Low Carbon Buildings

Week 5: Passive Building Design /

Thermal Mass and Thermal Loss
The Sun as a Source of Energy
• The Sun is considered to produces a constant
amount of energy.
• At the surface of the Sun the intensity of the
solar radiation is about 6.33×107 W/m2.
• As the Sun’s rays spread out into space the
radiation becomes less intense and by the
time the rays reach the edge of the Earth’s
atmosphere they are considered to be
parallel.
Solar Radiation
The Solar Constant
• The solar constant (ISC) is the average radiation
intensity falling on an imaginary surface, perpendicular
to the Sun’s rays and at the edge of the Earth’s
atmosphere .
• The constant actually varies due to:
– the Earth’s elliptical orbit the intensity of the solar
radiation falling on the Earth changes by about 7%
between January 1st, when the Earth is nearest the Sun,
and July 3rd, when the Earth is furthest from the Sun.
– A yearly average value is taken and the solar constant
equals 1367 W/m2.
– Even this value is inaccurate since the output of the sun
changes by about ±0.25% due to Sun spot cycles
Solar Irradiance
• The solar radiation intensity falling on a surface is called irradiance
and is measured in W/m2.
• The solar constant can be used to calculate the irradiance incident
on a surface perpendicular to the Sun’s rays outside and the Earth’s
atmosphere on any day of the year (i.e. as the distance between
the Sun and Earth changes thought
𝑛
the year):
𝐼0 = 𝐼𝑆𝐶 1 + 0.034 𝐶𝑜𝑠 2𝜋 265.25

– Where:
– I0 = extraterrestrial irradiance on a plane perpendicular to the Sun’s rays
(W/m2),
– ISC = the solar constant (1367 W/m2),
– n = the day of the year such that for January the 1st n = 1.
Annual Variation of Irradiance

The variation in Io over the course of a year. The dashed line shows the value
of the solar constant (Isc)
The Cosine Effect

• The value of I0 is the same no

matter where you are on the
Earth’s surface, however not
all points on the Earth’s surface
are perpendicular to the Sun’s
rays.
• A useful quantity to calculate is
the solar irradiance incident on
an imaginary surface that is
parallel to a horizontal plane
on the Earth’s surface.
• The irradiance on such a
surface is smaller than I0
because of the cosine effect • plane A, a horizontal plane at the point P on the
and is the maximum amount of
solar energy that could be Earth’s surface;
collected on a horizontal plane • plane B, a surface parallel to plane A but on the
at the Earth’s surface if the
atmosphere did not scatter edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, often referred to
and absorb any radiation. as the horizontal plane;
• plane C, a surface perpendicular to the Sun’s rays,
often referred to as the normal plane.
The Cosine Effect
• I0 is the irradiance intensity on the normal plane and
the irradiance intensity on the horizontal plane can be
calculated from:
• 𝐼𝑂ℎ = 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝜃𝑍
• Where θZ is the solar zenith angle and I0h is the
extraterrestrial irradiance intensity on a horizontal
plane.
• It can be seen that θZ is also the angle of incidence of
the Sun’s rays on a horizontal plane.
• Note that since cosine values fall between 1 and –1, I0h
will never be greater than I0, and I0h = I0 at point P’
where cos θZ = 1 (θZ = 0°).
Irradiation
• The intensity of solar radiation is called irradiance and is measured in the units of
power per unit area (W/m2 or kW/m2)
• The total amount of solar radiation energy is called irradiation and is measures in
the units of energy per unit area (J/m2).
• Irradiation is given the symbol H, so that:
– H0 is the total daily amount of extraterrestrial radiation on a plane perpendicular to the Sun’s
rays;
– H0h is the total daily amount of extraterrestrial radiation on a plane horizontal to the Earth’s
surface.
• Note that these planes are considered to rotate with the Earth so that H0 and H0h
are daily values, and the planes are shaded at night.
• The values of H0 and H0h varies throughout the year in the northern hemisphere.
• For any given day the value of H0 changes from latitude to latitude despite the
value of I0 being constant for all latitudes. This occurs because the length of the
days changes and the effects is most obvious inside the Arctic circle where much of
the year is either 24 hours of darkness or 24 hours of daylight.
Irradiation Variance v Latitude

