A feasibility study of natural ventilation in a midrise student dormitory building

This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing natural ventilation through operable windows to provide ventilation and summer cooling for an existing university dormitory building in marine west coastal climate (warm summer and mild winter). A hybrid research approach is used to evaluate the performance of proposed natural ventilation schemes, featuring building energy modeling with fully integrated airflow network, onsite blower door tests, and building utility data analysis. Both ventilation and thermal comfort are studied during the investigation. Simulation results demonstrate great potential of relying on properly controlled operable windows to supply ventilation and maintain indoor thermal comfort.