Assessment Of Natural Ventilation In Hall Of Residence, A Case Study Of Bells University Of Technology Ota Nigeria

Description

ABSTRACT

Natural ventilation has the potential to reduce first costs and operating costs for some commercial buildings while maintaining ventilation rates consistent with acceptable indoor air quality. Natural ventilation is used to enhance indoor thermal comfort and reduce the incidence of global warming, calls for better understanding and application of passive design strategies and use of climate sensitive designs. This study is an assessment of the natural ventilation in the hall of residence of Bells University of Technology as case study. Hall of residence design is an important aspect to be considered by many as it much influences the health and productivity of the occupants. Health symptoms like fatigue, headache, tiredness and aggressiveness are common scenario faced by occupants due to poor ventilating condition. As a result, it will affect the  academic performance of the students as much time is spent in hall of residence and clinic rather than lecture halls. In this study, the data analysis and findings gathered are vital as they serve as key element to understand the thermal environment condition in the hall of residence. The study also proposed modifications that can be implemented to reduce the poor ventilated space as well as improve the living  condition of students in hall of residence.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVE
• JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
• SCOPE OF STUDY
• LIMITATION(S) OF STUDY
• DEFINITION OF TERMS
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• REVIEW OF THE STUDY
• INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
• FACTORS USED FOR DETERMINING INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
• NATURAL VENTILATION AND THERMAL COMFORT
• FACTORS AFFECTING THERMAL COMFORT
• ASSESSING VENTILATION PERFORMANCE
• COMPARISON OF MECHANICAL AND NATURAL VENTILATION
• REVIEW OF NATURAL VENTILATION TECHNOLOGY
• TROPICAL BUILDING DESIGN PRINCIPLES
• TROPICAL ROOF DESIGN FOR PASSIVE COOLING STRATEGY
• NATURAL VENTILATION DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

• INTRODUCTION
• STUDY AREA
• RESEARCH DESIGN
• SAMPLING
• CLIMATE AND CHARACTERSTICS OF THE SELECTED HOSTEL

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0      RESULT ANALYSIS

4.1       ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED

4.2       FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

CHAPTER FIVE

• SUMMARY OF THE STUDY
• CONCLUSION
• RECOMMENDATIONS
• REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                            INTRODUCTION

1.1                                                                    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Natural ventilation, unlike fan-forced ventilation, uses the natural forces of wind and buoyancy to deliver fresh air into buildings. Fresh air is required in buildings to alleviate odors, to provide oxygen for respiration, and to increase thermal comfort. Thermal comfort is often related to the condition of an individual’s mind which expresses satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the thermal environment. Man has, for the most part, strived to create thermally comfortable environment. This is reflected in building traditions around the world – from ancient history to present day. A healthy and comfortable thermal environment of indoor spaces helps the occupants/students to improve their academic performance efficiently by maintaining various comfort related parameters within the desired range. (Shanu, 2010).

According to Andy Walker (2016), Halls of residence are buildings with rooms or flats, usually built by universities or colleges, in which students live during the term. Usually it is difficult to manage the problems of residence in distant city from home for students. In such situations, hostels are considered to be the best solution. Higher educational institutions provide generally hostel accommodation.

Thermal comfort is considered to be a principal requirement that is usually demanded for by occupants of accommodation units. A compatible indoor climate design is actually a modification of the external environment system and is designed to provide comfort for occupants. Thermal comfort in hall of residence design is an important aspect to be considered by many as it much influences the health, productivity and performance of the students. Karimipanah. T (2007) stated that, “Good indoor air quality can actually have a positive impact not just on students’ health but can also improve learning”.

Thermal comfort varies across climatic zones and as a result, hall of residence and other buildings should be designed in relation to the climatic zone. It is the role of the architect to understand and design buildings with minimum cooling loads (artificial ventilation) while also providing for thermal comfort for the buildings occupants. Unfortunately, there is disregard especially in Nigeria, where builders and designers do not pay attention to the thermal performance of their buildings, despite all existing knowledge about design strategies which provide a thermally comfortable environment in the building by making a very good provision for natural ventilation. In the light of the above, the project, hence seeks to assess natural ventilation in Bells University of Technology hall of residence.

1.2                            STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

The concept of natural ventilation, though theoretically understood, appears to pose a challenge in terms of its implementation in design. This is more so because of the complexity of establishing a common ground answer when carrying out subjective evaluation. For university hall of residence typology, as in school meeting hall, the issue of maintaining an optimum level of ventilation is crucial. One of the basic objectives in designing buildings is to ensure the thermal comfort to its occupants.