The total daily amount of extraterrestrial irradiation on a plane perpendicular to

the Sun's rays (H0) for different latitudes
Variation of Irradiance v Latitude

The total daily amount of extraterrestrial irradiation on a plane horizontal to the

Earth's surface(H0h) for different latitudes.
Mie Scatter
• Scattering by dust particles larger than wavelengths of light is called
Mie scattering.
• This process includes both true scattering (where the radiation
bounces of the particle) and absorption followed by emission,
which heats the particles.
• The amount of radiation scattered by this process will vary a lot
depending on location and the weather blowing particles about.
• A form of Mie scattering called the Tyndall effect, that preferentially
scatters shorter wavelengths is responsible for the sky being blue.
• Clouds reflect a lot of radiation and also absorb a little, the rest is
transmitted through.
• Globally, clouds reflect a lot of radiation and help regulate the
surface temperature.
 Atmospheric Scatter • Beam (or direct)
radiation – coming
straight through the
atmosphere to hit
the plane (very
directional);
• Diffused radiation –
scattered in all
direction in the
atmosphere and
then some arrives at
the plane on the
Earth’s surface (not
directional);
• Reflected radiation –
beam and diffused
radiation that hits
The fraction of the total solar radiant energy reflected back to the Earth’s surface
space from clouds, scattering and reflection from the Earth’s and is reflected onto
surface is called the albedo of the Earth-atmosphere system and the plane.
is roughly 0.3 for the Earth as a whole.
The Extraterrestrial Solar Spectrum

The extraterrestrial solar spectrum (AM = 0), the theoretical black body
curve and the solar spectrum at the Earth's surface for AM = 2 and the
absorbed regions shown in black.
Estimating Solar Energy at the Earth’s
Surface
• The solar constant is the average
extraterrestrial irraidation at the
edge of the atmosphere:
– 𝐼𝑆𝐶 = 1367 𝑊
𝑚2
• The Earth presents a disc of area nR2
to the Sun, therefore the total
amount of extraterrestrial insolation
incident on the Earth is ISC × nR2.
• This value is then divided by half the
surface areas of the Earth, 4nR2/2,
which gives 684 W/m2, the average
insolation incident on unit area of
the Earth facing the Sun.
• Note that solar panels are calibrated
assuming that there is 1000 W/m2
available.
Estimating Irradiation
• A rough estimate of the irradiation incident per
unit area (H) of the Earth’s surface can be made if
we assume that 30% of the Sun’s energy is lost in
the atmosphere and that a day is an average of
12 hours long at any location.
• H=0.7 x 684 x 12 = 5.75kWh/day
• If we assume that the Sun is only at an
appreciable strength for an average 6 hours in the
day (as is likely in more northerly latitudes):
• H=0.7 x 684 x 6 = 2.88kWh/day
Annual Profile of Mean Solar Radiation
Solar Intensities, Latitude 51.7N
• During a typical day in September
we will experience zero solar
radiation before sunrise up to a
maximum of about 500 W/m2 at
noon before declining again.
• At the end of June it is up to about
800 W/m2
• In December the maximum value
may be about 150 W/m2
• If you calculate the area under each
of these curves, i.e. multiply the
amount of energy coming in per
unit time against the amount of
time, you can calculate the total
amount of energy coming in per
day.

Schematic diagram showing the variation in the solar radiation receipt on three days
with no cloud at a latitude of 52°N. This approximates to a sinusoidal function.
Solar Radiation • In the UK changes in
latitude by 10 will
effect the daily
radiation receipt.
• In the summer the
effect is small despite
intensity changes, this
is compensated by the
longer daylight.
• In the winder this
varies significantly, for
example in Penzance
we may receive 8J/m2
but in Shetland this
decreases to 2MJ/m2
Summary
• Heat gain is therefore influenced by a range of
factors:
– Geographic latitude
– Orientation of the building North or South
– Season of the year
– Local cloud conditions
– Angles between the building and the sun
– The nature of window glass and its absorbance of
solar radiation
– The nature of the building materials
Seasonal Solar Gain Through Windows
Type of Window Seasonal Heat Gain over a heating
season of 33 weeks
South Facing 680 MJ/m2
East and West windows 410 MJ/m2
North facing 250 MJ/m2
Total for a average semi detached house 7500 MJ
Solar Thermal Systems
• Solar thermal concepts
use the energy from the
sun to heat or cool the
building and usually
consist of four separate
components:
Storage

