Passive ventilation and thermal comfort for public housing in ecuatorial climate

Abstract

In general, comfort and health are not taken into account by social housing’s(VIS) designers, nor are some issues of ecological sustainability such as,for example, natural ventilation. Two conditions worsen this situation: thefirst one is that knowledge of scientific comfort through passive strategiesis barely known, and the second one is the thought that passive designis unprofitable for builders or for the state. In hot tropics, passive designstrategies are complicated due to the high midday insolation (870 W/m2) and due to the calmly wind. Here a solution is proposed that offerscomfort and health through combining various ventilation and thermalload strategies; and its performance and effectiveness were evaluated inan experimental prototype that simulates a VIS’ room in Cali (Colombia).It was found that in the original architectural configuration, a typical VISis completely uninhabitable almost all the day; however some low budgetmodifications can turn it towards acceptable comfort and healthy levels.In particular solar chimneys proved very effective for air induction duringthe calm. The considered alternatives were implementable for newor refurbished designs.