Performance evaluation of a single-side windcatcher in the transitional seasons (case study: Khousf town, Southern Khorasan Province, Iran)
International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation
ISSN: 2398-4708
Article publication date: 14 February 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Life experience in hot and arid areas of Iran has proved that in the transitional seasons (spring and autumn) in which the climate is not too hot, passive cooling systems such as windcatchers (baadgir) have functioned well. This paper intends to investigate the efficiency of a single-side windcatcher as a passive cooling strategy; the case study is the Bina House windcatcher, located in Khousf town, near Birjand city, Iran.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the aim, air temperature, relative humidity, wind data and mean radiant temperature were measured by the related tools over five days from September 23 to October 23. Then, the thermal performance of the windcatcher was examined by analyzing the effects of all these factors on human thermal comfort. Quantitative assessment of the indoor environment was estimated using DesignBuilder and its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, a thermal comfort simulation method to compare the cooling potential of the windcatcher. Windcatcher performance was then compared with two other common cooling systems in the area: single-side window, and evaporative cooler.
Findings
The results showed that both windcatcher and evaporative cooler can provide thermal comfort for Khousf residents in the transitional seasons; but the difference is that an evaporative cooler needs to consume water and electricity power, while a windcatcher is a passive cooling system that uses clean energy of wind.
Originality/value
The present study, by quantitative study of single-side windcatchers in a desert region, measured the climatic factors of a historical house and compared it with thermal comfort criteria. Therefore, the results of field measurements were analyzed, and the efficiency of the windcatcher was compared with two other cooling systems, namely single-side ventilation and evaporative cooler, in the two seasons of summer and autumn (transition seasons).
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper is written based on a research project titled “Typology and performance evaluation of Khour and Khousf windcatchers, South Khorasan province, Iran,” which has been accomplished with the financial support of Iran National Science Foundation and Shahid Beheshti University.
The authors thank the hospitable residents of Khousf city; Mr. Salehi, the head of Khousf Handicrafts and Cultural Heritage Department; Mr. Dalir and Mr. Rafi'ei, the experts of this office; and Ms. Ayyoubi, manager of Bina Ecotourism Resort.
Citation
Dormohamadi, M., Tahbaz, M. and Velashjerdi Farahani, A. (2023), "Performance evaluation of a single-side windcatcher in the transitional seasons (case study: Khousf town, Southern Khorasan Province, Iran)", International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-01-2022-0002
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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