Buildings are one of the main causes of energy consumption all over the world. Designing cost-effective, simple methods for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in future zero energy buildings is one of the major contributors to reaching net zero energy goals by 2050. This study focuses on utilizing CFD for designing an advanced wind catcher for enhancing the natural ventilation in low-rise buildings. A circular, baffle-based design with four entrances has been designed according to the fluid mechanical concepts for managing the pressure drop. The designed geometry shows an 8. 21% enhancement in its overall performance in increasing the natural ventilation in the building. Additionally, the economical assessment of this model demonstrates that using this natural ventilation system, an annual reduction in energy bills of up to 513 will occur. Finally, the economical assessment demonstrates that this system is capable of preventing the carbon emission significantly by reducing the energy costs for air handling units and ventilation systems. ● 83. 1% ventilation enhancement at 0° angle of attack with a circular wind catcher, enhancing natural airflow efficiency. ● 8% overall performance increase achieved through optimized unidirectional airflow and baffle-integrated design. ● 513 annual energy savings per building by replacing mechanical HVAC systems with wind catchers. ● Up to 64. 7-ton CO 2 reduction over 20 years per building, significantly mitigating climate impact from ventilation. ● Techno-economic-environmental synergy proves wind catchers as key to sustainable, net-zero energy building solutions.
Gazik et al. (Thu,) studied this question.