Collection

Control Distribution
Passive Solar Buildings
Component Processes
H – Heating / C – Cooling / L - Lighting
Collection (H) Direct gain with storage
Storage (H) Indirect gain
Distribution (H) Direct gain (without storage)
Control (H) Sunspaces
(C) Night Mechanical Ventilation
(C) Natural Ventilation
(L) Windows
(L) Skylights
(L) Sawtooth Apertures
(L) Monitor Apertures
(L) Atria
Passive Energy Gain / Collection
• Passive solar technologies use sunlight without active mechanical systems
• Converting sunlight into usable heat (in water, air, and thermal mass),
• Cause air-movement for ventilating
• Passive cooling is the use of the same design principles to reduce summer
cooling requirements.
• Some passive systems use a small amount of conventional energy to
control dampers, shutters, night insulation
• Other devices enhance solar energy collection, storage, and use, and
reduce undesirable heat transfer.
• Applications include direct and indirect solar gain for space heating
• Solar water heating systems based on the thermosiphonor geyser pump
• Use of thermal mass and phase-change materials for slowing indoor air
temperature swings
• The solar chimney for enhancing natural ventilation, and earth sheltering.
Solar Gain
• Solar gain (also known as solar heat gain or passive solar gain) refers
to the increase in temperature in a space, object or structure that
results from solar radiation.
• The amount of solar gain increases with the strength of the
sunlight, and with the ability of any intervening material to transmit
or resist the radiation.
• Objects struck by sunlight absorb the short-wave radiation from the
light and reradiate the heat at longer infrared wavelengths.
• Where there is a material or substance (such as glass) between the
sun and the objects struck that is more transparent to the shorter
wavelengths than the longer, then when the sun is shining the net
result is an increase in temperature — solar gain.
• This effect, the greenhouse effect, so called due to the solar gain
that is experienced behind the glass of a greenhouse.
Solar Gain
• Windows also emit solar energy which heats the
building interior.
• The solar gain may be calculated as:
• Solar Gain = A * Transmission * Irradiation
– Solar Gain = heat gain (MJ)
– A = area of windows (m2)
– Transmission = fraction of incident solar radiation
transmitted to interior
– Irradiation = solar radiation incident on window
surface (MJ/m2)
Building Heat Gain and Thermal Mass
• A building normally has mass and the mass of the
structure will take time to store heat during
heating periods and loose heat in cooling periods.
• Effectively the building mass provides inertia
against rapid temperature changes and can be
referred to as the flywheel effect.
• Thus hour by hour changes in temperature are
reduced as the thermal mass will absorb thermal
energy when the surroundings are higher in
temperature than the mass, and give thermal
energy back when the surroundings are cooler.
Thermal Mass
Exterior
temperature

Interior temperature
Thermal Mass
• Thermal mass is equivalent to thermal
capacitance or heat capacity.
• This is the ability of a body to store thermal
energy.
• It is typically referred to by the symbol Cth and
measured in units of J/°C or J/K (which are
equivalent)
Thermal Mass

Egyptian brick store circa 1200BC

 Pantheon
Rome
• The Pantheon is a church in
Rome, Italy, commissioned
by Marcus Agrippa during
the reign of Augustus (27
BC - 14 AD) and rebuilt by
the emperor Hadrian about
126 AD.
The 4,535 metric tons weight
of the Roman concrete dome is
concentrated on a ring of
voussoirs 9.1 metres (30 ft) in
diameter that form the oculus,
while the downward thrust of
the dome is carried by eight
barrel vaults in the 6.4 metres
thick drum wall into eight piers.
The thickness of the dome
varies from 6.4 metres at the
base of the dome to 1.2 metres
around the oculus.
UK Housing and Climate Change
• Though thermal mass has always been an aspect of
buildings, only in recent years has it evolved as a tool
to be deployed in the conservation of energy.
• The report 'UK Housing and Climate Change' by Arups
in 2005 in particular was seized upon by manufacturers
of high thermal mass materials as the raison-d'etre for
'heavyweight' construction.
• Arup painted a picture of increasing temperatures
across the UK and argued that future Mediterranean
climatic conditions justified the employment of
heavyweight construction.
Thermal Mass
• Thermal mass may also be used for bodies of
water, machines or any other structure or body in
engineering or biology, wherein the term "heat
capacity" is use.
• The equation relating thermal energy to thermal
mass is:
• 𝑄 = 𝐶𝑡ℎ ∆𝑇
– where
– Q is the thermal energy transferred,
– Cth is the thermal mass of the body, and
– ΔT is the change in temperature.
Example

