This paper investigates the impact of anthropogenic heat on formation of urban heat island (UHI) and also determines which factors can directly affect energy use in the city. It explores literally the conceptual framework of confliction between anthropogenic heat and urban structure, which produced UHI intensity and affected energy consumption balance. It then discusses how these two factors can be affected and gives implication to the city and then focuses on whether actions should be taken for balancing adaptation and mitigation of UHI effects. It will be concluded by making the three important strategies to minimise the impact of UHI on energy consumption: landscaping, using albedo materials on external surfaces of buildings and urban areas, and promoting natural ventilation.
Cities demonstrate higher nocturnal temperatures than surrounding rural areas, which is called “urban heat island” (UHI) effect. Climate change projections also indicate increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves, which will intensify the UHI effect. As megacity Tehran is affected by severe heatwaves in summer, this study investigates its UHI characteristics and suggests some feasible mitigation strategies in order to reduce the air temperature and save energy. Temperature monitoring in Tehran shows clear evidence of the occurrence of the UHI effect, with a peak in July, where the urban area is circa 6 K warmer than the surrounding areas. The mobile measurements show a park cool island of 6-7 K in 2 central parks, which is also confirmed by satellite images. The effectiveness of three UHI mitigation strategies high albedo material (HAM), greenery on the surface and on the roofs (VEG), and a combination of them (HYBRID) has been studied using simulation with the microscale model ENVI-met. All three strategies show higher cooling effect in the daytime. The average nocturnal cooling effect of VEG and HYBRID (0.92, 1.10 K) is much higher than HAM (0.16 K), although high-density trees show a negative effect on nocturnal cooling.
The building industry has an undeniable impact on the natural environment. Evidence shows that existing buildings make a significant contribution to energy demand and CO2 emissions. Refurbishing existing buildings offers significant opportunities to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The Malaysian government has set a target to retrofit 100 government buildings in order to contribute to the country's commitment to reduce the CO2 emissions intensity of gross domestic product by 45% by 2030. However, there is no specific sustainability assessment scheme targeted at building refurbishment in Malaysia. Thus, this research aims to support the development of a refurbishment sustainability assessment scheme for Malaysia. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was adopted in order to rank assessment themes and identify the priorities of the study's participating stakeholders. The outcome is the Malaysian Refurbishment Assessment Scheme (MRAS), which includes a set of weightings and a classification system for the selected assessment themes and subthemes. The methods and findings can be adapted for use by other practitioners to develop building assessment schemes in order to pursue the goals of sustainable development through refurbishment.
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