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PASSIVE COOLING
Enlist with sketches various types of design elements to reduce heat gain in the design of a
building.

 Stack Ventilation
 Cross Ventilation
CROSS VENTILATION
Purging heat gains by the introduction of ventilation.
The mechanical system or equipment used to circulate air or to replace stale air with fresh
air.
Passive ventilation is when air is exchanged in a building through openings in the building
envelope using the stack and wind pressures. Ventilation in buildings has three main
purposes:
1. To maintain a minimum air quality
2. To remove heat (or other pollutant)
3. To provide perceptible air movement to enhance thermal comfort
Natural ventilation

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Stack Ventilation
 In stack ventilation cool air is pulled throughout the home while warmer air rises above the
cool air to exit through an opening near the top of the structure.
 Stack ventilation is where air is driven through the building by vertical pressure differences
developed by thermal buoyancy.
 The warm air inside the building is less dense than cooler air outside, and thus will try to
escape from openings high up in the building envelope; cooler denser air will enter openings
lower down.
 The process will continue if the air entering the building is continuously heated, typically by
casual or solar gains.
Cross-Ventilation
 cross-ventilation strategies place air inlets on the windward side and air outlets on the
leeward side of the home.
 Wind-induced ventilation uses pressures generated on the building by the wind, to drive air
through openings in the building.
 It is most commonly realised as cross-ventilation, where air enters on one side of the
building, and leaves on the opposite side, but can also drive single sided ventilation, and
vertical ventilation flows.
1. WING WALL
 Wing Walls Wing walls are vertical solid panels placed alongside
of windows perpendicular to the wall on the windward side of
the house. Wing walls will accelerate the natural wind speed
due to pressure differences created by the wing wall.
2. THERMAL CHIMNEY
 Thermal Chimney A thermal chimney employs
convective currents to draw air out of a building. By
creating a warm or hot zone with an exterior exhaust
outlet, air can be drawn into the house ventilating the
structure.
 Thermal mass indirect gain walls can be made to
function similarly except that the mass wall should be
insulated on the inside when performing this function.
 "thermal chimney," a solar-exposed enclosure tall
enough to generate maximum air flow and massive
enough to retain heat and power the system into the
evening hours
3. COURTYARD
 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.
 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.

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 At night, the warm roof surfaces get cooled by convection and radiation. Courtyard as a
moderator of internal climate
 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.
 Courtyard provide shade. Courtyard with vegetation and water body enhances humidity.
4. ROOFPOND SYSTEM
 Roof pond is a passive cooling technique
based upon the increased heat capacity of
cheap and widely available water. In general,
the pond is covered during day to prevent
heating, and open at night to be cooled.
 Roof pond systems Six to twelve inches of
water are contained on a flat roof.
 This system is best for cooling in low humidity
climates but can be modified to work in high
humidity climates.
5. EVAPORATIE COOLING
 Evaporative cooling is a passive cooling
technique in which outdoor air is cooled by
evaporating water before it is introduced in
the building.
 Its physical principle lies in the fact that the heat of air is used to evaporate water, thus
cooling the air, which in turn cools the living space in the building. To enhance the process
of evaporation, fountains were used which mixed the moisture to the air and increased the
humidity.
 Evaporative cooling lowers indoor air temperature by evaporating water.
 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.
 Methods of evaporative cooling include: • Roof pond systems • Water spraying Evaporative
Cooling
 Roof sprinkling system
This system is based on evaporation of a water mist
layer created by misting spray heads on top of the
roof. An appreciable amount of heat is dissipated as
the water evaporates.

6. COOLING TOWER
 In a wind tower, the hot air enters the tower through the openings in the tower, gets
cooled, and thus becomes heavier and sinks down.
 The inlet and outlet of rooms induce cool air movement.
 In the presence of wind, air is cooled more effectively and flows faster down the tower
and into the living area.
 After a whole day of air exchanges, the tower becomes warm in the evenings.
 During the night, cooler ambient air comes in contact with the bottom of the tower
through the rooms.
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 The tower walls absorb heat during 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 climates where fluctuations are high.
 A wind tower works well for individual units not for multi-storeyed apartments.
 In dense urban areas, the wind tower has to be long enough to be able to catch enough
air. Also protection from driving rain is difficult.

