See the Tutorial on Scheduled Natural ventilation. HVAC tab in model data
See the Tutorial on Scheduled Natural ventilation.
When the Natural ventilation model option is set to Scheduled,and for heating and cooling design calculations, natural ventilation is defined as follows:
Find out more about Natural Ventilation Modelling under Modelling Advice.
Check the On checkbox under the Natural Ventilation header to activate natural ventilation. This causes all of the natural ventilation data on the HVAC tab to be accessible.
The Outside air definition method allows you to select the method to be used to set the maximum outside air natural ventilation rate. The options are:
Vdesign = ac/h x ZoneVolume / 3600
where ZoneVolume is the actual air volume of the space calculated according to options for optionally excluding floor/ceiling constructions.
Note: this zone volume may be different from the value used for the purposes of calculating air flow rates for infiltration which uses the total zone volume.
Vdesign = MinFreshAir x NumberPeople / 1000
NumberPeople = Occupancy density (people / m2) * Zone floor area (m2)
MinFreshAir is the minimum fresh air rate per person (l/s/person)
The actual ventilation rate in m3/s is calculated at each time step of the simulation using the equation below:
Ventilation = Vdesign Fschedule [A + B (Tin - Tout) + C . Wind Speed + D (Wind Speed 2)]
Each of the parameters in the equation above are explained in the text that follows.
Select the schedule used to modify the maximum design natural volume flow rate (Vdesign) (see Design Flow Rate Calculation Method field and related subsequent fields). This fraction between 0.0 and 1.0 is noted as Fschedule in the above
equation.
Check this checkbox if you wish to define a restriction on natural ventilation operation when outdoor temperature drops below a setpoint temperature. Use this option to help avoid over-cooling a space, which could result in a heating load.
Min temperature definition
There are 2 ways to define the outdoor min temperature:
- 1-By value - use this option when the setpoint does not change with time in which case you can enter a fixed setpoint temperature.
- 2-By schedule - use this option when the setpoint changes with time in which case you can select a schedule of time-varying temperature setpoints.
Outdoor min temperature
This is the fixed outdoor temperature (in °C or °F) below which ventilation is shut off. This control is visible when the 1-By value option is selected for Min temperature definition.
Outdoor min temperature schedule
This is the schedule of outdoor temperatures (in °C) below which ventilation is shut off. This control is visible when the 1-By schedule option is selected for Min temperature definition.
See also Defining setpoint temperature schedules.
Check this checkbox if you wish to define a restriction on natural ventilation operation when outdoor temperature rises above a setpoint temperature. Use this option to help avoid over-heating a space, which could result in a cooling load.
Max temperature definition
There are 2 ways to define the outdoor max temperature:
- 1-By value - use this option when the setpoint does not change with time in which case you can enter a fixed setpoint temperature.
- 2-By schedule - use this option when the setpoint changes with time in which case you can select a schedule of time-varying temperature setpoints.
Outdoor max temperature
This is the fixed outdoor temperature (in °C or °F) above which ventilation is shut off. This control is visible when the 1-By value option is selected for Max temperature definition.
Outdoor max temperature schedule
This is the schedule of outdoor temperatures (in °C) above which ventilation is shut off. This control is visible when the 1-By schedule option is selected for Max temperature definition.
See also Defining setpoint temperature schedules.
Check this option to limit natural ventilation operation based on the temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor air dry-bulb temperature. It allows ventilation to be stopped if the temperature outside is too warm and could potentially heat the space.
Uncheck this option to keep the ventilation on even if the outdoor temperature is greater than the indoor temperature. This is useful for uncontrolled natural ventilation (open windows) or as a way to estimate the effect of required ventilation air for load calculations.
Delta T definition
There are 2 ways to define the Delta T to be used in temperature difference control:
- 1-By value - use this option when the Delta T does not change with time in which case you can enter a fixed value.
- 2-By schedule - use this option when the Delta T changes with time in which case you can select a schedule of time-varying Delta T values.
Delta T
This is the temperature difference (in °C or °F) between the indoor and outdoor air dry-bulb temperatures below which ventilation is shut off. This field allows ventilation to be stopped if the temperature outside is too warm and could potentially heat the space. For example, if the user specifies a delta temperature of 2°C, ventilation is assumed to be available if the outside air temperature is at least 2°C cooler than the zone air temperature. If the outside air dry-bulb temperature is less than 2°C cooler than the indoor dry-bulb temperature, then ventilation is automatically turned off. The values for this field can include negative numbers. This allows ventilation to occur even if the outdoor temperature is above the indoor temperature.
The Delta Temperature is used in the code in the following way:
IF ((IndoorTemp - OutdoorTemp) < DeltaTemperature) Then ventilation is not allowed.
