Ventilation

and
Air movement

Chapter : 4

Copyright: Prof: Suresh murthy,RVCA, Bangalore

 Functions of Ventilation and
Air movement
Ventilation : Primary factors determining Human health, Comfort & Well being
Ventilation involves movement of air at a relatively low rate
Functions of ventilation:
1. Health Ventilation: Supply of Fresh Air , Under all Climatic conditions
maintain minimum level by replacing indoor air with fresh air> governed by
Type of Occupancy, Number and Activity of occupants
2. Convective or Structural cooling Ventilation: Cool the structure of the Bldg. by
outside air when indoor temp is higher
=0.361 N*V (to-ti) , N- No of air changes/Hr and V= vol of room
In both cases Motive force is either “Thermal (stack effect) or Dynamic (wind
pressure)”
Air movement:
3. Associated and required for Physiological cooling or Thermal comfort
ventilation: takes care of Heat loss from body (Met, Activity, other heat gains)
• Thermal force will rarely be sufficient to create air movement

Airflows of different order and Magnitude required for all three types of
functions of ventilation
 1) Health Ventilation:
supply of Fresh Air
• Amount of Oxygen for breathing, Cooling (limited to Metabolic
levels), Odour removal
• Outdoor air has:
– 21% Oxygen,
– 0.03% Co2,
– 78% N2,
– 1% Inert gasses,
– 5-25 gm water vapour
• Health purposes  0.7-2 ACH is enough
• Odour removal 4-5 Air changes/Hr is sufficient
• For structural and Physiological cooling require more air supply than
for health purposes Specified in National Building code (NBC)
– Provision of permanent ventilators, grills or brick Jalli with windows

Copyright: Prof: Suresh murthy, RVCA, Bangalore

 2) Thermal Comfort Ventilation:
Convective or Structural cooling
• Air flow is important
• Pattern of Velocity distribution
• Geometry of Space, location of opening important
• Inlet and outlet and narrow walls for higher airflow &
Velocity

Copyright: Prof: Suresh murthy,RVCA, Bangalore

 Thermal Comfort Ventilation:
Convective or Structural cooling
• If no ventilation> Indoor air takes temperature of surfaces and as its Sp.
Heat is less it heats up quickly.
• If ventilation is allowed> Outside air at 35 or 40 Deg C moves in and mixes
with indoor cooler air so temp of 35 or 40 Deg C is reached at steady state.
• Either of the two can give comfort conditions based on , whether the
inside surface temperatures or the outside air temperature is higher.
• In warm humid climates: Allowing outside breeze and air is best for
comfort, along with less time lag of building fabric (breathing structures or
rooms on stilts with breathing fabric i.e. brick jallis, perforated walls etc.)
• In Hot dry climates: it may be best to close windows in the daytime to
prevent air at high temperature to enter in , and open the windows in the
night to allow moderated air at lower temperature to cool interior
surfaces of bldg which have higher temperature than ambient air
temperature due to time lag of Building fabric.
Copyright: Prof: Suresh murthy,RVCA, Bangalore
 3) Air movement: For Physiological
cooling:
Movement of air past the skin surface gives:

1. Accelerated heat dissipation: by increasing convective heat

losses
2. Accelerating Evaporation: Air movement very useful in high
humidity conditions (above 85% RH) when there are no other
forms of heat dissipation from the body for achieving
comfort
 Overall Ventilation requirement for
Hot Dry or Composite Climates
Summer:
• Better to reduce and control the openings in day time
• Take advantage of the colder evening or night breeze to
lower heat gain
Winter:
• Restraint may be required in both Day & Night if air
temperature is high in the day or low in the night
• Condensation becomes an issue so exhaust ventilation
is the best solution, when water vapour is produced>
more so in Kitchen/Bathroom
 Ventilation & Air movement for
Warm Humid Climates
• Main function: Thermal comfort by Air
movement on body
• Sufficient Evaporative cooling by Air movement
required if humidity is high
• Maintain heat flow at 50 -80 Cms above floor
• Bedrooms: locate beds where Avg Velocity is high
in the room
• Offices: Air movement at 120-150 Cms above the
floor (reduce disturbances in function of room)
 Drivers for ventilation
1. Induced by permanent temperature gradient
across building section due to thermal force:
also called Stack effect
2. External wind flow (Wind force)
 Thermal forces
• Two openings above and below are required for STACK
FLOW
• Density difference moves up warm air
– ti > to, excess indoor pressure builds up at upper opening
as warm air raises
– Depression of temperature at lower level induces inward
flow from bottom
• Works when Avg indoor & Outdoor air temperature are
different
• Single opening > Air pressure equalizes > No airflow
– If to > ti, flow direction reverses
 Natural ventilation

