Adopting Courtyards as a Passive Cooling

Technique in Mid-rise Buildings – A Feasibility

Study
Sona M (  [email protected] )
Baarath Consultancy, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu

Research Article

Keywords: thermal efficiency, enclosure ratio, form factor, micro climate, mid-rise, passive cooling, shape
factor

Posted Date: June 21st, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1742681/v1

License:   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Abstract
Courtyards have been an integral part of the buildings in tropical areas, through centuries. The study
specifically focuses on analysing the efficiency of adopting courtyards as a passive cooling technique in
mid-rise buildings the tropical setting of Calicut, Kerala. It examines the energy performance of courtyards
in this context, with respect to natural ventilation combining the effect of the thermal comfort parameters
– air temperature and air velocity. Furthermore, it establishes the factors that influence the micro-climate
of the building that in turn affect its cooling capacity. The trend in cooling performance of the building is
observed for a specific day and extrapolated for the entire year. The study further extends to understand
the extent of feasibility of the use of courtyards, by establishing a relation between space utility of the
building and its energy performance. It presents a holistic overview of the thermal performance of
courtyards in a residential mid-rise building in Calicut, Kerala.

Introduction
The study establishes the factors that influence the micro-climate of the building. It examines the thermal
performance of courtyards, with the combined effects of air temperature and velocity. It studies the
variation of thermal performance of the building with change in height above ground. It conclusively
evaluates the feasibility of courtyards, by analyzing the relation between space utility and thermal
performance.

The proposed hypothesis is that the lateral space lost on the ground is worth the thermal efficiency
achieved by adopting courtyards in mid-rise buildings.

The study focuses on the effect of courtyards in mid-rise buildings in a tropical climatic setting. The
study is limited to analyzing only the ventilation aspect of energy efficiency of the building.

Literature Review
A ventilated courtyard as a passive cooling strategy in the
warm humid tropics
The parameters considered for evaluating thermal comfort are air temperature and relative humidity.
Potential of the courtyard to act as a passive cooling strategy is a function of the indoor airflow pattern.
Better indoor thermal modification is seen when the courtyard acts as an air funnel discharging indoor air
into the sky, rather than as a suction zone inducing air from its sky opening. The thermal comfort of the
courtyard is measured with Givoni’s bio-climatic chart. (H. Nagai, I. Rajapaksha, M. Okumiya, 2002)

Thermal performance analysis of courtyards in a hot humid

climate using CFD method
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The study is undertaken with the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method for the estimation of
thermal performance of the building. The parameters measured are air temperature (Cº) and air velocity
(m/s). Thermal comfort of the courtyard is evaluated by the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) index. The
building under study is a low-rise building. The study established that a U-shape courtyard with aspect
ratio of 1:2 performs better than the aspect ratio of 1:1. Increasing the shading area using cantilevered
roof provides better thermal comfort. PMV model - treats all occupants the same, disregards location and
adaptation to thermal environment. (Abdulbasit Almhafdy, Josmin Yahya, Norhati Ibrahim, Sabarinah S H
Ahmad, 2014)

Effect of courtyard shape factor on heating and cooling

energy loads in hot-dry climate
For the estimation of the thermal performance of the building, shape factor (W/L) and form factor (V/A)
of the courtyard are measured. Annual heating and cooling loads of the courtyard of the respective shape
factors are calculated. Geometry of the courtyard form affects the shadows produced on the building
envelope. This consequently affects the received solar radiation and the cooling and heating loads of the
building. Buildings with lower shape factor are found to have lower heating loads. (G. Koçlar Orala, G.
Manio Lua, 2015)

Adaptive Comfort Model

The model establishes that the comfort temperature is a result of interaction between the occupant and
the environment - Variable Temperature Approach. It accounts for the following:

Change of thermal environment can be through – clothing, posture, windows, blinds, doors, change
of position, mechanical controls
Change of human physical paramaters can be through - Activity level (M), Heat loss – H (from the
body).

ACS model – gives freedom to the occupants, considers location and adaptation to thermal environment.

Methodology
The entire methodology of the study is as charted below:

Note:

The combined effects of air temperature and air velocity are studied by the plotting of a derivative
comfort parameter – CORRECTED EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURE.
For plotting the isotherm, EXCEL is used.

