PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Displacement ventilation (DV) has been found to be effective in cooling large indoor spaces, but its effectiveness in providing thermal comfort in tropical buildings requires more detailed analysis to be made. This study examines the thermal environment in a lecture hall cooled via DV using FloEFD, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. A calibrated CFD simulation model was developed to replicate the actual atmospheric conditions of the DV-cooled lecture hall. Results indicate that some parts of the hall received more cooling and air movement than required which would result in local thermal discomfort, especially at the front seating areas. The CFD results were consistent with those of earlier studies which validated the simulation model. The findings can be used to determine the locations which are more prone to steep thermal gradients in addition to reducing thermal discomfort, which include suitable arrangements of occupants in the lecture hall when it is not fully occupied and resetting the diffusers' supply air temperature.