The influence of an architectural design alternative (transoms) on indoor air environment in conventional kitchens in Taiwan

This study intends to investigate indoor air environment via the flow fields, temperature fields and air contaminant (carbon monoxide) distributions in the conventional residential kitchens, and look for effective methods to solve those problems through natural ventilation techniques. Numerical simulations of the physical problem under consideration have been performed via a finite volume method for solving the governing equations and boundary conditions. It is obvious that location of accumulation of air contaminants is highly relevant to the location of gas fires, and using the residential range hood will be successful in eliminating air contaminants. An architectural design alternative, utilizing transoms, is proposed to improve indoor air environment in kitchens.