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 The values for analyzing thermal comfort with the acquired temperature values are established with
the help of the software – CLIMATE CONSULTANT (CC)

Field Survey
Stage 1: Documentation of micro-climatic factors
The elements of the building and its surroundings that affect the wind speed are to be documented. The
elements include:

Building orientation
Adjacent buildings
Vegetation
Cross ventilation

Stage 2: Recording real-time air temperature & velocity

values
Courtyards work on the principle of convective cooling. It primarily involves the movement of air currents
due to difference in pressure induced by difference in temperature of the ground surface and the
atmosphere. This effect is enhanced by the external air velocities. Therefore, to evaluate the thermal
performance of the mid-rise building, the following thermal comfort parameters are measured:

Dry bulb temperature

Wet bulb temperature
Air velocity

at various points along the horizontal and vertical planes of the courtyard enclosure

Data Handling
Stage 1: Manual – CET values plotted with the nomogram
CET – Corrected Effective Temperature is a thermal comfort index that integrates the effects of air
temperature and air velocity. All the DBT and WBT values will be plotted on the nomogram, to get the
corresponding CET values.

Stage 2: Software – Isotherms are plotted

With the acquired CET values, isotherms are plotted along the vertical plane for all the four surfaces of
enclosure. The variation of temperature with respect to height can be interpreted from the plotted CET
isotherms.

Data Interpretation
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Stage 1: Software – Real-time thermal comfort analyzed
with Climate Consultant data
WBT max and WBT min are derived from Mean max temp, RH max and Mean min temp, RH min
values
CET max and CET min are derived from the respective WBT values
CET values for entire year are derived from the hourly temperature calculator
CET isopleth is plotted and the comfort zone is mapped for still air conditions
Thermal comfort in different floors for various months and the comfort percentage for the year are
inferred based on the above observations

Stage 2: Manual - Relation between building dimensions

and respective isotherms
Shape factor of the building calculated

Shape factor = Width of courtyard / Length of courtyard

Form factor calculated

Form factor = Surface area of the building / Volume of the building

The percentage of space lost on ground, in terms of the shape factor is compared with the percentage of
thermal comfort provided and inferences are made.
Tools for Data Collection
CET Nomogram – The nomogram is used to graphically measure the corrected effective temperature
with the recorded values of DBT, WBT and air velocity. It also has the comfort range marked, which helps
in examining the thermal comfort of the respective readings

Psychrometric Chart – The chart is used to graphically measure WBT with the recorded values of DBT
and Relative Humidity

Hourly Temperature Calculator – The graphical calculator helps to extrapolate the calculated CET values
from the CET nomogram for CET values for the entire year

Tools for Data Analysis

Isotherm – Isotherm is a graphical representation that consists of curves that join the points on a surface
that have the same value of CET

Isopleth – Isopleth is a graphical representation that consists of curves that join the points with the same
value of CET, for values throughout the year

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Experimental Setup
The site chosen for the study of the thermal efficiency of the courtyard in mid-rise buildings is the Mega
Ladies Hostel in National Institute of Technology, Calicut. The building is of seven floors and consists of
a central courtyard open to sky. It is enclosed by windowed corridors in the north-western and the south-
eastern sides and windowed rooms in the north-eastern and the south-western sides of the building. The
dimension of the courtyard is 42 metres by 24 metres (length x width) with the height of the enclosure as
21 metres.

The psychrometer is used to measure the DBT and WBT values of all the grid points in the grid as shown
below.

The anemometer is used to record the wind velocity values in all the floor levels of the building. All the
values are measured at a height of 80cm from the floor level of each floor of the building.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE MICRO CLIMATE

The micro-climate of an area is more relevant to the building’s environment than the macro-climatic
conditions of the area. Some of the factors that influence the micro-climate of the building under study
are:

Building Orientation
The length of the building is oriented along the North-west – South-east axis. Owing to the sun-path, the
enclosure with the highest exposure is the one along the south-west orientation.
Adjacent Buildings
The building under study is bounded by low-rise buildings with a maximum of four stories on three sides
with the North-western side open to vegetation. The buildings are aligned perpendicular to the building
under study and so channel the prevalent major winds towards the building.

Vegetation
The dense vegetation along the North-western side of the building funnels the wind up to four stories
height in the building. The remaining floors experience airflow without any obstruction.

Cross Ventilation
The building enclosure is composed of rooms with fenestrations on two sides and corridors with
fenestrations on the other two sides enabling cross ventilation throughout the building.

Analysis
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ISOTHERM
The isotherms were plotted for all the four vertical enclosures of the courtyard. These graphs give the
trend of change in corrected effective temperature with height.

