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Development of a natural ventilation windcatcher with passive heat recovery wheel for mild-cold climates: CFD and experimental analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Calautit, John Kaiser
  • O’Connor, Dominic
  • Tien, Paige Wenbin
  • Wei, Shuangyu
  • Pantua, Conrad Allan Jay
  • Hughes, Ben

Abstract

User demand for increased internal thermal comfort conditions have resulted in rising energy costs for space-heating consumption. The present study aims to recover the thermal energy in ventilation exhaust air and transfer the energy to the incoming air, to be redistributed using natural ventilation windcatcher. A comprehensive review was carried out to explore heat recovery systems that can potentially be incorporated with natural ventilation wind catchers. A rotary heat recovery device suitable to be incorporated with a roof mounted multi directional windcatcher system was developed. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling and laboratory experimental tests were conducted to investigate the proposed system. In the first phase, a full-scale prototype of the passive rotary thermal wheel device was developed and tested in a crossflow channel to initially assess the concept and performance of the design. Two configurations of the passive heat recovery wheel were tested: 20 and 32 radial blades. The second phase focused on investigating the integration of heat recovery wheel into a windcatcher system. CFD modelling and scaled wind tunnel testing were conducted to assess the airflow and temperature distribution around the multi-directional windcatcher with a passive rotary wheel. The results showed that the addition of the heat recovery wheel rotating at 15 rpm reduced the indoor airflow speed between 14 and 30%, depending on the outdoor wind conditions. The system was able to provide the recommended fresh air rates when the outdoor wind speed was 1.5 m/s and higher. In addition to sufficient ventilation, the heat recovery system had a positive impact on the indoor air temperature, raising the temperature up to 3.7 °C depending on the indoor/outdoor conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Calautit, John Kaiser & O’Connor, Dominic & Tien, Paige Wenbin & Wei, Shuangyu & Pantua, Conrad Allan Jay & Hughes, Ben, 2020. "Development of a natural ventilation windcatcher with passive heat recovery wheel for mild-cold climates: CFD and experimental analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 465-482.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:160:y:2020:i:c:p:465-482
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.05.177
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    10. Calautit, John Kaiser & Hughes, Ben Richard & Nasir, Diana SNM, 2017. "Climatic analysis of a passive cooling technology for the built environment in hot countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(P3), pages 321-335.
    11. Calautit, John Kaiser & Tien, Paige Wenbin & Wei, Shuangyu & Calautit, Katrina & Hughes, Ben, 2020. "Numerical and experimental investigation of the indoor air quality and thermal comfort performance of a low energy cooling windcatcher with heat pipes and extended surfaces," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 744-756.
    12. Payam Nejat & Fatemeh Jomehzadeh & Hasanen Mohammed Hussen & John Kaiser Calautit & Muhd Zaimi Abd Majid, 2018. "Application of Wind as a Renewable Energy Source for Passive Cooling through Windcatchers Integrated with Wing Walls," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, September.
    13. Calautit, John Kaiser & Chaudhry, Hassam Nasarullah & Hughes, Ben Richard & Ghani, Saud Abdul, 2013. "Comparison between evaporative cooling and a heat pipe assisted thermal loop for a commercial wind tower in hot and dry climatic conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 740-755.
    14. Calautit, John Kaiser & O'Connor, Dominic & Hughes, Ben Richard, 2016. "A natural ventilation wind tower with heat pipe heat recovery for cold climates," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(P3), pages 1088-1104.
    15. Liu, Di & Zhao, Fu-Yun & Tang, Guang-Fa, 2010. "Active low-grade energy recovery potential for building energy conservation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2736-2747, December.
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    1. Bai, H.Y. & Liu, P. & Justo Alonso, M. & Mathisen, H.M., 2022. "A review of heat recovery technologies and their frost control for residential building ventilation in cold climate regions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. Ardalan Aflaki & Masoud Esfandiari & Saleh Mohammadi, 2021. "A Review of Numerical Simulation as a Precedence Method for Prediction and Evaluation of Building Ventilation Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Alsailani, M. & Montazeri, H. & Rezaeiha, A., 2021. "Towards optimal aerodynamic design of wind catchers: Impact of geometrical characteristics," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 1344-1363.
    4. Zhang, Wanshi & Wu, Yunlei & Li, Xiuwei & Cheng, Feng & Zhang, Xiaosong, 2021. "Performance investigation of the wood-based heat localization regenerator in liquid desiccant cooling system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 133-149.
    5. Tien, Paige Wenbin & Wei, Shuangyu & Liu, Tianshu & Calautit, John & Darkwa, Jo & Wood, Christopher, 2021. "A deep learning approach towards the detection and recognition of opening of windows for effective management of building ventilation heat losses and reducing space heating demand," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 603-625.
    6. Liu, Miaomiao & Nejat, Payam & Cao, Pinlu & Jimenez-Bescos, Carlos & Calautit, John Kaiser, 2024. "A critical review of windcatcher ventilation: Micro-environment, techno-economics, and commercialisation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    7. Chi, Fang'ai & Pan, Jiajie & Liu, Yang & Guo, Yuang, 2021. "Improvement of thermal comfort by hydraulic-driven ventilation device and space partition arrangement towards building energy saving," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    8. Ashraf Balabel & Mamdooh Alwetaishi & Wageeh A. El-Askary & Hamza Fawzy, 2021. "Numerical Study on Natural Ventilation Characteristics of a Partial-Cylinder Opening for One-Sided-Windcatcher of Variable Air-Feeding Orientations in Taif, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.

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