Shovadan is the underground room which, for a long time, has been used in several areas of Iran for
heating and cooling purposes. In the present work, Shovadan heating and cooling performance is
experimentally investigated during a year. In the sample studied, when the ambient temperature is 7 C
in January and 47 C in July, Shovadan average temperature is 17 C and 23 C, respectively. The suitable
Shovadan temperature range proves the ability of this space in architecture optimization for saving
energy. Next, in order to save time and cost to study more Shovadans in other locations, a threedimensional model is simulated in real size. Then, NaviereStokes and energy equations have been
numerically solved and the temperature distribution within a Shovadan has been calculated. Numerical
results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Finally, ventilation effectiveness was evaluated in the coldest and warmest months.