Corridor-side enclosures
In the south-eastern enclosure, the CET values vary from 26.8⁰C to 28.8⁰C with a range of 2⁰C, while in
the north-western enclosure, the CET values range from 26.5⁰C to 28.9⁰C with a range of 2.4⁰C. The CET
is observed to decrease with height in both the cases, but the change is more gradual in the south-eastern
enclosure. There are abnormalities in grid points 5 and 4 observed in the north-western enclosure where
there is a sudden change in CET, within the same level. North-western enclosure is comparatively more
comfortable.

Room-side enclosures
In the south-western enclosure, the CET values vary from 28.3⁰C to 29.2⁰C with a range of 0.9⁰C, while in
the north-eastern enclosure, the CET values range from 28.3⁰C to 29.4⁰C with a range of 1.1⁰C. The CET
is observed to increase with height in both cases, gradually. Comparatively, the South-western enclosure
is more comfortable, across levels. In general, the rooms close to centre of the enclosures are more
comfortable than the ones close to the edges.

In comparison with the corridor-side enclosures, the CET values for room-side enclosures are recorded in
still-air condition. The range of variation in CET in the room-side enclosure is comparatively smaller,
compared to its counterpart. The trend in change is more gradual in room-side enclosures. Comparatively,
the CET values are lower in the corridor-side enclosures, thereby having better thermal comfort than the
room-side enclosures. CET values increase with height in room-side enclosures, while in the counterpart, it
is the opposite.

Isopleth
The CET isopleth is plotted based on the secondary data obtained as discussed in section, with values for
24 hours for 12 months, thereby giving a clear picture of the heating conditions throughout the year. The
isopleth is plotted for still air conditions, considering the most vulnerable condition for discomfort.More
than half a year is comfortable thermally, with reference to the isopleths. The range for thermal comfort is
considered as 22⁰C to 27⁰C based on the CET Nomogram for 1 clo.

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Thermal Discomfort
As per figure, all the regions outside the range 22⁰C to 27⁰C represent thermal discomfort. The discomfort
zones can be further divided as:

Above the comfort zone

Below the comfort zone

Above Comfort Zone

The region above the comfort zone causes discomfort due to higher CET values, which can be brought
within the comfort zone by inducing more air movement and increasing the exposure to wind of the
space under study. This kind of discomfort is experienced from the end of February to mid-June.

For the situation under study, the maximum CET value acquired, considering both the room-side
enclosures is 29.4⁰C. With that marked on the isopleths, vertical projection from the point gives the level
of comfort throughout the day and horizontal projection gives the level of comfort across months for the
same time.

Daily Extrapolation - For the maximum condition under study, discomfort ranges from 10am to 7 pm, for
the day the study was conducted – as per the isopleth.

Yearly Extrapolation – For the maximum condition under study, discomfort ranges from the mid-March to
mid-June.

Below Comfort Zone

The region below the comfort zone causes discomfort due to lower CET values, which can be brought
within the comfort range by increasing the exposure to solar radiation of the space under study. This kind
of discomfort is experienced from the month of September to April.

Result
The factors affecting the thermal comfort of the courtyard enclosure include:

Building orientation
Adjacent buildings
Vegetation
Cross ventilation
Air movement
Adjacency of rooms
Altitude

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Thermal comfort of the courtyard enclosure decreases with height unless exposed to air movement.

The lateral space lost on the ground is worth the thermal efficiency achieved by adopting courtyards in
mid-rise buildings.

The building with the shape factor 1:1.75 and form factor 0.1 has a minimum comfort of 52.56% for
thermal comfort throughout the year, with a reduction of 4.49% from the thermal comfort in the bottom-
most floor level.

Hence, the hypothesis is TRUE.

Findings And Discussions

The following are the research findings based on the observations made from the previous chapter, in
relation to the details in the documentation section of the study.

An obstruction perpendicular to the wind direction forces the wind to move up at its edge perpendicular to
the wind direction

This inference is based on the observation made that at level 3 in the north-western enclosure; there is a
rapid decrease in CET values owing to the increased wind velocity enhanced by the sudden change in the
level of openness in the wind direction

Air movement directly affects the extent of heating of the

enclosure
This inference is based on the observation made that the room-side enclosures have a smaller range of
CET values in contrast to the corridor-side enclosures and CET values are higher in room-side enclosures
compared to the corridor-side enclosures.

