THERMAL COMFORT MODEL DEVELOPMENT FOR OFFICE BUILDINGS WITH HYBRID DOWNDRAFT EVAPORATIVE COOLERS IN BAYERO UNIVERSITY KANO
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56892/bima.v6i01.344Keywords:
Thermal comfort, CFD simulation, Experimental study, Predicted mean vote, Thermal comfort modelAbstract
The numerous thermal comfort models developed for air-conditioned and free-running spaces are
unsuitable for accurate prediction of thermal comfort of buildings equipped with hybrid downdraft
evaporative cooling (HDEC) systems. This study attempts to develop a thermal comfort model for
office buildings equipped with the HDEC in the new campus of Bayero University Kano. The
windows of the office buildings were optimized using Taguchi analysis. The 3D model of the
baseline office building using the optimum window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of 25% was developed
and numerically analyzed using DesignBuilder CFD simulation. The numerical PMVopt results
were employed for training the thermal comfort model using the statistical software package
Minitab 19. The validation shows a good agreement between the predicted results and the
experimental data. The developed model could help building designers and engineers to make
appropriate decisions at design stage regarding the thermal comfort of office buildings to be
equipped with the HDEC systems.
