A critical review of windcatcher ventilation: Micro-environment, techno-economics, and commercialisation

Windcatcher natural ventilation is a low-energy approach that can provide effective ventilation during favourable weather conditions. When combined with different cooling, heating, and dehumidification technologies, windcatchers can provide enhanced indoor environment quality. This work provides a critical review of windcatchers' performance. It covers aspects such as ventilation, thermal comfort, overheating risk, indoor air quality (IAQ), energy performance, economic cost, and life cycle assessment (LCA). Although many studies have investigated windcatchers' performance in terms of thermal comfort, little attention has been paid to the potential overheating risk. This oversight is particularly important in the context of global warming trends and the increasing likelihood of extreme weather conditions. Moreover, previous studies on windcatchers’ IAQ performance have primarily focused on indoor CO2 concentrations, while the influences of pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have not been reported. The quantification of energy performance for windcatchers remains an underexplored area, and very few studies have conducted economic analyses or LCAs of windcatcher systems. There is a clear need for more field experiments to investigate these aspects comprehensively. This review also provides insights into the current trends and future perspectives in the commercial windcatcher market, including available options, opportunities, and threats. The findings highlight the importance of several factors that must be considered before the large-scale commercial rollout of windcatcher technology. These include the lack of awareness and regulatory incentives, cost considerations, aesthetic preferences, and misconceptions or concerns regarding the effectiveness of windcatchers.