Effect of Orientation and Window to Wall Ratio on Natural Ventilation: The Case of Condominium Houses in Adama City, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Natural Ventilation is an effective method for passive cooling, increasing indoor air quality and minimizing energy consumption of a condominium building. The aim of this paper is to assess the natural ventilation of selected residential buildings in terms of building orientation relative to wind direction, WWR and window size. This study is confined with in Adama city, Ethiopia; only on 4 purposively selected condominium buildings which aimed to evaluate the orientation based to investigate the effect of orientation and WWR of natural ventilation at a specific condominium location in Adama city in various orientations on a distinct solar axis (i.e., S?�?N, with window to wall ratios (i.e., South: 48.97%, East: 74.41%, West: 51.00%, North: 20.46%) and 16:15 or 1:1.07 aspect ratio and E?�?W with window to wall ratios (i.e., South: 51.00%, East: 39.60%, West: 25.3%, North: 74.41%) and 28:15 or 1:1.87 aspect ratio and wall surface to floor area ratio 58% using a field survey, and data collected during the hottest months of the year, April and May 2024. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data gathering approaches and implemented by using primary and secondary data sources. First, data loggers were used to take measurements of air speed per hour, relative humidity, and indoor air temperature airspeed, for both building orientations. In addition, using a standard questionnaire, the residents were asked about their fresh air in their households. Secondly, the collected data processed using Excel and Ecotect software used for simulation and wind direction of location. According to the data gathering and analysis, the result demonstrates the Airspeed for the north-south orientation of the building is between 1.94 and 1.15 m/s;indoor temperature for the north-south orientation of the building is between 29 and 25 degrees Celsius. When the building is oriented east-west axis, Airspeed is between 1.2 and 0.2 m/s; the air temperature is be