Indoor thermal comfort and high residential buildings (Case study: two high-rise buildings in two different microclimates in Tehran city)

Thermal comfort in the building sector is a major concern, especially in high residential buildings which have become common in cities. in this regard, an adequate ventilation strategy can be an alternative technique to create better thermal conditions in these buildings. the impacts of microclimates in cities have also been taken into account recently to determine their influence on indoor thermal conditions. this study aims to investigate thermal comfort in two high-rise buildings located in two different microclimates (artesh highway and mojahedin eslam street) in tehran with the use of cross ventilation to determine the impacts of nv and microclimates on the level of occupant thermal comfort. in addition, solar chimney (sc) systems are installed on buildings to enhance nv through buildings via buoyancy forces, and the cfd method is employed to simulate cross ventilation and sc in these buildings. furthermore, the occupants’ level of thermal satisfaction is investigated by conducting a survey. the results indicate that sc can decrease approximately 2 ˚c of room temperature by boosting nv which improves the thermal comfort zone inside the houses. according to the survey, 23.1% and 7.5% of residents are respectively dissatisfied with the nonresponse of the cooling system and the stillness of the air. hence, the use of sc can significantly increase indoor thermal comfort zone and residents’ satisfaction.