Study on Utility Cross-Ventilation in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, China

abstract As rapid increase in energy consumption has raised concerns among researchers regarding the use of conventional air-conditioning systems, substantial effort has been devoted to the exploration of alternative solutions. One possible solution is a natural ventilation approach. In the present study, the authors have focused on the feasibility of cross-ventilation due to natural ventilation potential. The study centered on cases located in the Guangzhou and Shenzhen areas on the Pacific coast of China, well known for their dense population and high-energy consumption. In the current research, the analysis of weather data to investigate the feasibility of cross-ventilation in Guangzhou and Shenzhen was initially performed. A questionnaire survey was then carried out in order to grasp the residences’ actual configurations and conditions. Sequentially, based on the results obtained from the prior investigations, the existing problems were raised and solutions for cross-ventilation enhancement were tested by means of a wind tunnel experiment. It can be concluded that the presence of VOID (vertical opening common space) without an opening on the lower part of the buildings significantly improves the cross-ventilation flow rate by 1.3-2 times over the cases without VOID.