• 250 J of heat energy is added to a copper gear

with a thermal mass of 38.46 J/°C, its
temperature will rise by 6.50 °C.
• If the body consists of a homogeneous
material with sufficiently known physical
properties, the thermal mass is simply the
mass of material present multiplied by the
specific heat capacity of that material.
Specific Heat
• For items made of many materials, the sum of heat capacities for
their pure components may be used in the calculation, or in some
cases the number may simply be measured for the entire body.
• Heat capacity is characteristic of an object; its corresponding
intensive property is specific heat capacity, expressed in terms of a
measure of the amount of material such as mass or number of
moles, which must be multiplied by similar units to give the heat
capacity of the entire body of material.
• Thus the heat capacity can be equivalently calculated as the
product of the mass m of the body and the specific heat capacity c
for the material, or the product of the number of moles of
molecules present n and the molar specific heat capacity .
• For discussion of why the thermal energy storage abilities of pure
substances vary, consider factors that affect specific heat capacity.
 Specific Heat Capacity of Common Materials
Product cp(kJ/kg K)
Aluminium, 0oC 0.87
Asbestos cement board 0.84
Asphalt 0.92
Brick, common 0.9
Chalcopyrite 0.54
Concrete, stone 0.75
Copper 0.39
Glass 0.84
Gypsum 1.09
Iron, 20oC 0.46
Limestone 0.908
Lead 0.13
Plaster, light 1
Plastics, foam 1.3
Rubber 2.01
Sandstone 0.92
Steel 0.49
Vermiculite 0.84
Wood, white pine 2.5
Zinc 0.38
Thermal Mass
• For a body of uniform composition, Cth can be
approximated by
Cth = mcp
– where
• m is the mass of the body
• cp is the isobaric specific heat capacity of the material
averaged over temperature range in question.
• For bodies composed of numerous different
materials, the thermal masses for the different
components can be added together.
Example

Calculate the specific heat capacity of facing

brick assuming it is of density 1500 kg/m2.

Determine the quantity of heat required to

raise the temperature of the brick from 5oC to
12oC.
Thermal Inertia
• A bulk material property related to thermal
conductivity and volumetric heat capacity.
• Thermal inertia is a measure of the thermal
mass and the velocity of the thermal wave
which controls the surface temperature of a
material. In heat transfer, a higher value of the
volumetric heat capacity means a longer time
for the system to reach equilibrium.
Thermal Inertia
• The thermal inertia of a material is defined as the square
root of the product of the material's bulk thermal
conductivity and volumetric heat capacity, where the latter
is the product of density and specific heat capacity:

• SI units of thermal inertia are J/m2Ks1/2, also occasionally

referred to as Kieffers.
• Thermal inertia of the oceans is a major factor influencing
climate commitment, the degree of global warming
predicted to eventually result from a step change in climate
forcing such as a fixed increase in the atmospheric
concentration of a greenhouse gas.
Thermal Admittance
• Thermal admittance (aka heat transfer coefficient) quantifies a material's
ability to absorb and release heat from a space as the indoor temperature
changes through a period of time.
• Admittance values can be a useful tool in the early stages of design when
assessing heat flows into and out of thermal storage.
• Admittance is measured in W/(m2K).
• So that
• h = ΔQ / A x ΔT
–
Where: h = heat transfer coefficient, W/(m2K)
ΔQ = heat input or heat lost, W
A = heat transfer surface, m2
ΔT = difference in temperature between the solid surface and the adjacent air
space.

• Higher admittance values indicate higher thermal mass.

