Cooling Homes the Natural Way: In hot and humid places all over the world, keeping homes cool often means high energy bills and a lot of air conditioning. But new research shows that even small changes to how windows are designed and placed can make a big difference in comfort without using more energy. A new study of low-cost apartment buildings built by the government shows that natural ventilation can lower indoor temperatures, improve air quality, and help low-income residents live in a way that is both affordable and environmentally friendly.
Why Public Housing Is Important? Many tropical and subtropical areas have to build public housing on a tight budget. These buildings often have the same layout over and over again, small floor plans, and not much mechanical cooling, so natural ventilation is very important for comfort. Even though window design is very important for how heat and air move through a home, it is often seen as a minor issue.
In the Study: Researchers looked at a typical low-rise apartment building in a hot and humid city and compared different window designs and opening arrangements. There were two main ways to do it. Field tests measured the speed and temperature of the air, while computer simulations tested the flow of air and the amount of energy used.
We looked at both single-sided and cross-ventilation. These are what the researchers discovered:
Not All Windows Work the Same. The type of window has a big impact on how well ventilation works. Vertical pivot windows had the best rates of air change. Horizontal pivot windows worked well no matter which way the wind was blowing. Windows that hung from the top had the worst airflow performance.
Bigger is not always better. Very large openings can let hot air from outside into the house during the day, which can make the house hotter. At night, those same openings are helpful because they let cool air in.
Height is Important. The way air flows changes depending on how tall a building is. The upper floors get stronger winds, the middle floors get moderate airflow, and the lower floors often have trouble with weak ventilation.
Cross ventilation works best when it can happen. Apartments with windows on opposite sides had faster air speeds and cooler indoor temperatures. But a lot of public housing buildings have double-loaded corridors, which makes it hard to open the corridor sides.
The design that works best: vertical pivot windows installed higher up created better airflow patterns and kept the inside temperature lower.
What This Means for Housing Policy:
Window design should be seen as a way to cool down. It is possible to improve building standards without raising the cost of building. You can lower the need for energy while making life better. A cooler future without more energy.
Smart design can take the place of costly technology. Instead of adding machines, public housing buildings can be made healthier and more comfortable by rethinking the windows.
References:
Trihamdani, A. R., & Nurjannah, A. (2023). Low energy cooling strategies through window design for rusunawa buildings in the Hot-Humid climate of Indonesia. In Lecture notes in civil engineering (pp. 73–85). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1403-6_7
