Designing a passive-cooling, sustainable windcatcher in hot, dry area

Abstract

This research article presents possibility of designing a sustainable windcatcher within the concept of earth-"air heat exchange" (EAHE) natural ventilation and passive cooling in hot, dry climate (Baghdad city) and to examine the impact of increasing area of the windcatcher and movement of air through buried pipe that end inside the building, and it is used for natural air movement the building is located in Baghdad. An experimental device was assigned to determine the temperature at different points during the airway that appeared from the introduction of an airflow, measured in July 2019. The results were compared with a computer simulation program (Trnsys 16), the presence of similarities was confirmed. To improve performance heat exchange (EAHE), various variables were simulated, including tube length, diameter, vertical path length, and burial depth. The heat exchange has proven important in a hot, dry climate, and passive cooling one of the most acceptable concepts and it's economical too. The proposed design achieves thermal comfort and natural ventilation for a sustainable building and a source of renewable energy.