Benefits Derivable from Connecting the Bottom and Top Walls of Attic Enclosures with Insulated Vertical Side Walls

ABSTRACT

This article addresses buoyant air circulation inside attic spaces of houses and buildings with sloped roofs and horizontally suspended ceilings. Depending on the season of the year, two different heating/cooling scenarios may occur. In order to counteract the excessive heat transmission that takes place during the winter and summer seasons, heavily insulated, vertical side walls of variable height h are placed at the hot/cold intersection between the active walls. As a result, the shape of the enclosure switches from an isosceles triangular enclosure to a trapezoidal enclosure, but having two insulated side walls. The finite-volume method is employed to perform the numerical computations.