Investigation of building height and roof effect on the air velocity and pressure distribution around the detached houses in Turkey

Heat losses from buildings occur to a great extent through external walls. As compared to other types of buildings detached houses have fewer stories constructed in open places with less environmental shelter against wind. In urban and rural settlements, the wind effect on houses with roof remains as an important subject of study. More specifically, the role of roof as an insulator and the effect of roof on forced convection from buildings need to be considered in this context. In this study, we have investigated the potentials of roofs for reducing the wind effect on the detached houses during winter months in Kayseri, a midsize city in Turkey located at 38.44°N and 35.29°W Turkey. For this purpose, four different detached house scenarios are taken into account. They are (i) without roof and one storey, (ii) with roof and one storey, (iii) without roof and two storey and, (iv) with roof and two storey. For each scenario, air velocity and pressure distributions in front and back sides of the house are investigated using finite volume methods with FLUENT software. The evaluation of velocity and pressure distributions reveals the importance of roof in reducing the wind effect on houses.