Thermal insulation increases with the relative adjacency of

rooms
This inference is based on the observation made that the trend of the plotted iso-therms are
comparatively gradual and normally distributed in room-side enclosures and the rooms in the middle of
each grid have lesser CET value therefore greater thermal comfort.

Thermal comfort in the corridor-side enclosures is directly

proportional to the altitude
This inference is based on the observation made that the CET values increase with height above ground
in corridor-side enclosures. This phenomenon is due to the effect of wind velocity on the thermal comfort

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of the courtyard. Wind velocity increases with height and thereby increases the thermal comfort in
corridor-side enclosures due to their exposure to the wind and cross ventilation.

Thermal comfort in the room-side enclosures is inversely

proportional to the altitude
This inference is based on the observation made that the CET values decrease with height above ground
in room-side enclosures. This phenomenon is due to the effect of solar radiation on the thermal comfort
of the courtyard. Intensity of solar radiation increases with height and thereby decreases the thermal
comfort in room-side enclosures.

The enclosures are thermally comfortable around half the

time of the entire year
This condition is due to the prevailing cross-ventilation offered by the courtyard.

Conclusion
By adopting the following strategies, the thermal performance of the building and the efficiency of the
courtyard can be improved.

Change in orientation
By changing the orientation of the building along the north-east – south-west axis, the surface area of
exposure of the building to the local winds can be increased the surface area of exposure of the building
to the Sun can be reduced, thereby resulting in increased thermal comfort of the courtyard enclosures.

Change in shape factor

Although changing the orientation is an ideal solution for improving the thermal efficiency of the building
under study, owing to the boundaries offered by the surrounding space, change in the shape factor would
be a better option before the construction of the building.

By increasing the shape factor of the building from 1:1.75 to 1:2, can increase the thermal comfort of the
enclosure as it extends the scope for cross-ventilation, through the volume of the building.

Nomenclature
⁰C degree Celcius (Temperature)

Declarations
FURTHER RESEARCH

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 Scope for AUTOMATION of the efficiency calculation with a drafted algorithm
Scope for formulation of a COMFORT INDEX or COMFORT SCALE specific for courtyards

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am immensely grateful to my guide, Ar. Haneen Pallathodi, for enlightening me on the technicalities of
the project. I will always be thankful to him, for encouraging me to explore new avenues in the field of
building climatology and his constant guidance and support towards the completion of the project to this
detail. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Dr. Naseer M A, for his valuable insight into the
practicality of the project which helped me refine the study with a better understanding of the nuances.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am also grateful to my panellists, Dr. Kasthurba A K and Ar. Shahim Abdurahiman for their timely input
in developing the project. I will always be greatly indebted to my family members who are my constant
source of inspiration and support and never fail to lift my spirits with every passing day.

References
1. O H Koenigsberger, T G Ingersoll, Alan Mayhew and S Z Szokolay – 1973 - Manual of tropical
housing and building – Orient Blackswan Private Limited
2. Rafik Bensalem – 1991 - Wind-driven Natural Ventilation in courtyard and atrium-type buildings -
University of Sheffield
3. I. Rajapaksha, H. Nagai, M. Okumiya – 2002 - A ventilated courtyard as a passive cooling strategy in
the warm humid tropics – Elselvier Science Limited
4. Abdulbasit Almhafdy*, Norhati Ibrahim, Sabarinah S H Ahmad, Josmin Yahya – 2014 - Thermal
performance analysis of courtyards in a hot humid climate using computational fluid dynamics CFD
method - Asian Conference on Environment-Behaviour Studies, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, S. Korea
5. G. Manio Lua, G. Koçlar Orala – 2015 - Effect of courtyard shape factor on heating and cooling
energy loads in hot-dry climatic zone – 6th International Building Physics Conference, IBPC
6. http://www.grihaindia.org/events/innovation/pdf/ppt/RV-Simha.pdf

Figures

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Figure 1

Givoni's Bioclimatic Chart

Figure 2

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Level of enclosure

Figure 3

Effect of courtyard shape factor on energy loads

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Figure 4

Methodology flow-chart

Figure 5

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Site plan

Figure 6

Building orientation

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Figure 7

Isotherm - SE enclosure

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Figure 8

Isotherm - NW enclosure

Figure 9

Isotherm - SW enclosure

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Figure 10

Isotherm - NE enclosure

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Figure 11

CET Isopleth

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Figure 12

CET – Above comfort zone

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