Environmental performance of the Sequence Patio-Portico-Tower in Hispano-Moslem architecture.

The residences that Muslims built in the Iberian Peninsula respond to a similar architectural type. They are commonly distributed around a central elongated courtyard, in whose north wing a tower is normally attached. The spatial sequence established between the tower and the patio improves the environmental conditions of the complex through the combination of some specific cooling strategies. This article includes a typological analysis of this configuration, a study of its environmental aspects, as well as the computer simulations undertaken to evaluate the hypothesis.

Natural (stack) ventilation augmented with air flow induction jets.

The inherent unreliability of the forces which drive natural ventilation can make such systems unattractive for the designer. Developing interest in mixed-mode ventilation is prompting difficulties in sourcing components suitable for ultra-low velocity flow generation in large ducts. This work examines the possibility of using air induction. A theoretical analysis generates equations which assist the designer in sizing a suitable inducer for ventilation purposes. Preliminary tests which verify the theory are described.

Performance of passive stack ventilation with heat recovery system.

In order to explain the effect of heat recovery on a passive ventilation system using stack effect, and to show the factors and conditions that the heat-recovery system can be installed in a passive ventilation system, the following investigations are made. The characteristics of the airflow in houses using the passive ventilation with the heat recovery units were investigated from scale model experiments and numerical experiments. And the effect of energy saving by the heat recovery system was investigated from numerical experiments using the standard weather data of cities in Japan.

Performance of heat recovery in passive stack ventilation systems.

The large heat loss from Passive-stack ventilation (PSV) systems quite often makes natural ventilation systems unattractive and it is therefore desirable to implement heat recovery in PSV stacks. As the stackpressure is usually about a few Pascal, it is crucial that the heat recoveryunit used in a PSV system produces even lower pressure loss, which is extremely difficult to achieve with the conventional plate heat exchangers. This work is concerned with an a low pressure-loss heat recovery device based on heat pipes.

A comparison of passive stack ventilation and mechanical extract fans in reducing condensation problems in homes.

A study comparing the effectiveness (as reported by occupants) of passive stack ventilation (PSY) and mechanical extract fans (MEFs) was carried out during the winter of 1996. This involved a face-to-face survey of 437 homes in England. More than 50% of the homes in the study had MEFs, 14% had PSV and 8% had humidistat-controlled MEFs (HMEFs). About 25% of the homes had either a kitchen or a bathroom with no ventilation device and 16% had no ventilation device in the home.

Heat pipe heat recovery for passive stack ventilation.

Four types of heat-pipe heat recovery systems were tested for application in passive stackventilation. The effects of fin shape, pipe arrangement and air velocity on the heat recoveryeffectiveness were investigated. The air velocity was found to have a significant effect on theeffectiveness of heat recovery; the effectiveness decreasing with increasing air velocity.The pressure loss coefficient for heat pipe units was also determined.

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