Natural Ventilation In A Warming Climate: An Evaluation Of Computational Simulation Methods And Metrics

With wider concerns around increasing global temperatures, it is imperative to look at how we quantify (simulation methods employed) and evaluate (thermal comfort metrics utilized) natural ventilation schemes especially in warmer climates. This study focuses on three apartment typologies, at different heights and orientations, to assess how design alterations affect annual thermal comfort hours. We utilize four modeling methodologies that start from simplified zone airflow to detailed airflow network coupled with external pressure coefficients and internal wind speeds derived from a CFD simulation. We use three thermal comfort metrics: predicted mean vote, adaptive thermal comfort and 26°C operational temperature threshold. On the metrics front, we find that the operative temperature thresholds predict fewer annual discomfort hours, drawing attention to the importance of the metrics. On the modelling front, our results reveal that the most granular modeling approach is the most successful at identifying additional cooling hours in the cross-ventilation scheme.