Integrating low energy cooling and ventilation strategies in Indian residences

Abstract

Rapidly developing economies of countries in hot climates face the risk of a significant increase in CO2 emissions. This study developed strategies for low energy cooling and ventilation for Indian residences (LECaVIR). Ventilation and cooling techniques were developed and tested for India’s four climatic zones. The analysis shows that natural ventilation is possible in typical residential buildings for about 20–40% of the year. Using an enhanced natural ventilation mode with appropriately sized openable windows and controls, the total number of hours for which natural ventilation is able to offer satisfactory conditions for occupants can be extended by a further 13 percentage points, leading to a potential reduction of 46% in the mechanical cooling hours for residences. Dynamic thermal simulation models, coupled with control software, were used to test the most promising natural ventilation strategies as part of a mixed-mode approach to ensure year-round comfort at minimal energy cost. The simulation shows that energy savings of up to 55% are possible. 'Practice relevance' This paper demonstrates that it is possible to design and control cooling and ventilation strategies that make significant use of natural ventilation, despite hot climates. The paper contains details of innovative control algorithms that were tested using real designs for Indian residences where poor ventilation and overheating are common problems, often leading to the excessive use of inefficient, portable air-conditioning systems. Practitioners will also benefit from guidance on how to use dynamic thermal simulation coupled with control software to quantify the energy and thermal comfort performance of mixed-mode ventilation and cooling strategies.

Keywords

• control
• cooling
• dwellings
• energy
• mixed mode
• residential
• thermal comfort
• ventilation
• india