7. SHADING
 Horizontal shading.
 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.

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 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.
 There are two types of shading system: •
External Shading • Internal Shading
External shading These methods used in
external shading:
• Eaves • Awnings • Screens and shutters •
Louvers • Verandas
• Pergolas • Trees and shrubs
 Overhang is use for shading
 Internal shading
 Internal shading can be provided using curtains and blinds.
 Internal shading can be a useful device when: • The sun penetrates for only a short time
heat build-up will not be major problem. • Windows can he left open adjacent to them.
• It is required to reduce glare.

8. THERMAL MASS
 A material that has thermal mass is one that has the capacity to absorb, store and release
the sun’s heat energy.
 The best way to cool a building is to build with thick stone or masonry. Thermal mass is
measured in terms of ‘Volumetric heat capacity’
 Thermal Mass Thick walls provides thermal insulation.
 Outer surface shades the wall itself. Arched ceiling helps to cool internal space of the roof.
Part of domical roof is always shaded.
 When the outer temperature is lowered at night, the high emissive property of the walls
allows cooling down the wall surfaces rapidly.
 Flat roofs get more radiations while vaulted and domed roofs prevent the absorption of heat
of the summer’s vertical sun.
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9. LATTICE SCREEN
 Lattice Screen (Jaali) Jaali ensures privacy and provide diffuse light and view.
 It controls the airflow and lower down the temperature of internal spaces on the other.
 When there is sunshine outside in the day, the internal spaces are not clearly visible from
outside.
 however, the diffused light is spread throughout the interiors.
 To get a clear outside view, a cut-out is provided at eye level for the viewer sitting on the
floor.
10. OPENINGS AND GLAZING
 Limiting the area of openings.
 Orientating openings away from the sun path.
 Reducing solar transmittance through openings, for example by reflective glazing. This might
be used in conjunction with low-e coatings that reduce the long-wave solar
radiation transmitted from the outside to the inside.
 87% of unwanted heat in summer comes into a building through the windows and doors.
Glass is a good thermal conductor and as such, double and triple glazing work to conflict that
fact by trapping air or gas that serves as a barrier between indoor and outdoor.
11. ORIENTATION
 The building should be elongated on an east-west axis.
 The kitchen on the other hand should be placed at the
leeward side of the building to avoid circulation of hot air.
12. BUILDING ENVELOP
 Insulating the building envelope to prevent the transmission
of indirect solar gains.
 Reducing the solar absorption of the building envelope. The
term 'albedo' relates to the total reflectance of a specific system. White coloured surfaces can
be effective in minimising heat transfer into buildings.
 The building envelope comprises of walls, floors and roofs, all these elements in a building can
be insulated from either heat gain.
 In hot climates, roof could be made reflective a Reflective Foil Laminate (RFL). In other cases,
 The use of dense materials like concrete, bricks and other similar materials that absorb, store
and release energy to optimize diurnal extremes should be considered
13. PASSIVE DOWN DROUGHT COOLING
 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.
14. VEGETATION

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 Planting to provide shading and to

reduce the solar absorption of roofs.
 Vegetation provides shade for the
surrounding ground and reduces its
temperature, it also has the ability to
absorb intense heat and emit so little,
this is due to its low emissivity quality
 Trees and other plants evaporate
moisture especially during a hot
summer day due to their high cooling
potential.
 Evergreen trees can be used for shade
in both summer and sun in winter. The
trees should be planted based on the
orientation

18.EARTH COUPLING

 In earth coupling, the moderate and consistent temperature of soil acts as heat sink
to cool the building through conduction.
 This principle is most effective in hot climate and also when earth temperature is
cooler than ambient air temperature
 Passively shaded areas around earth-coupled slabs keep surface ground
temperatures lower during the day and allow night-time cooling. Poorly shaded
surrounds can lead to earth temperatures exceeding internal comfort levels in many
areas. In this event, an earth- coupled slab can become an energy liability.
19.SHADING OF ROOFS
 Shading the roof is one of the important factors to reduce heat gain as around 40% of the
heat entering the building is through the roof.
 Roof shading can be done by plants, canvas, earthen pots, removable covers, wet gunny
bags, etc.
20. SHADES BY TEXTURED AND REFLECTIVE SURFACE
High textured wall surface helps to reduce heat gain.
Colour of building also helps to reflect the solar
radiation. Light colour helps to reflect the sun radiation.

