventilation

Cross Flow Wind Wind Tower Stack (Flue) Stack (Atrium)

Mixed Mode Ventilation

heated/cooled chilled pipes
ceiling void

Sketch of school system

heated/cooled
pipes Sketch of B&O Building

Fan Assisted Stack Top Down Ventilation Buried Pipes

49 49
Courtesy of Martin Liddament via Yuguo Li

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 Natural Ventilation Issues

• Weather-dependence: wind, temperature,

humidity
• Outdoor air quality
• Immune compromised patients
• Building configuration (plan, section)
• Management of openings
• Measurement of ventilation rate(s)

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Outdoor air quality becomes indoor air

quality at high ventilation rates
• The higher the outdoor air ventilation rate, the higher the
indoor/outdoor pollutant concentration
• The effect of the building on reducing outdoor pollutants
varies by pollutant and by building ventilation pathways
• Where outdoor air pollution is high, natural ventilation
must be considered not only as a means for reducing
concentrations from indoor sources (infectious airborne
agents as well as chemicals emitted indoors), but also as
a means of delivering un-cleaned outdoor air.
• With highly susceptible health care facility occupant
populations, consideration must be given to the effects of
outdoor pollutants on the occupants’ health.
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 WHO, 2005. Air Quality Guidelines:
Global Update

Chapter 2.
Global ambient air
pollution
concentrations and
trends
Bjarne Sivertsen

http://www.who.int/phe/health_topic
s/outdoorair_aqg/en/
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Ranges of annual average concentrations of

outdoor air pollutants by continent based on
selected urban data

Ozone
Nitrogen Sulfur (1-hour maximum
Region PM10 dioxide dioxide concentration)
Africa 40–150 35–65 10–100 120–300
Asia 35–220 20–75 6–65 100–250
Australia/New Zealand 28–127 11–28 3–17 120–310
Canada/United States 20–60 35–70 9–35 150–380
Europe 20–70 18–57 8–36 150–350
Latin America 30–129 30–82 40–70 200–600

(source: World Health Organization, 2005. Air Quality Guidelines: Global Update) 53

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 Where are the people who will arrive in
naturally ventilated health care facilities?

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Pollutant concentrations by national level

of development

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 U.S. EPA National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) http://www.epa.gov/air/criteria.html

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Average annual PM10 concentrations in

selected cities world wide (part 1)

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Average annual PM10 concentrations in
selected cities world wide (part 2)

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Average annual PM10 concentrations in

selected cities world wide (part 3)

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Average annual PM10 concentrations in
selected cities world wide (part 4)

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Average annual PM10 concentrations in

selected cities world wide (part 5)

NORTH AMERICA

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Average annual PM10 concentrations in
selected cities world wide (part 6)

Europe

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EUROPE

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 Ultrafine particle number concentrations
measured in urban and roadside environments

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Mean afternoon (13:00 to 16:00) surface ozone

concentrations calculated for the month of July
(comment: where are people living?)

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Highest (1-hour average) ground-level ozone
concentrations measured in selected cities

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Modeled surface ozone concentrations (ppb) over

Europe during July for the years 2000– 2009

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 Indoor O3 concentration as a function of
outdoor concentration and ventilation rate

Outdoor Air Ozone Concentration (parts per billion)

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
AER
(h-1)
1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
2 7 15 22 30 37 45 52 60 67 75
4 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 110
6 13 26 40 53 66 79 92 106 119 132
12 16 32 48 64 80 96 112 128 144 160
20 18 36 54 72 90 108 126 144 162 180

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Wind: direction and velocity are neither

stable nor consistent
• Selected data from almost any city will show daily cycles
and variations in wind direction and velocity
• Seasonal variations are more reliable, but daily
variations are still the rule rather than the exception
• Even with many predictable situations, wind direction will
change over the diurnal cycle – California coast is an
example.
• Relying on wind alone can result in both under and over-
ventilation relative to a design objective.

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 Lima, Peru: May 1, 2008

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Lima, Peru: September 1, 2008

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Lima, Peru: January 1, 2009

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Lima, Peru: March 1, 2009

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Boston, MA: July 24, 2009

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Boston, MA: March 1, 2009

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Boston, MA: January 1, 2009

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Boston, MA: October 1, 2008

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 Grantham Hospital Study, Hong Kong
Yuguo Li
0

(A)

270 90

Test 17: Temperature

Wind speed Wind speed
=4.5m/s Wind direction
35 350
Nov 06,2005 Nov 07,2005 Nov 09,2005 Nov 10,2005 Aug 28,2006
30 300
Test 4:
Wind speed
180 = 3.0 m/s
25 250

Wind direction( )
o
Temperature( C)

20 200
Speed (m/s)
o

15 150

10 100

5 50

0 0
10 15 20 10 15 20 10 15 20 10 15 20 10 15 20

Time (hours)

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Natural Ventilation: Theory

Summary - Review
Purpose of ventilation
• What is ventilation?
Types of natural ventilation (Driving forces):
• Buoyancy (stack effect; thermal)
• Pressure driven (wind driven; differential pressure)
Applications
• Supply of outdoor air
• Convective cooling
• Physiological cooling
Issues
• Weather-dependence: wind, temperature, humidity
• Outdoor air quality
• Immune compromised patients
• Building configuration (plan, section)
• Management of openings
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 Natural Ventilation: Theory
References
Karl Terpager Andersen, 2003. “Theory for natural ventilation by thermal buoyancy in one
zone with uniform temperature” Building and Environment 38: 1281–1289.
Yuguo Li 2000. “Buoyancy-driven natural ventilation in a thermally stratifed one-zone
building.” Building and Environment 35: 207-214.
Francis Allard, Mat Santamouris, Servando Alvarez, “Natural ventilation in buildings.”
European Commission. Directorate-General for Energy, ALTENER Program. Can be
read on-line at
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1tdQMyhPA2gC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=
Natural+ventilation+theory&ots=mFzmfd4mct&sig=XA3zksH_OBkkS8tILbxmwJqbWyo
WHO, 2005. Air Quality Guidelines, 2005 Update. Geneva: World Health Organization.
http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair_aqg/en/
Heiselberg, P., Ed., 2002. Principles of Hybrid Ventilation. IEA-ECBS Annex 35 report.
Downloadable from http://hybvent.civil.auc.dk/

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