Thermal

Performance

of

Courtyard in Interior spaces of mixed mode ventilated buildings.

Thesis Proposal

Mihir Vakharia IA0710 MIAD, CEPT, Ahmedabad

The concept courtyard was developed mainly in response to climatic requirements. For many centuries and to the present day, the courtyard has been one of the most characteristic forms of architecture in hot-dry and hot-humid climates. As a central space in buildings, direct link to the outdoor environment, and light-enhancing tools, the courtyard thermal performance is dictated by many factors. The focus is to study energy performance of courtyard in interior spaces for different climatic zones in commercial building.

Thermal Performance of Courtyard in Interior spaces of mixed mode ventilated buildings.

Energy Performance of Courtyard in Interior spaces of Contemporary Indian Architecture Aim

Study Energy Performance of interior space with respect to courtyard in commercial building with mixed-mode ventilation in different climatic zones across the India.

Key Words:
Natural Ventilation, Energy Efficiency and Courtyard Geometry

Introduction
The commercial buildings sector consumes a huge amount of energy and the energy consumption pattern will likely increase sharply in the near future. Energy performance of a courtyard in building is investigated under conditions or factors climate, height, glazing percentage for courtyard. Many papers and research studies reveal substantial opportunities for improving energy efficiency in the building by incorporating courtyards. Attempt to investigate the thermal behavior of courtyard building under different design conditions of climate, size of the courtyard, no. of stories etc. India is located in the south of Asian continent. The country is bordered by the Arabian Sea to its west, the Bay of Bengal to its east and the Indian Ocean to its south. The Himalayan ranges from Kashmir in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the east forms a natural barrier. Protected by such natural barriers like mountains and oceans, India stands separated from the rest of Asian continent. To Study all climatic zones in India. Study mixed-mode ventilation in Commercial buildings. Analyze the relationship between energy consumption of the courtyard building with similar building without courtyard. To compare the energy consumption of conventional building configuration developed through various design parameters. Investigate the effect of various factors like building height, courtyard form, wall to window ratio, and window overhangs on the thermal performance of different building configurations for preparation of base model. Energy efficiency is becoming more of a priority for building designers in recent years as energy consumption has become a serious concern and is becoming a crisis. The purpose of this research is to study the energy performance of courtyard in the interior spaces of commercial buildings (Mixed-mode) with different climatic zones.

Date- 23-09-2011

MAID, CEPT. Ahmedabad

Mihir Vakharia

Thermal Performance of Courtyard in Interior spaces of mixed mode ventilated buildings.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Mixed Mode ventilation
Mixed-mode refers to a hybrid approach to space conditioning that uses a combination of natural ventilation from operable windows (either manually or automatically controlled. The goal is to maximize comfort while minimizing the significant energy use and operating costs of air conditioning. Mechanical systems that provide air distribution and some form of cooling. A welldesigned mixed-mode building allows spaces to be naturally ventilated during periods of the day or year when it is feasible or desirable, and uses mechanical cooling only as necessary for supplemental cooling when natural ventilation is not sufficient1. Designers of mixed-mode buildings are faced with challenges, however. There are no standard protocols for the operations and control strategies for mixed-mode buildings, nor is there consensus about the relative degree of personal vs. automated controls that they should provide. There is also a lack of accessible information for designers and engineers about the range of control options, and the various building and climate conditions they can be used to address. Case studies alone do not necessarily help the design team see the relevance of such precedents for their unique situation. We have also identified a need for a detailed classification scheme, or taxonomy, for mixed-mode buildings to help place individual building projects into context and better inform mixed-mode designs moving forward.

Courtyard
The courtyard concept was developed mainly in response to climatic requirements. For many centuries and to the present day, the courtyard has been one of the most characteristic forms of architecture in hot-dry and hot-humid climates. In desert, under hot conditions the concept of the application of thermal control in buildings consists of three objectives are: preventing heat gain, maximising heat loss and removing any excess heat by cooling. There are many ways to solve the problems, but none of them could be suitable as much as central courtyard form for all buildings types. The functions of buildings are basically the same everywhere: to provide shelter for a comfortable living and working environment and to avoid extreme weather; but the designs and processes for buildings in different climates are significantly different. In desert, under hot conditions the concept of the application of thermal control in buildings consists of three objectives which are: preventing heat gain, maximising heat loss and removing any excess heat by cooling. There are many ways to solve the problems, but none of them could be suitable as much as central courtyard form for all buildings types. The best building forms is a deep courtyard which all spaces are around it. Thermal performance of courtyard buildings has been investigated by many

Date- 23-09-2011

MAID, CEPT. Ahmedabad

Mihir Vakharia

Thermal Performance of Courtyard in Interior spaces of mixed mode ventilated buildings.

