Ventilation Analysis

Despite a variety of ventilation devices available and being located on the higher levels with no high-rise buildings that might block wind flow, the wind speed within the room is close to 0m/s and relies heavily on artificial ventilation (the ceiling fan) to generate breezes to cool the space.

A look at the wind rose diagram suggests that the floor plan prioritises cross ventilation through the corridor over the cross ventilation within individual rooms. The corridor orien tation aligns with the NNE-SSW direction, allowing NNE wind to pass through the floor in the first half of the year, the room on windless, hot days.

Horizontal slits in both side of the window frame allows fresh air to enter and exit the room when the windows are closed.

Air vent above the door frame allows hot air of lower density to rise and exit the room, allowing cross ventilation in the room when the door is closed.

Hot air enters from the ends of corridor and the balcony, which is cooled as they move along the well-shaded corridor space.

Residential College 4 (RC4) is located at the north end of NUS University Town. It is next to College of Alice and Peter Tan (CAPT) and former Yale-NUS College. Surrounded by many low-rise buildings including New Town Secondary School, RC4 is rather exposed to direct sunlight, hardly shaded by neighboring buildings.

My room located at level 9 is usually bright and hot in the afternoon. Thus this report focuses on the afternoon sun glare analysis.

When is RC4 shaded by neighboring buildings?

RC4 is slightly only shaded by Yale-NUS and CAPT in the late afternoon about 1.5 hour before sunset.

Why does my room have an overhang?

Morning sun is only observed at CAPT side not at RC4.

RC4: North and south facades are not exposed to low-angle sunlight, thus only has overhangs.

Tembusu College: Half-Surrounding Shading to protect from the sun glare in the early morning and late afternoon

Each overhang has a specific width of 760mm, which is roughly half of the full height of the window.

Where is my room?

Why does the wind close my door only in the second half of the year? Can I not close my window when it rains?

The diagram shows Level 9 layouts and wind direction in the first half of the year. In the second half of the year, the wind direction reverses (from south to north instead). When the south wind is heavy especially on rainy days, it can shut the door of my room.

The wind direction also affects the direction of rain. In other words, from January to June, even if I do not close my window, the rain would not be blown into my room, whereas from June to December, I have to close the window otherwise my bed would be wet.

Suites usually have their doors closed, so cross-ventilation mainly occurs in the corridor.

Where should I take the measurements?

4. Door

Measure with the door open to understand the air flow and ventilation. The measurement also serves as a comparison between indoor and semi-outdoor environments.

2. Bed

Although I spend less time here during daytime (7am7pm), this is an important location to evaluate its comfort level.

Three layers of sun-shading devices:

1. Desk

This is a place where I spend most of my time. It is expected to be the most comfortable spot as the fan is directly above and there is a good distance from the window.

3. Window Brings in lighting and wind. It is where the shading devices start to function.