Performance Evaluation and Energy Saving Potential of Windcatcher Natural Ventilation Systems in China

Windcatcher as an architectural element is a passive cooling design to improve indoor thermal comfort without energy consumption. The performance and energy saving potential of using a windcatcher system in China are evaluated through EnergyPlus simulation of an oce building installed with commercial windcatchers. The simulation results for the climate condition in Beijing indicate that the peak indoor tem- perature can be reduced by more than 2 - C with the help of windcatchers, for approximately 50% of occupied hours it can meet the basic ventilation requirement and 28% of occupied hours can reach the purge demand. Moreover, 17% of cooling load can be reduced. The performance of windcatchers can be largely enhanced if they are used along with top-hung windows to create cross ventilation. Further investigations are carried out for various climate regions to evaluate the feasibility of windcatcher applications in China. It is found that according to the accumulative hours of meeting ventilation requirement, Harbin is the most suitable city for windcatcher applications and then Shanghai and Kunming. But, Kunming appears the best city in terms of percentage saving in cooling load, followed by Harbin and Urumqi. However, from the economic perspective, Beijing looks the most cost eective