In the race of finding alternate power source, we have something windy now. According to the International Journal of Sustainable Design, we have gone one step ahead with two brilliant researchers, namely Jyotirmay Mathur and Rajeev Kathpalia from the Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India. The duo have developed a ‘solar chimney–wind tower concept’, which is based on the primitive and passive method of cooling buildings.
The duo claims that though this technique had already been used to keep the interior of the buildings cool in summer, they have incorporated more scientific and modern methods to add more value to the older system. Developed for a so-called fully urban building in Delhi, this duo has decided to utilize the natural resources to the fullest, walking side by side with the limitations of the site. As the name suggests, their system combines a solar chimney and a wind tower to the overall building design. Their method uses a stone covered wind tower to push in the cool air inside the building, which again pushes the hot air outside through the thermal conducting panels of the chimney.
Keeping in mind a sustainable building design and also the limitations of site, this system has been integrated through roof mounted thermo-siphon air panels. In their own words,
Due to site limitations, the concept of solar chimney based ventilation has been introduced through roof mounted thermo-siphon air panels of 70 m² absorber area. A wind tower provided on the suction side of fresh air has potential for cooling incoming air by 5°C by using 250 m² of stone cladding. Openings for airflow inside the buildings are designed to suit smooth natural ventilation.
Jyotirmay Mathur, a Mechanical Engineer and Rajeev Kathpalia, an architect and urban designer, show a lot of hope in this kind of cooling system, which will help reduce the ever-growing demand on electricity.
Source: InderScience, Inventorspot
