Existing regulations concerning the design and construction of residential buildings which are naturally ventilated via courtyards and lightwells have origins in daylighting rather than in aerodynamics. The design of narrow, high-sided courtyards which achieve healthy . conditions for occupants, has long been a problem and a subject of various guidance and research, although many doubts and gaps in knowledge still remained. The work described below resolves these problems, and the coherent theory developed may lead to clearer guidance on the design of courtyards for natural ventilation.
Computational fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a powerfizl tool for analysing problems of air movement and has been increasingly widely used in applications in buildings. The emphasis has often been on its development as a replacement for the experimental approach, however, further work is needed to develop confidence in applying CFD to problems of air flow in buildings.
In the framework of a CEC demonstration project on humidity controlled ventilation, detailed measurements are carried out in 18 apartments in Namur, Belgium.The paper gives a brief description of the building, of the airtightness of the apartments and of the ventilation provisions. The largest part of the paper deals with the major outcomes of the study.
The importance of natural ventilation, typically restricted to residential buildings application, is rapidly increasing also within the commercial buildings. This is mainly due to the energy savings expected from a reduction of the use of the forced ventilation. Moreover, the remote control of the indoors, provided by means of the intelligent buildings features, allows an easier management of the environmental quality. Furthermore, the indoor air quality is also directly affected by the air exchanges obtained by natural ventilation.
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