Buildings are known to contribute significantly to the global carbon footprint. The project studied the benefit a solar chimney can bring to promote ventilation across the interior spaces of a building, especially during periods of low wind pressure. The flow of air across a building is known to yield a cooling effect to the occupants as well as flush interior spaces with fresh, oxygen-rich air while dissipating CO2. The approach taken in this research work has been twofold: (1) CFD analyses to investigate the performance of the system and expected temperatures and flow of air under the buoyancy effect, and (2) in-situ measurement on an actual prototype built of aluminium frame and glass panes on three sides and a black cladding as the fourth side. The project results show the possibility of achieving between 2 and 4 air changes per hour with the solar chimney system. The proposed system can be installed either fixed to facades or roof mounted. In general, the research findings has provided scientific data to support the use of solar chimneys in the local context, with good potential to improve thermal comfort and air quality inside our buildings passively for cold and warm regions.
Keywords
Sustainability in built environment,passive design,thermal comfort,energy efficiency,natural ventilation,solar chimney
