Performance enhancement of rooftop turbine ventilators using wind deflectors

Abstract

Rooftop turbine ventilators are widely used to improve indoor air quality in residential buildings and industrial complexes. This study presents an approach to enhance the operational performance of commercially available turbine ventilators using wind deflectors. Wind deflectors guide the wind flow to minimize the forces acting on the turbine blades in a negative direction, thereby increasing the rotational speed and exhaust ability of turbine ventilators. Two different prototypes were built and experimentally analyzed, one with adjustable size that covered up to half of the turbine, and one made of flat metal sheets, which were placed in front of the turbine. Compared with traditional turbine ventilators, the results of the two different prototypes showed an average increase in air extraction rate at different wind speeds of 34 and 11%, as well as an average rise in the rotational speed of 36 and 33%, respectively. The present study clearly demonstrates the high potential of wind deflectors to enhance the efficiency of turbine ventilators, and shows that a cover-style wind deflector is the more efficient design.

Keywords:

• Turbine ventilator
• wind deflector
• natural ventilation
• wind shield

Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully thank Giant Lion Know-How Co., Ltd. for supporting this project by providing the experimental equipment and the turbine ventilators. Giant Lion Know-How Co., Ltd. holds the rights to the patent “Guided Fluid Driven Turbine” (Patent No.: US 8,096,749 B2), which is closely related to the present research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.