Built form, urban climate and building energy modelling: case-studies in Rome and Antofagasta

Abstract

The energy performance of urban buildings is affected by multiple climate phenomena such as heat island intensity, wind flow, solar obstructions and infrared radiation exchange in urban canyons, but a modelling procedure to account for all of them in building performance simulation is still missing. This paper contributes to fill this gap by describing a chain strategy to model urban boundary conditions suitable for annual simulations using dynamic thermal simulation tools. The methodology brings together existing physical and empirical climate models and it is applied to 10 case studies in Rome (Italy) and Antofagasta (Chile). The results show that urban climate varies significantly across a city depending on the density of urban texture and its impact on the annual energy demand depends on the region's climate. The urban shadows are crucial in cooling-dominated climates (Antofagasta) while the urban heat island intensity is more important in temperate climates (Rome).

Modeling and analysis of heat emissions from buildings to ambient air

“…In recent years, UHI became a huge concern in cities [8], stressed by climate change and the increasing risk of heatwaves [9]. The phenomenon is registered in almost all urban areas, regardless of the city size or the climate [10,11]. For example, in the 1400 square kilometer (km 2 ) humid subtropical climate city of Nanjing, China (Köppen climate classification Cfa [12]), the UHI is indicated as a nocturnal phenomenon that can increase the difference in outdoor air temperature between the urban area and its suburbs by 2.2°C [13].…”

Effect of urban built form and density on building energy performance in temperate climates

“…although it has been previously adopted in previous publications [83,84]. An example of the ambiguity can be seen from the areas of the graphs that show high site coverage but low plot ratio values (e.g.…”

Introduction: Anthropocene or Urbanocene?

“…The most common misunderstanding is the consideration of the UHI intensity as a constant phenomenon in time and space. Therefore, the first myth to debunk is that there is no single UHI effect in a city, but different types of urban climate modifications that influence thermal comfort and building energy performance (Salvati et al 2020).…”