Improvement of thermal environment in the outdoor atrium by employing the spray system

Abstract

Outdoor atriums have recently been applied with increasing frequency for natural illumination, but they produce a harsh thermal environment easily in summer. Moreover, overheating of the outdoor atrium necessitates air-conditioning to moderate indoor thermal comfort. Simultaneously, the substantial heat emissions from air-conditioning outdoor units worsen the outdoor thermal environment, creating a vicious cycle. Traditional passive evaporative methods involving water and greenery, while capable of regulating the thermal environment, suffer from low evaporative efficiency and pose significant challenges. To improve thermal environment in outdoor atriums, the spray system was employed due to its high cooling efficiency, especially in open or semi-open spaces. In this study, a comparative experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of using a spray system for evaporative cooling in open outdoor spaces. Furthermore, employing high-efficiency evaporative cooling through spraying to disrupt the vicious cycle of indoor and outdoor thermal environments. The dual goals include regulating indoor and outdoor thermal conditions while also mitigating the local heat island effect. Temperature and humidity distribution within the atrium and adjacent hallways were monitored, along with the impact on air-conditioning operation consumption in neighboring offices. Results showed that the spray system significantly improved the thermal environment in the outdoor atrium, reducing the average and peak air temperatures by 0.94–2.83 °C and 2.92–5.21 °C, respectively. It also resulted in a drop in the average temperature by 0.56–1.62 °C and the peak temperature by 2.31–3.25 °C in adjacent hallways. This effectively eased the issue of overheating in these areas while raising the comfort level in adjacent office spaces. The predicted mean vote decreased from 1.46 to 0.87, indicating a significant improvement in thermal environment in neighboring offices. Furthermore, the daily energy consumption was reduced by 10.6–12.4% in neighboring offices. This study provided the valuable guidance for improving thermal environments within outdoor atrium.