How do wind towers perform in cold climates?
Best insight from top research papers
Wind towers, traditionally used for natural ventilation, face challenges in cold climates due to excessive heat loss and thermal discomfort, particularly during winter months. However, recent innovations have aimed to address these issues, enhancing wind tower performance in such environments. One approach involves integrating a solar heating unit (SHU) with wind towers to pre-heat incoming air, significantly improving indoor thermal comfort by raising the air temperature by 5°C–23°C, which falls within the comfortable temperature range. This integration also shows a variation of 2–4 °C in indoor temperature, ensuring optimal thermal comfort. Another strategy employs solid tube banks for heat recovery (HR), which can increase the supply air temperature by up to 6.4 °C, allowing for sufficient ventilation in spaces like classrooms when external wind speeds exceed 3 m/s. In the realm of wind power generation, adapting to cold climates involves the use of low-temperature resistant materials and designs that ensure stable transmission and minimal energy loss. This includes innovations in wind turbine transformers designed for cold climates, which utilize natural ester insulating oil and are capable of withstanding cold start conditions, demonstrating resilience in temperatures as low as -40°C. Additionally, high-altitude wind power generator units have been developed with transmission devices specifically designed for high-cold climates, improving the efficiency of wind power generation. Moreover, special equipment and strategies are necessary for exploiting wind energy in cold climates, including blade heating systems and ice-free sensors to counteract the effects of icing on turbine performance. Unfreezing mechanisms in wind power generation equipment ensure operational continuity by preventing ice accumulation on critical components. Lastly, optimizing heat generation within the gearbox of wind turbines during startup in cold climates can eliminate the need for external heaters, facilitating immediate power production once sufficient wind conditions are reestablished.
Answers from top 8 papers
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| Papers (8) | Insight |
|---|---|
| Wind towers in cold climates require special equipment due to density variations affecting power curve and loads. Offshore icing is a concern, impacting energy harvest and necessitating specific operational strategies. | |
| Wind turbines face challenges in cold climates due to low temperatures and icing. Design modifications like blade heating systems and ice-free sensors are crucial for optimal performance in such regions. | |
| Wind towers in cold climates benefit from unfreezing mechanisms injecting hot air into the wheel hub, ensuring normal operation by preventing freezing, and facilitating smooth air circulation for efficient performance. | |
Patent 10 Aug 2016 1 Citations | The improved high-altitude wind power generator unit transmission device for high-cold climates is designed with low-temperature resistant materials, ensuring stable transmission and increased wind power generation efficiency. |
25 Sep 2022 | Wind towers with natural ester filled transformers were tested in -40°C conditions. Despite a cooler malfunction, no electrical faults occurred, proving the viability of these transformers in cold climates. |
4 Citations | Wind towers in cold climates can be enhanced with solid tube banks heat recovery, pre-heating supply air by up to 6.4°C, improving ventilation and reducing heating energy consumption. |
25 Sep 2022 | Wind towers with natural ester filled transformers are tested in cold climates. Despite a cooler malfunction, the transformer performed well, proving the viability of natural ester filled transformers in cold regions. |
| Wind towers integrated with solar heating units can effectively heat incoming air by 5-23°C, ensuring optimal thermal comfort in cold climates, as validated through experimental and numerical studies. |
Related Questions
How good is a wind tower against other strategies to lower overheating hours?10 answersWind towers, also known as wind catchers, present a compelling alternative to conventional cooling strategies, particularly in terms of reducing overheating hours in buildings. Their effectiveness is rooted in passive cooling mechanisms that leverage natural wind and thermal buoyancy forces to facilitate ventilation and cooling without the high energy consumption associated with traditional air conditioning systems. This is especially significant given that buildings are responsible for a substantial portion of global energy usage, with HVAC systems being major contributors.
Research has shown that wind towers can significantly lower indoor temperatures, thereby reducing overheating hours. For instance, in Algeria, the application of wind towers has been explored as a solution to cooling hot areas while minimizing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The incorporation of humidification in wind tower columns further enhances cooling efficiency, as demonstrated by experiments that recorded lower temperatures with this modification.
Moreover, the integration of wind towers with heat recovery devices has been proposed to address their limited use in mild-cold climates due to excessive heat loss and thermal discomfort during winter. This novel approach can improve indoor ventilation and reduce heating energy consumption by pre-heating the supply air, thus extending the applicability of wind towers across different climatic conditions.
The utility of wind towers extends beyond passive cooling, as seen in their integration with wind power generation towers, where they contribute to reducing maintenance costs and noise while facilitating natural heat dissipation. Additionally, the combination of wind towers with underground air-earth heat exchangers and evaporative cooling techniques has shown to further enhance their performance, offering substantial cooling and improved thermal comfort.
In comparison to other strategies, wind towers, especially when optimized through design modifications and integrated with complementary technologies, offer a sustainable, energy-efficient solution to lower overheating hours in buildings. Their ability to provide cooling and ventilation passively makes them a viable option for addressing the challenges posed by climate change and the increasing demand for energy-efficient building designs.
Can wind towers improve the amount of overheating hours in a dwelling?10 answersWind towers, also known as wind catchers, have been traditionally used to provide natural cooling and ventilation in buildings, particularly in hot and arid regions. These passive cooling systems can significantly improve thermal comfort within dwellings by reducing overheating hours, as evidenced by various studies.
The integration of wind towers with passive cooling systems, such as envelope flow models and thermal multi-zone models, has been shown to reduce cooling energy demand in residential buildings by approximately 42%, indicating a substantial improvement in managing indoor temperatures and reducing overheating hours. Furthermore, the modification of wind towers with funnels has been proposed to increase the mass flow captured by the tower, enhancing its cooling performance by up to 10.7% in certain configurations. This suggests that even small design modifications can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of wind towers in reducing overheating.
