Thermal environment in a school building with natural ventilation chimney using staircase in winter

Abstract

Recently, as increase of eco-awareness, the number of building adopted with natural ventilation is increasing. Naturally ventilated building is expected to effectively reduce the building's cooling load, and also expected to make people feel comfortable and familiar with nature, especially in spring and autumn. Few studies are found about the actual thermal condition of naturally ventilated building in winter. The purpose of this study is to figure out the influence of the ventilation chimney using staircase on the actual thermal environment and occupants' evaluations in winter. The result shows that closing the opening at the top of chimney decreases the air change rate at room. It is also found that the cold draft at the window side and air leakage through the switched-off ventilation fan also influence on the thermal environment, except for that of ventilation chimney.