SAP
• SAP uses thermal mass in calculating the heating and cooling load of the
building.
• SAP uses the kappa (k) value to determine thermal mass. 'k' is the measure of
the heat capacity per unit area in kJ/m2K of the 'thermally active' part of the
construction element:
• k = 10-6 Σi pi ci di
–
pi = the density of the layer 'i' in the construction (kg/m3)
ci = the specific heat capacity of the layer 'i' (J/kg K)
di = the thickness of the layer 'i' (mm)

• The calculation is done over all the layers of the construction element, starting
at the inside surface and stopping at whichever of these conditions occurs first
(including its occurrence part-way through a layer):
• half way through the construction
• an insulating layer
• a maximum thickness of 100mm
Thermal Mass Parameter
• The K value is used in the calculation of the Thermal Mass
Parameter (TMP):
• TMP = Cm / TFA
Cm = sum of (area x heat capacity) construction elements
TFA = total floor area

• The 'k' value is a relatively crude way of determining

thermal mass. It makes assumptions about the extent of
the thermally active volumes of a material and ignores the
effect of thermal conductivity in calculating the period over
which heat is absorbed and emitted from the material.
Example

• Example: A building is to be constructed from

traditional cavity wall construction. This will
be faced with 120 mm limestone block, 120
mm internal blockwork and 50 mm sheep
wool cavity insulation.
• Calculate the thermal inertia or K value of the
wall.
Thermal Mass
• Thermal mass is effective in improving building comfort in any place
that experiences daily temperature fluctuations, both in winter as
well as in summer. When used well and combined with passive
thermal design thermal mass can play an important role in major
reductions to energy use in active heating and cooling systems.
• The terms heavy-weight and light-weight are often used to describe
buildings with different thermal mass strategies, and affects the
choice of numerical factors used in subsequent calculations to
describe their thermal response to heating and cooling.
• The use of dynamic simulation computational modelling software
has allowed for the accurate calculation of the environmental
performance within buildings with different constructions and for
different annual climate data sets.
The Passiv Haus
• There is growing momentum in Europe for the approach espoused by the
Passive House (Passivhaus in German) Institute in Germany.
• The approaches uses
– passive technology
– passive sources of heat
– minimises energy usage,
– emphasises the need for high levels of insulation reinforced by meticulous
attention to detail in order to address thermal bridging and cold air
infiltration.
– Most of the buildings built to the Passive House standard also incorporate an
active heat recovery ventilation unit with or without a small (typically 1 kW)
incorporated heating component.
• The energy design of Passive House buildings is developed using a
spreadsheet-based modeling tool called the Passive House Planning
Package (PHPP) which is updated periodically.
• A building may be certified as a "Passive House" when it can be shown
that it meets certain criteria, the most important being that the annual
specific heat demand for the house should not exceed 15kWh/m 2a.
Case Studies UNDERHILL HOUSE,
WARWICKSHIRE
Under Hill House
• The structure is made entirely of concrete, most of which remains exposed
internally, to exploit the benefit of thermal mass.
• With the joints between the precast concrete retaining wall panels
reinforced, the structure is naturally waterproof and airtight – indeed, so
airtight that it achieved an impressive n50 result of 0.22ac/hr at 50pa (the
Passivhaus requirement is 0.6).
• Concrete is probably the only sensible material to use on an underground
house, and earth-sheltered construction is an environmentally-friendly
way to build.
• While more weight was given to reducing the carbon emissions from the
building’s performance than to the embodied energy in the materials
used, we were concerned to select those with recycled content.
• The concrete contains PFA and GGBS as cement replacements, paving uses
the by-product of the china clay industry, the screed contains crushed
glass bottles, and the internal blockwork uses recycled sawdust
Solar Collection
Solar Collection
• Solar collection or solar thermal collectors are not necessarily active
systems, but can be angled walls or plans that are optimised to
collect heat from the sun during daylight hours. This coupled with
thermal mass may allow for the heating of air spaces and the mass
of the building to allow for lower temperatures in darkness.
• Such designs are good for arid climates, but allow for moderation in
more temperate zones. The passive solar technique may comprise
of the huge windows to congregate light, fans for the heat
allocation, stone floor coverings, and open areas.
• Overheating in daylight hours is important, although passive air
flow and water can be used to moderate temperature and increase
comfort levels as well as good solar shading to avoid direct sunlight.
Examples include the Autonomous House ( 1975 Brenda and Robert
Vale).
Solar Collection
House at Charleston SC
Passive Ventilation
• Passive ventilation is a means to remove unwanted heat