GENERAL POINTS
1.Provide maximum ventilation and free air movement by large openings.
2. Orientation of the building; longer axis can be oriented along north – south axis. 3. Shading
in exterior of building can be done by vegetation, shading devices like louvers, sunshade,
fins, etc., and passive water features.
4. Provide sunshade spaces like balcony and veranda space while designing the building.
5. Light Colour building exterior also plays an important role in cooling.
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6. There are various types of insulation material like foam, polystyrene was available and
which can be provided in the building interior.
7. According to the building design approach, low rise building should be placed on wind
direction to protect the walls from receiving radiation.
8. Buildings having large surface areas should opt for compact form to minimize heat gain.
9. Large overhanging can be used to protect
walls.
10. The usage of reflective tiles and materials
for wall & roof and textured surface helps to
reduce heat gain.
11. Pitched roof is also recommended for
warm-humid climate to minimize roof
exposure.
12. Natural cooling can be separated
into five different categories: ventilation,
night flushing, radiative cooling,
evaporative cooling, and earth coupling.

NIGHT FLUSH COOLING

 Since the ventilation removes the heat from the mass of the building at night, this time-
tested passive technique is called night-flush cooling. Night-flush cooling works in two
stages. At night, natural ventilation or fans bring cool outdoor air in contact with the indoor
mass, thereby cooling it. The next morning, the windows are closed to prevent heating the
building with outdoor air.

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RADIANT COOLING
 At night the long-wave infrared
radiation from a clear sky is much
less than the long-wave infrared
radiation emitted from a building,
and thus there is a net flow to the
sky. On humid nights, the radiant
cooling is less efficient but a
temperature depression of about
7°F is still possible. Clouds, on the
other hand, almost completely
block the radiant cooling effect
 Direct & indirect radiant cooling On
clear nights with little humidity,
there is strong radiant cooling.
Humidity reduces radiant cooling, and clouds practically stop it. Potentially the most efficient
approach to radiant cooling is to make the roof itself the radiator. For example, an exposed-
concrete roof will rapidly lose heat by radiating to the night sky. The next day, the cool mass
of concrete can effectively cool a building by acting as a heat sink.
 At night, the movable insulation is in the “open” position so that the buildings’ heat can be
radiated away. During the day, the insulation is in the “closed” position to keep the heat out.
The specialized radiator cools air, which then blown into the building to cool the mass.
During the day, the radiator is vented outdoors, while the building is sealed
Evaporative Cooling When water evaporates, it draws a large amount of sensible heat from
its surroundings and converts this type of heat into latent heat in the form of water vapor.
It works best when relative humidity is lower (70 per cent or less during hottest periods) and
the air has a greater capacity to take up water vapour.

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DIRECT EVAPORATIVE

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INDIRECT EVAPORATIVE COOLING

EARTH COOLING

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DIRECT COUPLING

INDIRECT EARTH COUPLING

DEHUMIDIFICATION WITH A DESICCANT

In humid regions, dehumidifying the air in summer is very desirable for thermal comfort and control
of mildew. Two fundamental ways to remove moisture from the air exist. • With the first method,
the air is cooled below the dew point temperature. Water will then condense out of the air. For
example, in humid climates, water will often condense in earth tubes.
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The second method involves the use of a desiccant (drying agent). A number of chemicals, such as
silica gel, natural zeolite, activated alumina, and calcium chloride, will absorb large amounts of
water vapour from the air. However, there are two serious difficulties with the use of these
materials. First, when water vapour is absorbed and turned into liquid water, heat is given off. The
second problem with the use of a desiccant is that the material soon becomes saturated with water
and stops dehumidifying. The desiccant must then be regenerated by boiling off the water.

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