CLIMATOLOGY

STACK EFFECT
DEFINITION…
 Air circulation around and through a building it self is
called as stack effect.
 Stack effect or chimney effect is the movement of air
into and out of buildings, chimneys, flue-gas stacks, or
other containers, resulting from air buoyancy.
 Buoyancy occurs due to a difference in indoor-to-
outdoor air density resulting from temperature and
moisture differences.
 The result is either a positive or negative buoyancy
force.
 The greater the thermal difference and the height of
the structure, the greater the buoyancy force, and
thus the stack effect.
 The stack effect helps drive natural ventilation, air
infiltration, and fires.
STACK EFFECT IN BUILDINGS
 Since buildings are not totally sealed (at the very minimum,
there is always a ground level entrance), the stack effect
will cause air infiltration.

 During the heating season, the warmer indoor air rises up

through the building and escapes at the top either through
open windows, ventilation openings, or unintentional holes
in ceilings, like ceiling fans and recessed lights.
 The rising warm air reduces the pressure in the base
of the building, drawing cold air in through either
open doors, windows, or other openings and leakage.

 During the cooling season, the stack effect is

reversed, but is typically weaker due to lower
temperature differences.
 In a modern high-rise building with a well-sealed envelope, the
stack effect can create significant pressure differences that must be
given design consideration and may need to be addressed with
mechanical ventilation.
 Stairwells, shafts, elevators, and the like, tend to contribute to the
stack effect, while interior partitions, floors, and fire separations can
mitigate it.
 Especially in case of fire, the stack effect needs to be controlled to
prevent the spread of smoke and fire, and to maintain tenable
conditions for occupants and firefighters.
CAUSE OF STACK EFFECT
 The stack effect in industrial
flue gas stacks is similar to
that in buildings, except that
it involves hot flue gases
having large temperature
differences with the ambient
outside air.
 Furthermore, an industrial
flue gas stack typically
provides little obstruction
for the flue gas along its
length and is, in fact,
normally optimized to
enhance the stack effect to
reduce fan energy
requirements.
 Large temperature differences between the
outside air and the flue gases can create a strong
stack effect in chimneys for buildings using
a fireplace for heating.
 Fireplace chimneys can sometimes draw in more
cold outside air than can be heated by the
fireplace, resulting in a net heat loss.
 Before the development of large volume fans,
mines were ventilated using the stack effect. A
downcast shaft allowed air into the mine. At the
foot of the upcast shaft a furnace was kept
continuously burning. The shaft (commonly
several hundred yards deep) behaved like a
chimney and air rose through it drawing fresh air
down the downcast stack and around the mine.
 Fireplace chimneys can
sometimes draw in more cold
outside air than can be heated
by the fireplace, resulting in a
net heat loss.
 Before the development of
large volume fans, mines were
ventilated using the stack
effect. A downcast shaft
allowed air into the mine.
 At the foot of the upcast shaft
a furnace was kept
continuously burning. The shaft
(commonly several hundred
yards deep) behaved like a
chimney and air rose through
it drawing fresh air down the
downcast stack and around
the mine.
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