Hybrid Ventilation in an Air-Conditioned Office Building with a Multistory Atrium for Thermal Comfort: A Practical Case Study

Abstract

This study involved a series of computational fluid dynamics simulations to evaluate the effectiveness of stack and displacement ventilation in providing better thermal comfort in an air-conditioned office building. To reduce energy consumption, the public area of the studied building is cooled by air from air-conditioned rooms with lower temperatures. The air, which is driven by buoyancy, then, flows outside through the multistory atrium. The simulation results indicated that displacement ventilation provides superior thermal comfort performance relative to stack ventilation. A design with a higher ceiling, a higher heat source and a lower inlet with cold air can substantially enhance the efficiency of displacement ventilation. Furthermore, handrails near the atrium play a crucial role because they help to retain cold air in the public space for a longer period, thereby contributing to a better predicted mean vote value.