For example:
Value of Natural ventilation delta T
Effect
0
Natural ventilation only operates when OutdoorTemp < IndoorTemp
-100
Natural ventilation unrestricted by Inside-Outside delta T
2
Natural ventilation only operates when OutdoorTemp + 2 < IndoorTemp
Delta T schedule
This is the schedule of temperature difference values (in °C) between the indoor and outdoor air dry-bulb temperatures below which ventilation is shut off. See above Delta T description for more details.
The coefficients below can be used to set up inside to outside Delta T and wind speed dependency of the Scheduled natural ventilation rates using the equation above under
The question of typical values for these coefficients is subject to debate. Ideally, one should do a detailed analysis of the ventilation situation and then determine a custom set of coefficients using methods such as those laid out in Chapter 26 of the
ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals. The defaults are 1,0,0,0 which give a constant volume flow of ventilation under all conditions.
The equation must always yield a non-negative results; negative values are set to 0.0. BLAST (one of the EnergyPlus predecessors) used the following values as defaults: 0.606, 0.03636, 0.1177, 0. These coefficients produce a value of 1.0 at 0C deltaT and 3.35 m/s (7.5mph) wind speed, which corresponds to a typical summer condition. At a winter condition of 40C deltaT and 6 m/s (13.4 mph) wind speed, these coefficients would increase the ventilation rate by a factor of 2.75.
In DOE-2 (the other EnergyPlus predecessor), the air change method defaults are (adjusted to SI units) 0, 0, 0.224 (wind speed), 0. With these coefficients, the summer conditions above would give a factor of 0.75, and the winter conditions would give 1.34. A wind speed of 4.47 m/s (10 mph) gives a factor of 1.0.
The source of the BLAST defaults is noted in the BLAST documentation as: "Empirical equation and the coefficient default were determined from ASHRAE journal articles and other data on the effects of outdoor weather conditions." The source of the DOE-2 defaults is based on examining the infiltration relationships described in the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals.
The local outdoor dry-bulb temperature used in the above basic equation (Tout) is typically a function of the height of the zone centroid above ground. The local outdoor dry-bulb temperature calculation procedure is described in the “Local Outdoor Air Temperature Calculation” section of the Engineering Reference.
The local outdoor wind speed used in the above basic equation (Wind Speed) is also a function of the height of the zone centroid above ground. The local outdoor wind speed calculation procedure is described in the “Local Wind Speed Calculation” section of the Engineering Reference.
This constant term coefficient is the “A” parameter in the above ventilation equation. It is part of the user specified modifying parameters that are a function of environmental factors. This parameter, however, is a constant under all conditions and is not modified by any environmental effect. As a result, it is dimensionless.
The temperature term coefficient is the “B” parameter in the above ventilation equation. It is part of the user specified modifying parameters that are a function of environmental factors. This parameter is modified by the temperature difference between the outdoor and indoor air dry-bulb temperatures. The units for this parameter are inverse Celsius.
The velocity term coefficient is the “C” parameter in the above ventilation equation. It is part of the user specified modifying parameters that are a function of environmental factors. This parameter is modified by the speed of wind being experienced outside the building. The units for this parameter are s/m.
The velocity squared term coefficient is the “D” parameter in the above ventilation equation. It is part of the user specified modifying parameters that are a function of environmental factors. This parameter is modified by square of the speed of wind being experienced outside the building. The units for this parameter are s2/m2.
Scheduled natural ventilation is active at any time in the simulation based on the rules in the table below.
| Condition | Rule | Data Location |
| Operation schedule has value > 0 AND | HVAC tab | |
| If Natural ventilation indoor min temperature control checked | Tin > Natural ventilation min temperature AND | Activity tab |
| If Natural ventilation indoor max temperature control checked | Tin < Natural ventilation max temperature AND | Activity tab |
| If Outdoor min temperature control checked | Tout > Outdoor min temperature AND | HVAC tab |
| If Outdoor max temperature control checked | Tout < Outdoor min temperature AND | HVAC tab |
| If Delta T control checked | Tin - Tout > Delta T | HVAC tab |
Where:
Tin is the inside dry bulb air temperature
Tout is the outside dry bulb air temperature
Tip: To ensure that natural ventilation operates regardless of temperature inside and outside you should uncheck all of the checkbox options listed on the "Condition" column in the above table.
Airflow through external windows, vents, doors and holes are not modelled with Scheduled natural ventilation because the natural ventilation airflow from outside is explicitly defined (above). Internal windows, vents, doors and holes cause air to be exchanged between the two adjacent zones using the EnergyPlus 'Mixing' object. The way this works can be defined on the Advanced tab of the Model options dialog under the Natural Ventilation > Scheduled headers.
In addition, you can override operation of internal windows, vents, doors be off as follows:
|
Window, Vent, Door position |
Override Off Action |
|
Internal adjacent to unconditioned semi-exterior |
Switch off the Natural ventilation 'On' checkbox in the occupied zone |
|
Other internal |
Unaffected by the Natural ventilation 'On' checkbox. Use the operation schedules on the Openings tab to switch off |