Prototype development of the rooftop turbine ventilator powered by hybrid wind and photovoltaic energy

In order to respond the suggestions made in the previous works, such as (1) improving the design of the rooftop ventilator commonly used in Taiwan, (2) making the "push-pull" airflow model in the ventilation duct effective for the bathroom ventilation and (3) combining the energy demands of the ventilator with renewable energy to reduce energy consumption, this study develops a prototype of the rooftop turbine ventilator powered by hybrid wind and photovoltaic energy. A low-speed wind tunnel experiment is performed to investigate the prototype's ventilation performance. The experimental results indicate installing an inner fan at low outdoor wind speed (0 and 5 m/s) increases the ventilation rate. The ventilation rate was not improved by installing an inner fan at a high outdoor wind speed. A rated rotation speed close to 1500 rpm is highly recommended when installing the inner fan. This study also introduces the general application modes of the proposed ventilator, and their electricity specifications. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.