Analyzing natural ventilation and cooling potential in a communal space building in Belgium under future climate conditions

Due to climate change, Western Europe is experiencing a surge in cooling demand, leading to higher summer temperatures accompanied by longer and stronger heat waves, thereby intensifying the toll on our buildings. This signals the need for architects to design buildings that take advantage of passive technics to provide thermal comfort. In recent years, natural ventilation has become a widely used method for reducing energy consumption and expenses. However, the utilization of natural ventilation can be restricted due to heatwaves and the impacts of climate change. To reduce the effects of these extreme conditions on the thermal comfort of the buildings, immediate guidance and decisions on architectural strategies are crucial. This study evaluated and compared the effectiveness of natural ventilation in current and future climate scenarios, particularly during extreme warm years.
The primary goal is to highlight the importance of increasing cross ventilation in order to reduce internal cooling loads during the summer months. The thermal performance of the building and the effect of natural ventilation was analyzed by the energy simulation tool ‘IDA ICE’. As a case study, we considered a cultural building with communal spaces located in Belgium.
According to our observation, indoor thermal comfort can be improved by determining an optimum set of input parameters such as the temperature setpoint, the discharge coefficient of the night ventilation, and the window operation behavior (opening and closing schedule).
The results of this study indicate that natural ventilation can substantially reduce overheating risks and cooling demand during a typical year both in current and future climate scenarios. However, it is important to keep in mind that during heatwaves, natural ventilation becomes less efficient and cannot guarantee full thermal comfort to all occupants.