| Natural ventilation is a sustainable source of cooling that can efficiently reduce energy use in hot and hot arid zones if used knowledgeably.; If natural ventilation is to be incorporated in the design process from beginning to end, two main issues need to be addressed and analyzed by Architects:; The first issue is local wind information, such as prevailing wind direction, speed, frequency, average temperature, and relative humidity. Wind Wheel (WW) is a new tool designed for Architects to represent wind information graphically. WW will help Architects to easily decide which direction of wind to block and which to allow in at any selected period of the year.; The second issue is testing and validating designs that serve the natural ventilation objectives of the architect, which is done when the form of the building starts to take shape and continues through the end of the design project. For this purpose, a technique that can visualize, measure and evaluate airflow patterns for different designs is presented here using a special wind tunnel that integrates a neutrally buoyant helium bubble generator. Experiments are recorded using both a camcorder and a digital camera.; Vernacular "indigenous" Architecture incorporates these issues but has evolved over a long period of time. Wind was observed by dwellers and patterns were understood as the first step of their design process. The second was a long sequence of building and modifying designs to maximize natural ventilation efficiency.; A working example from UAE vernacular architecture is presented using both the WW to identify wind patterns of a specific region and the wind tunnel technique to see how vernacular ventilation elements work.; These tools can be used to design more energy efficient modern buildings by helping Architects develop new concepts and designs for openings, wind scoops and wind towers. |
