Advances in Passive Cooling Design: An Integrated Design Approach

Incorporating passive cooling devices within building design requires analysis of device variables and actions to improve cooling performance, maximize efficiency, and integrate with building elements. Improving devices performance requires understanding the relation of devices to design stages, building elements, and working mechanism, and actions performed by devices to enhance cooling process and effectiveness. Therefore, designers could integrate passive devices as intrinsic design elements. The current research introduces SARS as an innovative classification of passive devices based on cooling actions that are performed by a device like storing, avoidance, removal or slowing (SARS). All actions, devices, and variables were discussed and analyzed to help integrate them within design stages: analysis, designing, and performance. Understanding actions will help maximize the performance of the devices, combine two or more devices together, and integrate the devices’ deign in design process. Combining more devices together to perform more than one function will move passive design to a new level to become as whole building design approach and to be a core design element.