Wind

Win
nd can also have a lot of influencce over the way you design
d
your building. As
A an asset,, wind can help
facilitate naturral ventilation think of a nice breeze on a hot day. The wind can also be
b harnesseed to
although this
generate electrricity via windmills,
w
t
is typiically not as efficien
nt as PV ffor small scale
s
appllications. As
A a hindran
nce, wind caan drive mo
oisture and water throu
ugh small gaps
g
and puunctures in your
y
buillding enveloope, resultinng in potenttially devasttating conseequences if not properly
y controlledd.

Thee two diagrrams abovee are from Revit and describe thhe speed, frequency,
fr
and
a directioonality of wind
w
behavior in Coolumbus, where
w
the Auudubon Cennter is locaated. While wind comees from all directions in a
variiety of speeeds, the most frequent wind speedd is aroundd 6 9 kno
ots (6.9 - 100.3 mph; 3 4.6 m/s) and
com
mes from Soouth Southw
west. This wind
w
speed trranslates to a gentle breeze
b
on thhe Beaufortt scale.

What arre the tools and metricss we use to understandd wind patteerns?
How annd when shoould the anaalysis of winnd play a paart in the deesign processs?

How dooes wind afffect human thermal

t
com
mfort?

Wind
d
Wind prrovides natural
n
v
ventilatio
on and usually
u
c
cools
bu
uildings and
a
peo
ople
because it accele
erates th
he rate of
o heat transfer. Wind speed
s
an
nd directtion
changess through
hout the
e day and
d year, and
a
is no
ot as universally predicta
able
as the su
un's movvement.
Knowing yo
our
location's wind
w
patterns
influences
important
environmen
ntal
and structu
ural
consideratio
ons.
(Monthly wind
w
roses from Revit)
R

As an
a asset, w
wind can help facilita
ate natural ventilation
n and passsively incre
ease occup
pant comfo
ort
thin
nk of a nicce breeze on a hot day.
d
The wind
w
can also
a
be harnessed to
o generate electricityy via
windmills, alth
hough this is typicallyy not as effficient as solar energy for smalll scale applications.
As a hindran
nce, wind can drive moisture and wate
er up through smalll gaps in your build
ding
envvelope, resu
ulting in po
otentially devastating
d
g conseque
ences if no
ot properly controlled
d.

Pred
dicting Win
nd Behavio
or
Air flows from
m high pre
essure to llow pressu
ure. This iss importan
nt to remem
mber beca
ause this is the
basic principle
e behind wind
w
ventila
ation and stack
s
ventilation.
When wind encounters an obstruction, it will flow aro
ound the object
o
and continue moving in the
sam
me direction. This is similar
s
to the
t flow off water (bo
oth air and water are fluids Se
ee the Metrics
and
d Basics of Fluid Flo
ow). It is importantt to note that if wiind is bloccked by a landform
m or
surrrounding building,
b
th
he wind is not
n stoppe
ed, but rath
her just defflected.
Win
nd speed varies wiith heightt and terrrain. As ellevation in
ncreases, so
s does wind speed. As
terrrain becom
mes roughe
er, the rate
e at which wind spee
ed increase
es slows. This means that the wind
w
spe
eed in an open,
o
rurall, environm
ment will in
ncrease with height much morre quickly than the wind
w
spe
eed in a dense urban center. This rate of in
ncrease is known as a wind gradient, or wind
w
profile
e. As
a re
esult, wind velocity ca
an vary bettween diffe
erent terraiins at the same
s
eleva
ation.
In dense
d
urba
an environ
nments, wind will rea
ach 100% velocity at
a a much higher alttitude than
n an
ope
en environm
ment with no buildin
ngs. This ca
an be seen in the ima
age below.
Wind do
oes not reach full speed
s
until a certa
ain height off the ground;
g
this heig
ght depends on the local obstruction
ns.