from a building. In mild climates with cool dry nights this
can be done with ventilating. In hot humid climates with
uncomfortable warm / humid nights such as at the US,
equator or far east, ventilation is counterproductive and
some form of solar air conditioning may be cost effective.
• 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.
Stack Effect
• 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.
• 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.
• Air-side economizers perform the same function as natural
ventilation, but use mechanical systems' fans, ducts, dampers, and
control sy stems to introduce and distribute cool outdoor air when
appropriate.
Solar Ventilation
Passive Cooling
• Passive cooling is a building design approach that focuses on heat gain
control and heat dissipation in a building in order to improve the indoor
thermal comfort with low or nil energy consumption.
• This approach works either by preventing heat from entering the interior
(heat gain prevention) or by removing heat from the building (natural
cooling).
• Natural cooling utilizes on-site energy, available from the natural
environment, combined with the architectural design of building
components (e.g. building envelope), rather than mechanical systems to
dissipate heat.
• Therefore, natural cooling depends not only on the architectural design of
the building but how it uses the local site natural resources as heat sinks
(i.e. everything that absorbs or dissipates heat).
• Examples of heat sinks are the upper atmosphere (night sky), the outdoor
air (wind) and the earth/soil.
Preventative Techniques
• Protection from or prevention of heat gains encompasses all
the design techniques that minimizes the impact of solar heat
gains through the building’s envelope and of internal heat
gains that is generated inside the building due occupancy and
equipment. Options Include:
1. Microclimate and site design
2. Solar control
3. Building form and layout
4. Thermal insulation
5. Behavioural and occupancy
6. Internal gain control
1. Microclimate and Site design
• By taking into account the local climate
and the site context, specific cooling
strategies can be selected to apply
which are the most appropriate for
preventing overheating through the
envelope of the building.
• The microclimate can play a huge role in
determining the most favourable
building location by analysing the
combined availability of sun and wind.
• Tools:
– The bioclimatic chart,
– The solar diagram and
– The wind rose
2. Solar Control
• A properly designed shading system can
effectively contribute to minimizing the solar heat
gains.
• Shading both transparent and opaque surfaces of
the building envelope will minimize the amount
of solar radiation that induces overheating in
both indoor spaces and building’s structure.
• By shading the building structure, the heat gain
captured through the windows and envelope will
be reduced.
3. Building Form and Layout
• Building orientation and an optimized distribution of interior spaces can prevent
overheating.
• Rooms can be zoned within the buildings in order to reject sources of internal heat
gain and/or allocating heat gains where they can be useful, considering the
different activities of the building.
• For example, creating a flat, horizontal plan will increase the effectiveness of cross-
ventilation across the plan.
• Locating the zones vertically can take advantage of temperature stratification.
• Typically, building zones in the upper levels are warmer than the lower zones due
to stratification.
• Vertical zoning of spaces and activities uses this temperature stratification to
accommodate zone uses according to their temperature requirements.
• Form factor (i.e. the ratio between volume and surface) also plays a major role in
the building’s energy and thermal profile. This ratio can be used to shape the
building form to the specific local climate.
• For example, more compact forms tend to preserve more heat than less compact
forms because the ratio of the internal loads to envelope area is significant.
4. Thermal insulation
• Insulation in the building’s envelope will decrease the
amount of heat transferred by radiation through the
facades.
• This principle applies both to the opaque (walls and
roof) and transparent surfaces (windows) of the
envelope.
• Since roofs could be a larger contributor to the interior
heat load, especially in lighter constructions (e.g.
building and workshops with roof made out of metal
structures), providing thermal insulation can effectively
decrease heat transfer from the roof.
5. Behavioural and occupancy patterns
• Some building management policies such as
limiting the amount of people in a given area of
the building can also contribute effectively to the
minimization of heat gains inside a building.
• Building occupants can also contribute to indoor
overheating prevention by: shutting off the lights
and equipment of unoccupied spaces, operating
shading when necessary to reduce solar heat
gains through windows, or dress lighter in order
to adapt better to the indoor environment by
increasing their thermal comfort tolerance.
6. Internal Gain Control
• More energy-efficient lighting and electronic
equipment tend to release less energy thus
contributing to less internal heat loads inside
the space.
Modulation and Heat Dissipation
techniques

