In recent years, demographic growth has caused cities to expand their urban areas, increasing the risk of overheating, creating insurmountable microclimatic conditions within the urban area, which is why studies have been carried out on the urban heat island effect (UHI) and its mitigation. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the cooling potential in the application of strategies based on biomimicry for the microclimate in a historical heritage city of Panama. For this, three case studies (base case, case 1, and case 2) of outdoor thermal comfort were evaluated, in which the Envi-met software was used to emulate and evaluate the thermal performance of these strategies during March (highest temperature month) and October (rainier month). The strategies used were extracted from the contrast of zebra skin, human skin, evaporative cooling, and ant skin. The results showed a reduction of 2.8 °C in the air temperature at 11:00, the radiant temperature decreased by 2.2 °C, and the PET index managed to reduce the thermal comfort indicator among its categories. The importance of thinking based on biomimicry in sustainable strategies is concluded; although significant changes were obtained, high risks of discomfort persist due to the layout and proximity of the building.
Urban growth has increased the risk of over-heating both in the microclimate and inside buildings, affecting thermal comfort and energy efficiency. That is why this research aims to evaluate the energy performance of buildings in terms of thermal comfort (operative temperature (OP) levels, satisfied hours of natural ventilation SHNV, thermal lag), and energy efficiency (roof heat gains and surface temperatures) in an urban area in Panama City, using superficial-heat-dissipation biomimetic strategies. Two case studies, a base case and a proposed case, were evaluated using the Designbuilder software through dynamic simulation. The proposed case is based on a combined biomimetic strategy; the reflective characteristics of the Saharan ant applied as a coating on the roofs through a segmented pattern such as the Zebra’s stripes (one section with coating, and another without). Results showed that the OP decreased from 8 to 10 °C for the entire urban zone throughout the year. A reduction of 3.13% corresponding to 8790 kWh per year was achieved for cooling energy consumption. A difference of 5 °C in external surface temperature was obtained, having a lower temperature in which the biomimetic strategy was applied. Besides, it was evidenced that a contrasted-reflectivity-stripes pitched roof performed better than a fully reflective roof. Thus, the functionality of Zebra stripes, together with the reflective characteristics of the Saharan ant, provide better performance for buildings’ thermal regulation and energy needs for cooling.
Due to population growth, cities have expanded their urban areas, causing increased temperatures and vegetative scarcity. Therefore, studies have been carried out on the urban heat island phenomenon, its effect on people’s thermal stress, and how to mitigate this problem. This research aims to evaluate the application of biomimetic strategies for improving exterior environmental conditions on an urban scale under a tropical climate through dynamic simulation. The case study takes place in the Casco Antiguo of Panama. Here, two cases were evaluated (base case and proposed case). The proposed case consists of strategies obtained from the application of the biomimetic design methodology. The ENVI-met software was used to evaluate both cases, where the external environmental parameters are compared between both cases for the critical months (March and October) at 15:00. Results showed that the air temperature reached an average reduction for March of 1.9 °C and 2 °C for October, the Tmr had an increase up to 0.6 °C in March and the PET index decreased 1.7 °C in March and in October 2 °C. Although significant changes were obtained, high levels of discomfort persist due to the narrowness and proximity of the buildings in this urban settlement.
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