Investigation of the performance of trickle ventilators

The paper presents a full-scale experimental investigation of the air leakage characteristics of two trickle ventilator types, namely slot and pressure-controlled. The performance of trickle ventilators under the influence of the wind, which is the main driving force of the air flow through low-rise buildings, and the validity of the orifice equation to represent their behaviour have been assessed. The paper shows that more air flow is passing through the pressure-controlled ventilator at low values of the inside–outside pressure difference (ΔP<10 Pa) in comparison to the slot ventilator; however, at higher values of ΔP, the air flow through the pressure-controlled ventilator appears to be constant at about 0.006 m3/s, i.e. lower than the air flow through the slot ventilator. Pressure controlled ventilators have generally superior performance in comparison to slot ventilators. The potential of trickle ventilator integration in ventilation design of office buildings is investigated through air flow network simulations.