• Natural ventilation is the ventilation of a

building with outside air without the use of a
fan or other mechanical system.
• It can be achieved with openable windows or
trickle vents when the spaces to ventilate are
small and the architecture permits.
b) Stack Effect : Relies on thermal
forces
•In more complex systems warm air in the
building can be allowed to rise and flow out
upper openings to the outside (stack effect) thus
forcing cool outside air to be drawn into the
building naturally through openings in the lower
areas.
•These systems use very little energy but care
must be taken to ensure the occupants' comfort.
•Air-side coolers perform the same function as
natural ventilation, but use mechanical systems'
fans, ducts, dampers, and control systems to
introduce and distribute cool outdoor air when
appropriate.
•In warm or humid months, in many climates,
maintaining thermal comfort solely via natural
ventilation may not be possible so conventional
air conditioning systems are used as backups.
• Stack pressure (N/m2) =0.042 h (to-ti)
• Air flow in m3/sec =(7/ 60)*(A *sqrt (h ∆ t)),
A= free Area of opening (m2)
h=height of stack (m)

A = flow area, m²
C = discharge coefficient (usually taken to be from 0.65 to 0.70)
g = gravitational acceleration, 9.81 m/s²
h = height or distance, m
Ti = average inside temperature
To = outside air temperature
Q = Heat flow (Joules)
Stack effect and induced ventilation
 Cross Ventilation
• Condition when given space is connected by aperture to both the pressure
and suction areas of the exterior
• For Air pressure Perpendicular to window inlet
– If there is no Cross ventilation: Avg indoor velocity of air is lower
– Avg indoor velocity increases with cross ventilation
• Rooms with windows on opposite walls
– The avg velocity does not change significantly if the width of inlet is increased
with width of outlet being the same
– If the inlet is kept constant and outlet is increased, the indoor wind velocity
increases
– If both inlet and outlets are of same widths-the avg indoor wind velocity
increases significantly with increase in width
– For total fenestration are being 20-30% of floor area, indoor air velocity=27%
of outdoor air velocity
Air flow: Due to wind pressure

Pw=Wind pressure
(N/m2)=0.612*v2

Pw=wind pressure in N/m2

V=wind velocity in m/s

Pressure difference can be used for Cross

ventilation
Actual Air flow is the result from combined effects
of thermal and wind pressure forces
Algebraic is sqrt of (vector sum of both pressures)
Air flow: Due to wind pressure
Air flow pattern: Due to internal partitions
 Air flow pattern:
Due to internal partitions
 Cross Ventilation: Indoor air velocity
V/s orientation of wind in relation to the opening
Effect of trees on wind pressure and
diversion of Airflow
Warm humid climates: Airflow
requirement
 Hot Dry or Hot Arid climates:
Passive cooling by evaporation
 Hot Dry or Hot Arid climates: Passive
cooling by evaporation: Courtyard Pool
Hot Dry or Hot Arid climates: Passive cooling by
evaporation: Courtyard Pool
Hot Dry or Hot Arid climates:
Wind catchers
Hot Dry or Hot Arid climates: Wind catchers
Hot Dry or Hot Arid climates: Wind catchers in Egypt
 “Mechanical" or "forced" ventilation
• "Mechanical" or "forced" ventilation is used to control
indoor air quality. Excess humidity, odors, and contaminants
can often be controlled via dilution or replacement with
outside air. However, in humid climates much energy is
required to remove excess moisture from ventilation air.
• Kitchens and bathrooms typically have mechanical exhaust to
control odors and sometimes humidity. Kitchens have
additional problems to deal with such as smoke and grease
– Factors in the design of such systems include the flow rate (which is
a function of the fan speed and exhaust vent size) and noise level.
– If ducting for the fans traverse unheated space (e.g., an attic), the
ducting should be insulated as well to prevent condensation on the
ducting.

Copyright: Prof: Suresh murthy, RVCA, Bangalore

 Air movement through mechanicals means

Ceiling fans and table/floor fans circulate air within

a room for the purpose of reducing the perceived
temperature because of evaporation of perspiration
on the skin of the occupants.

Because hot air rises, ceiling fans may be used to

keep a room warmer in the winter by circulating the
warm stratified air from the ceiling to the floor.

Ceiling fans do not provide ventilation as defined as

the introduction of outside air.
 Summary
• Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any
space to provide high indoor air quality (i.e. to control temperature,
replenish oxygen (health purposes) , or remove moisture, odors,
smoke, heat, dust, airborne bacteria, and carbon dioxide).

• Ventilation is used to remove unpleasant smells and excessive

moisture, introduce outside air, to keep interior building air
circulating, and to prevent stagnation of the interior air.

• Ventilation includes both the exchange of air to the outside as well

as circulation of air within the building. It is one of the most
important factors for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in
buildings.
• Methods for ventilating a building may be divided into
mechanical/forced and natural types.