Research in socio-cultural contexts has also highlighted the importance of design, implementation, and cultural acceptance in the effectiveness of wind towers. Despite their proven thermal performance, the rejection of wind towers in some communities due to incompatibility issues underscores the need for careful consideration of these factors in the design and implementation process.
Innovative designs, such as wind towers with moistened padsand modular wind towers with wetted surfaces, have shown promise in further enhancing the cooling performance of wind towers. These designs leverage evaporative cooling to lower air temperatures before it enters the building, thereby reducing overheating hours more effectively.
Experimental and computational studies have also explored the efficiency of wind towers through direct heat transfer and humidification, recording lower temperatures within the dwellings. Additionally, the integration of heat transfer devices (HTDs) in wind towers has been investigated, highlighting the potential to optimize cooling duty and further reduce overheating hours in dwellings.
In conclusion, wind towers can significantly improve the amount of overheating hours in a dwelling, especially when combined with other passive cooling strategies and design innovations. The effectiveness of these systems is influenced by design modifications, cultural acceptance, and the integration of additional cooling mechanisms.
Can thermal models be used to find the overheating mitigation achieved by wind towers?6 answersYes, thermal models can indeed be used to find the overheating mitigation achieved by wind towers, as evidenced by various studies employing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and other modeling techniques. For instance, Calautit et al. utilized CFD to develop a numerical model of a wind tower system, demonstrating that integrating heat transfer devices within wind towers can significantly reduce internal air temperatures by up to 15 K, thus mitigating overheating. Similarly, McCabe and Roaf constructed a thermal model using Virtual Environment Software to simulate the thermal behavior of a traditional wind tower house, exploring the potential of design variations to enhance comfort and reduce overheating.
Chaudhry et al. investigated a novel closed-loop thermal cycle with cylindrical heat pipes within a wind tower, showing that such systems can achieve passive cooling capacities between 6 K and 15 K depending on the operating configuration, further supporting the role of thermal models in assessing overheating mitigation. Liu et al. proposed a wind tower integrated with a heat recovery system, where a CFD model indicated that pre-heating the supply air could raise temperatures by up to 6.4 °C, suggesting a method to counteract excessive heat loss in milder climates.
Krishnan and John's study on a commercial multi-directional wind tower with heat pipes highlighted the potential of wind towers to meet required ventilation rates while reducing heat load during winter, showcasing another aspect of thermal modeling in evaluating performance across seasons. Calautit's work combined low energy heat transfer devices with passive ventilation to meet internal comfort criteria, using CFD and experimental investigations to validate the cooling efficiency of wind towers.
Moreover, while not directly related to overheating mitigation, Tomé's study on simulation techniques for manufacturing wind towers, Bahman et al.'s thermal management of IGBT modules, and Krishnan et al.'s exploration of a wind tower with a solar heating unitall underscore the broad applicability of thermal models in various aspects of wind tower research and development, including their potential to address overheating issues.
Can wind towers reduce overheating?7 answersWind towers, also known as wind catchers, have been identified as effective passive cooling systems that can significantly reduce overheating in buildings, particularly in hot, arid regions. These traditional architectural elements capture wind from the external environment and direct it into buildings, facilitating natural ventilation and cooling without the need for energy-intensive air conditioning systems. The research by A. Djouima et al. highlights the potential of wind towers in Algeria for cooling hot areas, reducing energy consumption, and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating their effectiveness through experimental exploration of wind towers enhanced by humidification. Similarly, M.R. Dehghani-Sanij and Sajad M.R. Khani et al. discuss the ability of wind towers to provide thermal comfort and natural ventilation, emphasizing their role in achieving significant temperature reductions and increased relative humidity inside buildings.
Further studies have explored the integration of heat transfer devices within wind towers to optimize their cooling performance. John Kaiser Calautit et al. used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to develop models that simulate airflow patterns around and through wind towers, achieving reductions in air temperatures by up to 15 K. Mohammed Jaafarian's research on underground air-earth heat exchangers in Iran demonstrates an innovative approach to enhancing the cooling performance of wind towers, leveraging soil moisture and evaporation for additional temperature drops.
Moreover, modern designs of wind towers, such as those proposed by Madjid Soltani et al., incorporate moistened pads and adjustable features to capture optimum wind velocities, further improving thermal comfort in buildings. The global trend towards reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions underscores the relevance of passive cooling systems like wind towers, as discussed by Mario Grosso and Mehrnoosh Ahmadi, who advocate for their application in temperate-hot climate zones to mitigate the effects of global warming.
In conclusion, the collective findings from these studies affirm that wind towers can effectively reduce overheating in buildings by leveraging natural ventilation and cooling mechanisms, enhanced by innovative design modifications and integration of heat transfer devices. This makes them a viable and sustainable alternative to conventional air conditioning systems in suitable climates.
What is the impact of climate change on buildings in cold climate conditions?5 answersThe impact of climate change on buildings in cold climate conditions is a topic that has received relatively little research attention. However, it is recognized that adaptation measures are necessary to ensure the long-term integrity and successful operation of the built environment in these regions. The predictions of climate scenarios suggest that regulatory and policy measures on climate adaptation should be taken quickly to avoid greater costs in the future. In terms of energy demand, global warming is expected to shift the thermal demand from heating to cooling in cold climates, resulting in higher cooling requirements in the future. This will likely lead to an increase in emissions and a need for flexible building operation and summer-related design strategies, such as natural ventilation and protection from the sun. Further research into future scenarios and the development of dynamic building energy simulation tools are also essential.
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