An investigation on the thermal effects of windcatchers

Windcatchers, building components that were first introduced by Antique Persian and Egyptian civilizations to provide spatial ventilation and cooling, can still be observed in the historical cities of the Middle East including Sanliurfa, a city in the Southeastern region of Turkey. In the traditional houses of Sanliurfa, it is still possible to see few intact examples of windcatchers, or Badgels, as the locals call it. In these examples, the iwans (hall or space, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open) are generally connected to the air channels of the windcatchers. The present study aims to examine one of these traditional houses with two windcatchers. These windcatchers facing the north and the west, which ventilate the summer iwan of the traditional house in Sanliurfa, are among the rare examples that survived without losing their authenticity. The purpose of the study is to examine the thermal effects of the windcatchers on the comfort conditions of the iwan. According to the rates of humidity and temperature measurements taken in June, July, and August 2017, windcatchers make a limited contribution to the thermal performance of the iwan when the air temperature at the air outlet is lower than the air temperature of the iwan. One of the windcatchers blows cool air into the iwan from night to noon, the other from the early morning to noon. In addition, the air cooling capacities of the scoops of the windcatchers were found to be higher. This has shown that the scoop forms of windcatchers are suitable to catch the wind. The fact that the air inlets were narrower than the air ducts contributed to the cooling effect. These thermal differences can also be attributed to the high heat storage ability of traditional building materials of the building that cools at night.