Experimental Studies of a Passive Cooling Roof in Hot Arid Areas

An experimental study of passive cooling roof was carried out for a typical summer day of June for Laghouat in Algeria. The proposed roof design is composed of a metal plate ceiling over which lies a bed of rocks in a water pool. Over this bed is an air gap separated from the external environment by an aluminium plate. The upper surface of this plate is painted with a white titanium-based pigment to increase the radiation reflection process during daytime. Several passive modifications have been introduced to the roof in order to reduce indoor air temperature in hot climates. An experimental investigation, employing passive procedure, has been carried out to study the possibility of reducing air temperature in buildings. The results show that the air temperature can decrease with a range from 6 to 10°K. This decrease can further be lowered by 2 to 3°C if night natural ventilation of buildings is allowed.