Journal
APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
Volume 188, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2021.116654
Keywords
Dew point indirect evaporative cooling; Solar chimney; Windcatcher; Air-cooled window; Hybrid passive cooling systems
Funding
- American University of Beirut - University Research Board
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This study successfully reduced the energy consumption for a classroom in the semi-arid climate of Beqaa, Lebanon by integrating a solar chimney-windcatcher system with a fan-assisted cross-flow dew point indirect evaporative cooler (DP-IEC). The system achieved optimal balance between thermal comfort and indoor air quality, resulting in a 70% reduction in operational cost compared to conventional systems over the summer period.
This work investigates the performance of a novel passive ventilation and cooling system for a classroom in hot and semi-arid climate. The system integrated a combined solar chimney - windcatcher system with a fan-assisted cross-flow dew point indirect evaporative cooler (DP-IEC) to condition the fresh air supplied to the space. The classroom exhaust, driven by the solar chimney, was used to cool a double layer window and reduce the radiation asymmetry. A mathematical model was developed to size the system's components and optimize its hourly operation to achieve the required thermal comfort and indoor air quality at minimal fan energy and DP-IEC water consumption. The integrated model was validated with published data in the literature. The validated integrated model was used to simulate the proposed system for a typical classroom in the semi-arid climate of Beqaa, Lebanon. It was found that the cooling system was able to meet the space thermal and air quality requirements throughout the summer with a temperature of 24.8 degrees C (+/- 0.3 degrees C), a relative humidity ranging between 43% and 58%, and a CO2 level less than 900 ppm. Moreover, the radiation asymmetry was less than 3.5 degrees C which is within the acceptable range (less than10 degrees C). The system's highest energy and water consumptions of 3.6 kWh/day and 185 L/day occurred during the peak load month of July where the DP-IEC was operated with a high fresh air flowrate of 1 kg/s with no bypass throughout most of the day. Over the summer period (May to September), the system achieved 70% reduction in operational cost as compared to the conventional systems.
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