Analysis of Wind Behavior in Natural Ventilation and Reduction of Energy Consumption in Residential Building Based on Vernacular Architecture: A Case Study of Effects of Dimensions and Layout of Opening on Natural Ventilation in Amol City, Iran

The increased average of non-renewable energy consumption in the residential sector and not using the passive techniques, which are often based on the vernacular architecture concepts and principles and climate, have led to energy waste and increased costs. Due to humidity and excessive heat in summer at noon, Amol exceeds the thermal comfort and needs natural ventilation. The current study aims to study the effect of dimensions and layout of the opening on the natural ventilation and reduction of energy consumption. First, reviewing the research background, natural ventilation was determined as the main component of the building design in this climate, and the operational principles of the stated component were extracted using Climate Consultant. Among the operational principles, the value of the opening area was determined as the main criterion of the climate design using the AHP method. With simulating a one-story residential building with an area of 75 square meters in Amol’s climate in Envi-Met software and inputting climate information obtained from Climate Consultant analysis in Envi-met, the wind direction was north and north-western. The building understudy was simulated in Design Builder software. By comparing the window to surface percentage ratio and annual energy consumption, the ratio of 30% with the minimum energy consumption equivalent to 6839.87 kwh was considered the criterion for studying the opening effect. Windows of the residential building were considered as three parts to study the effect of the opening dimensions. In northern and southern sides where one-third of the window was closed, the minimum energy consumption value as the total of thermal and cooling loads was 7298.93 kwh, indicating the effects of the dimensions of the opening in the natural ventilation of the building in the humid and moderate climate.