Win
nd and Microclimates
Envvironmenta
al surround
dings can create microclimat
m
tes that could
c
significantly alter the wind
w
pattterns on your site. Prevailing wind
w
directtions can change
c
due
e to adjace
ent landforrms, buildings,
and
d/or other objects. Iff youre in a differen
nt microclimate than
n the neare
est weathe
er station, you
cant reliably use that data
d
to guide your de
esign. Feattures to pa
ay attentio
on to are la
arge bodie
es of
watter and cha
anges in elevation. Modeling
M
th
he surroun
nding area,, and meassuring con
nditions on the
actu
ual site, can provide better
b
info
ormation on
n the exactt wind conditions of that site.
While microclimates can
n lead to unpredictab
ble winds, there
t
are some general assump
ptions that can
be made abou
ut the behavior of air flow. Nea
ar bodies of
o water, th
he land is hotter
h
during the dayy, so
as the
t air ove
er the land
d gets warm
mer and riises, it is replaced byy cooler aiir coming from over the
watter so the
e wind blow
ws from th
he water onto the lan
nd. At nigh
ht, this effe
ect is reverssed. The water
w
is warmer
w
tha
an the land
d, so the air
a over the water ge
ets warmer and risess and is re
eplaced by the
coo
oler air com
ming from over
o
the la
and so the wind blo
ows from th
he land to the water.
Durring the da
ay in a valle
ey, wind wiill blow uphill becausse the sun warms the
e air and ca
auses it to rise.
At night,
n
wind
d will blow downhill b
because th
he air is coo
oled by the
e cold grou
und surface causing it to
sink
k into the vvalley.

Wind Speed
Understanding wind speed is just as important as understanding where the wind is coming from.
Wind can gently rustle leaves on a tree, or it can cause severe structural damage to buildings. It all
depends on how fast it is moving.
Wind speed is commonly measured in knots, miles per hour, meters per second, or feet per
second. There are a host of conversion tools available online (example: NOAA Wind Conversion
Tool).
The table below translates wind velocity to visual movement on land. It has been adapted from the
Beaufort Wind Scale, a common scale for comparing wind speed that is used in many countries.
Wind Speed

Description

Land Conditions

< 1 km/h
< 1 mph
< 1 knot
< 0.3 m/s

Calm
(Beaufort #0)

Smoke rises vertically

1.1 5.5 km/h

1 3 mph
1 3 knot
0.3 1.5 m/s

Light air
(Beaufort #1)

Smoke drift indicates direction; leaves are still

5.6 11 km/h
4 7 mph
4 6 knot
1.6 3.4 m/s

Light breeze
(Beaufort #2)

Leaves rustle; wind felt on skin

12 19 km/h
8 12 mph
7 10 knot
3.5 5.4 m/s

Gentle breeze
(Beaufort #3)

Leaves and small twigs moving; light flags extended

20 28 km/h
13 17 mph
11 16 knot
5.5 7.9 m/s

Moderate breeze
(Beaufort #4)

Small branches move; dust and loose paper rises

29 38 km/h
18 24 mph
17 21 knot
8 10.7 m/s

Fresh breeze
(Beaufort #5)

Moderate sized branches move; small trees sway

39 49 km/h
25 30 mph
22 27 knot

Strong breeze
(Beaufort #6)

Large branches move; umbrella hard to use

10.813.8 m/s
50 61 km/h
31 38 mph
28 33 knot
13.9 17.1 m/s

High wind
(Beaufort #7)

Whole tree moves; hard to walk against the wind

62 74 km/h
39 46 mph
34 40 knot
17.220.7 m/s

Gale
(Beaufort #8)

Twigs break from tree; extremely difficult to walk in wind

75 88 km/h
47 54 mph
41 47 knot
20.824.4 m/s

Strong gale
(Beaufort #9)

Branches break from tree; small trees blow over

89 102 km/h
55 63 mph
48 55 knot
24.528.4 m/s

Storm
(Beaufort #10)

Trees broken or uprooted; structural damage imminent

103117 km/h
64 73 mph
56 63 knot
28.532.6 m/s

Violent storm
(Beaufort #11)

Widespread vegetation and structural damage

118 km/h
74 mph
64 knot
32.7 m/s

Hurricane force
(Beaufort #12)

Severe widespread vegetation and structural damage