Search results for "Passive cooling"
showing 8 items of 18 documents
Comparison between the energy performance of a ground coupled water to water heat pump system and an air to water heat pump system for heating and co…
2008
Abstract The investigation presented in this article was aimed at demonstrating the technical and economical feasibility of using ground source heat pump systems in mixed climate applications, where cooling requirements are dominant. We show an experimental comparison between a ground coupled heat pump system and a conventional air to water heat pump system, focussing at the heating and cooling energy performance. A direct comparison could be made as both systems are linked, in parallel, to the same building with exactly the same loads and climatic conditions. For a whole climatic season the results obtained show that the geothermal system saves, in terms of primary energy consumption, a 43…
Air movement representation as a tool for urban and architectural environmental quality
2017
Air movement is a measurable physical phenomenon that produces indirectly measurable effects on people and on the environment. It is an essential prerequisite for the comfort and the hygiene of the built environment and it is highly relevant to the passive cooling strategies. The relationships between air movement and built environment have to be analysed under a multi-scale vision. They fall within the field of urban and architectural design because they can be influenced by artificial expedients, although they are always caused by natural factors. This paper discusses the need for a complete and objective representation of different kinds of air movement, to improve the urban and architec…
The effect of Water on passive cooling systems in the Arab-Norman architecture of the Zisa Palace in Palermo
2019
This paper shows the theories argued by some historians with reference to the working of natural water passive cooling systems employed in the Zisa Complex. Albeit such theories are seminal attempts to understand passive water systems, they have no scientific evidence. This study instead concentrates on a more rigorous treatment that enabled to set up a robust framework for designing a historical water passive system such as the Salsabil, which in fact was conceived and developed in an empirical way. Several historical buildings of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern architecture include relevant artefacts useful to control humidity and temperature through water passive systems . The archi…
The dammuso: constructive characters of the traditional stone buildings of the isle of Pantelleria (Sicily)
2019
Pantelleria, a volcanic island between Tunisia and Sicily, is characterized by a highly windy territory constantly hit by the sun. This harsh environment forced the inhabitants to build in an extremely effective way against the natural elements. This paper investigates constructive technologies, local materials, and phases of construction of the traditional rural houses, the dammuso, a Sicilian word meaning “vaulted-building”. It is a traditional passive cooling building characterized by a cubical shape covered by a vaulted-roof. This typology can be found almost everywhere in the isle, both old and pretty new, as the only one permitted. The minimum configuration unit is a cube made of bear…
Computer model and simulation of a traditional passive cooling ventilation system in a Modern building in Mazara del Vallo (Italy)
2008
Traditional and modern natural ventilation techniques have been integrated in a hybrid system for a retrofitting of public building in the city of Mazara del Vallo (Italy). The hybrid ventilation and air cooling system integrates a wind tower, an indirect evaporative heat exchanger, a ground cooling pipe network and ventilated façade. The first idea was to design a passive cooling system inspired to the typical wind towers of the Middle East, being the area very well ventilated. On the other hand, air humidity in summer is quite high and therefore the effectiveness of indirect evaporative cooling is quite low. For this reason, it was adopted a second passive cooling system consisting in a g…
The passive cooling system from tradition to innovation: wind Towers
2012
The work presented by Golnaz Ighany, tutored by Maria Luisa Germanà, is a scheme that shows a synthesis of her PhD Research concluded in March 2011. The aim of the research was exploring the potential of using passive cooling systems and natural ventilation with special attention on wind towers. The study was focused on traditional passive cooling strategies which had been used in Middle East and Mediterranean areas. More particularly, the most common types of wind towers were analyzed in relation to different aspects: from the typology analysis to the dimensional one, from materials to systems and construction processes, from “live welfare” to energy efficiency. In parallel, it was conduct…
The Sirocco's chamber of Micciulla manor in Palermo : a bioclimatic archetype symbol of legality and civil redemption
2019
La Camera dello scirocco di fondo Micciulla è uno degli oltre trenta esemplari di un antesignano sistema di raffrescamento passivo ipogeo, diffusosi a Palermo tra il XVII e il XVIII secolo. Grotte artificiali scavate al di sotto o in prossimità delle dimore palermitane presso le quali i ricchi signori si rifugiavano per sfuggire alle elevate temperature estive, rese spesso insopportabili dal caldo vento africano di Scirocco. Tra tutte, la Camera dello Scirocco di fondo Micciulla è forse la più nota non solo per la sua particolare e unica struttura “a cielo aperto”, ma anche e soprattutto per i trascorsi storici ad essa legati. Il presente contributo intende ripercorrere le fasi più signific…
The sirocco chambers: passive cooling structures in the XVI century Palermo area
2014
In the past centuries, the plain surrounding the city of Palermo saw the construction of tens of suburban manor houses, called villas, which were referred to as “places of delight” for the amenities they offered during the good season. These architectural machines were built by aristocrats to make living in the countryside more pleasant and to exhibit their families’ richness and power. Among the delights, the Sirocco rooms were very common in Palermo from the Renaissance, and especially beyond to the XVIII century. They were artificial subterranean structures, built close to a water spring in order to reproduce the pleasant conditions of freshness that could be experienced in a natural cav…