Passive cooling effects of courtyards

The passive cooling effects of a courtyard of a small building were determined numerically, employing an energy-analysis software developed for that purpose. The passive cooling features considered were the shading effects of courtyard walls and two large trees (of various shapes) planted immediately next to the south wall of the building, the presence of a pool, a lawn and flowers in the yard, and the wind shading effects of the walls and trees. It was found that these features alone cannot maintain thermal comfort during the hot summer hours in Tehran, but reduce the cooling energy requirements of the building to some extent. They have an adverse effect of increasing the heating energy requirements of the building slightly. The same savings in cooling energy needs of the building can be obtained through many features such as wall and roof insulation, double-glazed windows, Persian Blinds, and special sealing tapes to reduce infiltration. They all save on heating energy requirements as well. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.