Performance analysis of wind catcher integrated with shower cooling system to meet thermal comfort conditions in buildings

Abstract In this study, natural ventilation and cooling of a two-floor building connected to a wind catcher were studied in which a shower cooling system has been used to reduce ambient air temperature. The capability of the system to meet thermal comfort conditions based on adaptive thermal comfort and ISO/EN 7730 standards was evaluated under different operating conditions. In order to estimate the air change per hour and air flow simulation around and inside the test building, ANSYS FLUENT 6.3 software was utilized and the air temperature at the outlet of the shower cooling system was computed using a thermodynamic model. The results showed that for the wind velocity beyond 0.4 m/s, the ACH value for the rooms could be set in the range of 3–20 h −1 with the regulation of window's aperture. Under this condition, the temperature and relative humidity of air stream into the building did not change with the wind velocity. Also, it was found that when three buildings are situated in one direction, ACH value for the middle building is less than others. As the ACH value increases, thermal comfort conditions are met for larger values of required cooling demands. Although electrical energy consumption of the proposed system is already lower than evaporative air coolers, it cannot compete with split inverter air conditioners where the relative humidity of ambient air is high.