researchers. Most of these studies examined typical rectangular courtyard forms in hot or temperate climate. The conclusions of all these studies recommended protection of the forms surfaces and its surroundings from intense solar radiation and hot dusty wind. However, courtyards have been used in buildings in a variety of geometries other than the rectangular shape. These geometries have not been investigated to find out to what extent their shading performance is influenced by changing the forms proportions2. The received solar radiation by the courtyard surfaces is considered to be the predominant factor affecting the thermal performance of the building. The amount of received irradiation is, generally, dependent on several factors including the location and its climatic conditions, the time during the year and the configuration of the courtyard form. The absorbed solar radiation acts to raise the surface temperatures and consequently the temperature of the adjacent air layers. This has a significant effect on the generated thermal conditions in the courtyard space, which is, in turn, reflected on the thermal behaviour of the surrounding habitable spaces. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure an optimum amount of irradiation entering the form for an efficient courtyard performance in summer and winter. It is evident that this can be achieved through properly configuring and proportioning the courtyards internal envelope. Failure to do so will result in poor courtyard performance expressed as either generating too much shadows when solar radiation is needed or receiving plenty of irradiation when it is undesirable3. Concerning air flow conditions inside different courtyards geometries must be performed in order to confirm the results of this work and to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the interaction of the wind with the irregular geometry of courtyards. Concerning air flow conditions inside different courtyards geometries must be performed in order to confirm the results of this work and to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the interaction of the wind with the irregular geometry of courtyards. The design of building and courtyard geometry requires insight in the nature and complexity of air flow around and inside buildings, to compare different geometries of courtyards in terms of air flow and pressure coefficient in order to see their potential for natural ventilation4. Since Energy performance of courtyard building is dependent on many variables. The configuration of the variables significantly affected, to various degrees, the thermal behaviour of courtyard. The focus is to study forms of a courtyard building and proportion of courtyard to build foam of commercial building. Study will divide India into five climatic zones. Hot-Dry, Hot-Humid, Moderate, Composite and Cold. A city is selected to represent each climate for further studies. In spite of numerous benefits, including their energy significant potential in lowering the building

Date- 23-09-2011

MAID, CEPT. Ahmedabad

Mihir Vakharia

Thermal Performance of Courtyard in Interior spaces of mixed mode ventilated buildings.

lighting and thermal loads, and their widespread use, the thermal behaviour of courtyards remains difficult to predict. The complexity in dealing with courtyard buildings arises from the lack of adequate design tools that address such spaces. In addition to the difficulties of quantifying energy consumptions, it requires the architects and designers to have a certain level of knowledge in energy efficiency related issues. This represents a significant challenge for many architects and designers which could lead to unintended consequences that compromise the overall energy efficiency of the design. As a result, courtyard thermal behaviour may be inadequately addressed. Instead assumptions or rules of thumb methods are used in predicting a buildings thermal behaviour. Furthermore, the studies and research that dealt with these two types of buildings fell short of developing a comprehensive strategy that identifies the attributes that directly affect the building types and energy efficiency5.

Climate
Moderate, Hot dry, Hot-humid, Composite Note: Zones are taken considering energy performance of courtyard for cooling load only not heating load. The design features of courtyard building are almost the same in different regions of the world with some small variation from one location to another. These differences are dependent on the materials and technologies available, as well as on the climatic features of each site

PROBABLE METHODOLOGY

Date- 23-09-2011

MAID, CEPT. Ahmedabad

Mihir Vakharia

Thermal Performance of Courtyard in Interior spaces of mixed mode ventilated buildings.

GUIDE
Prof. Rajan Rawal

References
1

summary report: Control strategies for mixed-mode buildings Gail brager, sam borgeson, yoon soo lee Center for the built environment (CBE) University of California, Berkeley October 2007
2

Shading Performance of Polygonal Courtyard Forms .Ahmed S. Muhaisen, Mohamed B Gadi School of the Built

Environment, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK 29 April 2005 3 Effect of Courtyard Proportions on Solar Heat Gain and Energy Requirement in the Temperate Climate of Rome Ahmed S. Muhaisen_, Mohamed B Gadi School Of The Built Environment, The University Of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, Ng7 2RD, Uk January 2005
4

Geometry Of Buildings Courtyards To Favour Natural Ventilation: Comparison Between Wind Tunnel Experiment And Numerical Simulation. Abel Tablada arch.1, Bert Blocken ph.d2, Jan Carmeliet ph.d3,4, Frank De Troyer ph.d5, Han Verschure

Date- 23-09-2011

MAID, CEPT. Ahmedabad

Mihir Vakharia

Thermal Performance of Courtyard in Interior spaces of mixed mode ventilated buildings.

Comparative Analysis of Energy Performance between Courtyard and Atrium in Buildings. Abdelsalam Aldawoud , ray Clark college of architecture, Illinois institute of technology, chicago, il 60616, usa 15 february 2007

Date- 23-09-2011

MAID, CEPT. Ahmedabad

Mihir Vakharia