• Modulation and heat dissipation techniques rely

on natural heat sinks to store and remove the
internal heat gains.
• Examples of natural sinks are night sky, earth soil,
and building mass.
• Therefore passive cooling techniques that use
heat sinks can act to either modulate heat gain
with thermal mass or dissipate heat through
natural cooling strategies.
Thermal mass
• Heat gain modulation of an indoor space can be
achieved by the proper use of the building’s
thermal mass as a heat sink. The thermal mass
will absorb and store heat during daytime hours
and return it to the space at a later time.
• Thermal mass can be coupled with night
ventilation natural cooling strategy if the stored
heat that will be delivered to the space during the
evening/night is not desirable.
Natural cooling
• Natural cooling refers to the use of ventilation
or natural heat sinks for heat dissipation from
indoor spaces.
• Natural cooling can be separated into four
different categories: cooling and ventilation,
radiative cooling, evaporative cooling, and
earth coupling.
Ventilation
• Ventilation as a natural cooling strategy uses the physical properties
of air to remove heat or provide cooling to occupants. In select
cases, ventilation can be used to cool the building structure, which
subsequently may serve as a heat sink.
• Cross ventilation - The strategy of cross ventilation relies on wind to
pass through the building for the purpose of cooling the occupants.
• Cross ventilation requires openings on two sides of the space,
called the inlet and outlet.
• The sizing and placement of the ventilation inlets and outlets will
determine the direction and velocity of cross ventilation through
the building.
• Generally, an equal (or greater) area of outlet openings must also
be provided to provide adequate cross ventilation.
Ventilation
• Stack ventilation
– Cross ventilation is an effective cooling strategy,
however, wind is an unreliable resource.
– Stack ventilation is an alternative design strategy
that relies on the buoyancy of warm air to rise and
exit through openings located at ceiling height.
– Cooler outside area replaces the rising warm air
through carefully designed inlets placed near the
floor.
Night flush cooling
• The building structure acts as a sink through the day and absorbs
internal heat gains and solar radiation.
• Heat can be dissipated from the structure by convective heat loss
by allowing cooler air to pass through the building at night.
• The flow of outdoor air can be induced naturally or mechanically.
• The next day, the building will perform as a heat sink, maintaining
indoor temperatures below the outdoor temperature.
• This strategy is most effective in climates with a large diurnal swing
so the typical maximum indoor temperature is below the outdoor
maximum temperature during the hottest months.
• Thermal mass is a necessary component to dissipate heat at night.
Radiative Cooling
• All objects constantly emit and absorb radiant
energy. An object will cool by radiation if the net
flow is outward, which is the case during the
night. At night, the long-wave radiation from the
clear sky is less than the long-wave infrared
radiation emitted from a building, thus there is a
net flow to the sky. Since the roof provides the
greatest surface visible to the night sky, designing
the roof to act as a radiator is an effective
strategy. There are two types of radiative cooling
strategies that utilize the roof surface: direct and
indirect.[8]
Direct Radiant Cooling
• In a building designed to optimizs direct radiation cooling, the building roof acts as a heat sink to
absorb the daily internal loads. The roof acts as the best heat sink because it is the greatest surface
exposed to the night sky.
• Radiate heat transfer with the night sky will remove heat from the building roof, thus cooling the
building structure.
• Roof ponds are an example of this strategy. The roof pond design became popular with the
development of the Sky thermal system designed by Harold Hay in 1977.
• There are various designs and configurations for the roof pond system but the concept is the same
for all designs. The roof uses water, either plastic bags filled with water or an open pond, as the
heat sink while a system of movable insulation panels regulate the mode of heating or cooling.
• During daytime in the summer, the water on the roof is protected from the solar radiation and
ambient air temperature by movable insulation, which allows it to serve as a heat sink and absorb,
though the ceiling, the heat generated inside.
• At night, the panels are retracted to allow nocturnal radiation between the roof pond and the night
sky, thus removing the stored heat from the day’s internal loads.
• In winter, the process is reversed so that the roof pond is allowed to absorb solar radiation during
the day and release it during the night into the space below.
Indirect Radiant Cooling
• A heat transfer fluid removes heat from the
building structure through radiate heat transfer
with the night sky.
• A common design for this strategy involves a
plenum between the building roof and the
radiator surface.
• Air is drawn into the building through the
plenum, cooled from the radiator, and cools the
mass of the building structure.
• During the day, the building mass acts as a heat
sink.
Evaporative Cooling

