Documentation and Evaluation of the Positive Contribution of Natural Ventilation in the Rural Vernacular Architecture of Cyprus

Abstract

In traditional buildings thermal comfort has been accomplished through the exploitation of passive strategies, i.e. natural ventilation and shading. This paper focuses on the investigation of natural ventilation in the vernacular architecture of Cyprus and on the documentation of the positive contribution of this strategy to the thermal comfort of the interior spaces of traditional shells. A typical traditional dwelling in the core of the semi-mountainous settlement of Kapedes was selected as a case study. For this purpose, a procedure of documenting the environmental data of the dwelling under study in different types of ventilation has been carried out, i.e. without any ventilation, with cross ventilation and with single-sided ventilation. This procedure was repeated in two different periods of the year (summer and autumn). The research indicates cross ventilation as the most effective type of natural ventilation, compared to the single-sided ventilation. Cross ventilation gives positive results in the improvement of the interior conditions during the summer (cooling period) and also contributes to the extension of the period of thermal comfort in the interior spaces of traditional dwellings.