Integration of natural ventilation by thermal buoyancy in solar thermal modelling for conservation of thermal energy in vernacular building in India

There are array of evidences to suggest that changes in climate are taking place globally with varying degrees of impacts. Climate change triggered by global warming is expected to have widespread consequences and subsequent usage and overloading of conventional energy resources. These effects will have major impacts on ecosystems, health, water resources and key economic sectors. Most of the vernacular building design considerations have a window and a small opening at ventilator level / beneath the ceiling at opposite wall to create natural ventilation to the building envelop through thermal buoyancy effect. Natural ventilation by thermal buoyancy in a building with a window and a small opening at ventilator level and periodic solar thermal model have been integrated to investigate the thermal behaviour of a non-air conditioned building. The Solar thermal model has been considered to analyse the indoor air temperature swings for heating and cooling periods with due considerations to the building components such as walls/roof, periodic solar radiation, isothermal mass, openings (window and door opening), ACHs and ambient air temperatures. The vernacular concept has been studied through solar thermal model to elaborate the influence openings on indoor air temperature swings and to consider its importance in designing of the non-air conditioned buildings for conservation of energy at micro level and to save a large amount of energy at settlement level as the over-all temperature in the room is a sensitive function of the size of the openings i.e. windows and ventilators / slits.