Bioclimatic modeling for determining the minimum area of natural ventilation in buildings for the wet processing of coffee

Abstract This study aimed to find the minimum area of natural ventilation suitable for coffee processing wet facilities in Colombia that have mechanical drying inside, in order to preserve the quality of coffee through a bioclimatic environment conducive to biological safety, this study was made with the help of computational simulation in EnergyPlusTM program. It was found that as the drying capacity is increased, and therefore the power of the drying machines, temperature and internal humidity tend to increase. Furthermore an inverse linear correlation was found between the area of natural ventilation and variables temperature and relative humidity. Finally, it is found relationships between the minimum area of natural ventilation and the drying capacity, in order to obtain a suitable bioclimatic environment for preserving of coffee parchment.