CFD Evaluation of Thermal Conditioning in a House of Social Interest with a Solar Chimney Arrangement in Guanajuato, Mexico

Abstract

The aim of using electromechanical air conditioning in buildings is to maintain thermal comfort for its occupants; however, this type of air conditioning represents 40% of the total energy consumption of a building, generating economic and environmental impacts, because fossil fuels are the main source of energy. To reduce the use of electromechanical conditioning, it is possible to take advantage of the climatic conditions of the region to improve its performance. Due to the small number of works that quantitatively support measures aimed at improving the thermal behavior of houses in an integral way and the growth of mass construction in Mexico, in the present work, a solar chimney is incorporated in a typical type of social interest housing in Guanajuato. The incorporation of the solar chimney was simulated by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) using ANSYS and evaluated by ASHRAE Standard 55-2017. The selected arrangement induces air flow inside without the need for external flow and obtains speeds of 0.2 m/s; thus, it could be considered for rooms within comfort zones up to an operating temperature of 29 °C according to the ASHRAE Standard 55-2017, PMV method.