Ventilation impact of a solar chimney on indoor temperature fluctuation and air change in a school building

The aim of this research was to investigate, experimentally, both the feasibility of a solar chimney to reduce heat gain in a house by inducing natural ventilation and the effect of openings (door, window and inlet of solar chimney) on the ventilation rate. The study was conducted using a single-room school house of approximately 25 m(3) volume. The southern wall was composed of three different solar chimney configurations of 2 m(2) each, whereas, the roof southern side included two similar units of 1.5 m(2) each of another solar chimney configuration. Those configurations were built by using common construction materials. Experimental observations indicated that when the solar chimney ventilation system was in use, room temperature was near that of the ambient air, indicating a good ability of the solar chimney to reduce house's heat gain and ensuring thermal comfort. The air change rate varied between 8-15. Opening the window and door is less efficient than using solar chimneys, as temperature difference between room and ambient was higher than that obtained with solar chimneys. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.