Impact of climate change on building energy use in different climate zones and mitigation and adaptation implications

Wan, Kevin K.W.; Li, Danny H.W.; Pan, Wenyan; Lam, Joseph C.

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.11.048

Cited by 190 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…However, it becomes important to select a particular standard weather year data set when absolute energy consumption data are required. Similar studies on office buildings were conducted in five major climate zones in China by using multi-year weather databases as well as TMY data [16][17][18]. The results showed a decreasing trend for heating loads and an increasing trend for cooling loads due to predicted climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

A fresh look at weather impact on peak electricity demand and energy use of buildings using 30-year actual weather data

2013

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Buildings consume more than one third of the world's total primary energy. Weather plays a unique and significant role as it directly affects the thermal loads and thus energy performance of buildings. The traditional simulated energy performance using Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) weather data represents the building performance for a typical year, but not necessarily the average or typical long-term performance as buildings with different energy systems and designs respond differently to weather changes. Furthermore, the single-year TMY simulations do not provide a range of results that capture yearly variations due to changing weather, which is important for building energy management, and for performing risk assessments of energy efficiency investments. This paper employs large-scale building simulation (a total of 3162 runs) to study the weather impact on peak electricity demand and energy use with the 30-year (1980 to 2009) Actual Meteorological Year (AMY) weather data for three types of office buildings at two design efficiency levels, across all 17 ASHRAE climate zones. The simulated results using the AMY data are compared to those from the TMY3 data to determine and analyze the differences. Besides further demonstration, as done by other studies, that actual weather has a significant impact on both the peak electricity demand and energy use of buildings, the main findings from the current study include: 1) annual weather variation has a greater impact on the peak electricity demand than it does on energy use in buildings; 2) the simulated energy use using the TMY3 weather data is not necessarily representative of the average energy use over a long period, and the TMY3 results can be significantly higher or lower than those from the AMY data; 3) the weather impact is greater for buildings in colder climates than warmer climates; 4) the weather impact on the medium-sized office building was the greatest, followed by the large office and then the small office; and 5) simulated energy savings and peak demand reduction by energy conservation measures using the TMY3 weather data can be significantly underestimated or overestimated. It is crucial to run multi-decade simulations with AMY weather data to fully assess the impact of weather on the long-term performance of buildings, and to evaluate the energy savings potential of energy conservation measures for new and existing buildings from a life cycle perspective.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

A fresh look at weather impact on peak electricity demand and energy use of buildings using 30-year actual weather data

2013

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“…Some authors even claim that the generation of typical year weather data is not very sensitive to the weighting of different weather variables [39]. Studies have shown that climate change has significant impacts on building energy use [40], [41], and thus, it needs to be incorporated in urban infrastructure planning [42]; because of the climate change taking place globally and its vital role in energy use, the record period for TMY selection should accordingly contain recent meteorological data and be reasonably long enough to reflect the climatic trend well [43]. Two sets of weather data files were formed based on different periods to assess their impact on the accuracy of building energy analyses [44].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of typical year and multiyear building simulations using a 55-year actual weather data set from China

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Weather has significant impacts on the thermal environment and energy use in buildings. Thus, accurate weather data are crucial for building performance evaluations. Traditionally, typical year data inputs are used to represent long-term weather data. However, there is no guarantee that a single year represents the changing climate well. In this study, the long-term representation of a typical year was assessed by comparing it to a 55-year actual weather data set. To investigate the weather impact on building energy use, 559 simulation runs of a prototype office building were performed for 10 large cities covering all climate zones in China. The analysis results demonstrated that the weather data varied significantly from year to year. Hence, a typical year cannot reflect the variation range of weather fluctuations. Typical year simulations overestimated or underestimated the energy use and peak load in many cases. With the increase in computational power of personal computers, it is feasible and essential to adopt multiyear simulations for full assessments of long-term building performance, as this will improve decision-making by allowing for the full consideration of variations in building energy use.

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“…Examples include obtaining high visual performance [1], or lower energy consumption [2][3][4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considerations on design optimization criteria for windows providing low energy consumption and high visual comfort

et al. 2012

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Impact of climate change on building energy use in different climate zones and mitigation and adaptation implications

Cited by 190 publications

References 39 publications

A fresh look at weather impact on peak electricity demand and energy use of buildings using 30-year actual weather data

A fresh look at weather impact on peak electricity demand and energy use of buildings using 30-year actual weather data

Comparison of typical year and multiyear building simulations using a 55-year actual weather data set from China

Considerations on design optimization criteria for windows providing low energy consumption and high visual comfort

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