• The design relies on the evaporative process of water to cool the

incoming air while simultaneously increasing the relative humidity.
• A saturated filter is placed at the supply inlet so the natural process
of evaporation can cool the supply air.
• Apart from the energy to drive the fans, water is the only other
resource required to provide conditioning to indoor spaces.
• The effectiveness of evaporative cooling is largely dependent on the
humidity of the outside air; dryer air produces more cooling.
• A study of field performance results in Kuwait revealed that power
requirements for an evaporative cooler are approximately 75% less
than the power requirements for a conventional packaged unit air-
conditioner.
• As for interior comfort, a study found that evaporative cooling
reduced inside air temperature by 9.6°C compared to outdoor
temperature.
Vapour Loss from a Saturated Surface

p* > 0

Air flow
creating dx
boundary Vapour loss of
layer moisture

ht = 0

Saturated porous solid

Modelling Vapour Loss
• Fick’s second law, where:
𝑑𝑝
= 𝐷𝑣 2 𝑑2 𝑝 .
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑥2
• where:
r vapour density of water (kg/m3)
Dv vapour diffusion coefficient (m2.s-1)
𝑑𝑝
vapour pressure potential over the
𝑑𝑥
drying surface
Vapour Pressure Potential, p*
• The vapour pressure potential is dependent upon,
temperature and relative humidity (p sensitive) and
air velocity (p and x sensitive).
• Thus the evaporative equation can be simplified to:
• r = MDv/RT dp/dx
r - rate of mass loss of moisture, (kg. m-2. s-1)
M - molar weight of water
R - Universal gas constant (J/Mole/Deg K)
T - Temperature (Deg K)
Boundary Layer Thickness, dx
• The thickness of the zone between the drying surface
and the free air layer is termed the boundary layer.
• This is dependent upon the surface roughness, the
velocity of the air flow and the degree of turbulence.
• The boundary layer thickness is assumed to be d metres.
• The pressure potential is directly proportional to the
relative humidity, h
• Thus: dp/dx = (po - po . h/100)/d
The Effect of Vapour Pressure
• Assuming a boundary layer thickness of d and a
pressure potential of po - po . h/100 existing over the
boundary layer
• The evaporative equation becomes:
r = MDv/RT. po (1 -h/100)/d
• The term (1 - h/100) may be written as H
Air flow
• The airflow rate will effect the boundary layer thickness and
thus the pressure potential of the air flow.
• For laminar air flow the boundary layer thickness varies with
respect to the square root of the length of the drying plane,
l½:

d = l½
Air flow

Length = l
Evaporative Loss

• The expression is also amended by a factor

K u½. This allows for the influence of
velocity and the nature of the air as it
passes over the surface (viscosity), where:
K - constant in ambient conditions
u - air velocity (ms-1)
• Thus:
r = MDv/RT . po H/ l½ . K u½
Temperature
• Dv and po are both temperature dependent properties. The
most sensitive aspect relates to po, which is subject to the
Clapeyron - Clausius equation (see earlier notes)
• Thus:
r = exp (-C/T).H. u½ . K / l½
• where:
K = 7 x 106
C = 5320
T = temperature (K)
• This enables the prediction of evaporative loss in g/m2s from
saturated surfaces
Time Dependent Drying

Phase 1: Phase 2: Phase 3:

constant evaporation almost
loss falls as ht constant
reduces vapour
pressure loss
potential

Time to t0.5 scale

Drying Profiles
1 hour
1.0

2 hours
Water content, q

24 hours
0

0 Depth, (cm) 100

Green Roofs
Green Roofs
• A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or
completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over
a waterproofing membrane.
• It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage
and irrigation systems.
• Container gardens on roofs, where plants are maintained in pots, are not
generally considered to be true green roofs, although this is debated.
• Rooftop ponds are another form of green roofs which are used to treat
greywater.
• Green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing
rainwater, providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, and helping
• to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat island effect. There
are two types of green roofs: intensive roofs, which are thicker and can
support a wider variety of plants but are heavier and require more
maintenance, and extensive roofs, which are covered in a light layer of
vegetation and are lighter than an intensive green roof.