Natural ventilation is crucial because it influences productivity and health as non-ventilated hall has also been known to lead to sick building syndrome (SBS). To face climate problem, architectural parameters such as building orientation, window opening, roof shape, building performance and vegetation planning must be considered seriously. Climate modification is also effective to obtain optimal temperature in building. (Prianto et al, 2000).

1.3                                                                               RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions would be answered during the course of this study.

1. What are the physical characteristics of the hall of residence spaces?
2. What are the natural ventilation level in Bell university hall of residence in terms of objective and subjective evaluation?
3. What is the relationship between the physical characteristics of the spaces and the objective and subjective evaluation?

1.4                                                                               RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES

In view of the importance of natural ventilation in university hall, the research aim and objectives are stated below.

Aim

The aim of the study is to assess the natural ventilation level in Bells University hall of residence and provide modification suitable for future designs.

Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are to:

4. Describe the physical characteristics of the university hall spaces
5. Analyse the thermal comfort level in the university hall based on an objective and subjective
6. Determine the relationship between the physical characteristics of the spaces and both objective and subjective analysis of the thermal comfort level

1.5                                                                               JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

The outcome of this study is expected to show the relationship between the tropical climate and the tropical buildings; the effect of the climate on the building orientation     and building components and how the configuration of the building, building materials and landscape can be used to achieve maximum natural ventilation in the building. The importance of this study draws on the need for natural ventilation by the school hall of residence occupants. It will identify the problems causing the poor natural ventilation. The research will be helpful to improve the said problems identified. Natural ventilation studies are usually carried out in buildings that are permanent, or semi-permanent, occupied by the same people, such as dwellings, offices, classrooms. (Karyono et al, 2015)

1.6                                         SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will definitely pave a way for the school management to take effective steps in providing better residential facilities for the students and lecturers. It would also help the author of this study in acquiring more knowledge that will be useful in practice. The hall of residence was chosen because is the made for student lodging and gathering.

1.7                                                                                                    SCOPE OF STUDY

At Bell University, the main hall, silver hostel and annex are among the oldest halls of residence in the school as they were built to accommodate the first set of university students who attended the school when it was still sharing the same compound with The Bells Secondary School before its relocation. The study is mainly focused on the natural ventilation in hall of residence due to the increase in number of students. The research involves the distribution of questionnaires to the students in Bells University to determine their perception and level of comfort in their thermal environment, the overall analysis of the hall including its orientation, the thermal mass of the hall i.e. the roof, the walls, ceiling and floor material, the windows (fenestration), size of the room in relation to the number of occupants and the surrounding landscape.

1.8                   LIMITATION(S) OF STUDY

This study was mostly geared towards architectural solutions: the parameters for experimental tests were limited due to lack of necessary equipment such as data logger, dry and wet bulb thermometer, globe thermometer etc. There was limited time frame. Getting the attention of students in filling the questionnaires was also a hindrance. Due to inability in taking the whole population of the student in the hall, random selection of students from different wing was utilized in the distribution of the questionnaires. Some questionnaires could not be retrieved and used for this study as they were either left blank or damaged.

1.9                    DEFINITION OF TERMS

Terms frequently used in this work are defined are below:

THERMAL COMFORT: this is defined as that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment.

NATURAL VENTILATION DEFINITION: the process of pulling fresh air into a building from the outside. In turn, this fresh air helps force the warm, dirty air inside of the building out through the opening in the roof. (Andy Walker, 2016)

THERMAL MASS: This is a property of the mass of a building which enables it to absorb and store heat energy. It is equivalent to thermal capacitance or heat capacity. A lot of heat energy is required to change the temperature of high density materials like concrete, bricks and tiles. They are therefore said to have high thermal mass. (Chris et al, 2013)

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (IEQ): This is the quality of a building’s environment in relation to the health and wellbeing of those who occupy spaces within it. It encompasses all conditions inside the building and their effects on occupants or residents. (Tiffany, 2014)

PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGY: This refers to a design approach that uses natural elements to heat, cool or light a building. Passive design approach can be described as the structure of a building including building orientation, window placement, skylight insulation, building materials or specific element of a building that was considered during the design stage to make the building thermally conducive with minimal or without the use of mechanical device. (ecomii.com, 2008).

1.10                                                      PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work,   chapter two presents the literature review of the study,  chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.