Effects of climate change on building energy consumption in cities

SummarySensitivity of building-energy consumption to changing urban environments is examined by simulating building energy loads in hypothetical urban settings. A modified version of an algorithm developed by the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory is used to evaluate energy requirements. Energy loads for two buildings of interest are estimated for changing climatic conditions (air temperature) as well as changing environments around the building. An isolated building and a building surrounded by several other buildings are considered.Results indicate that climate warming may lead to energy savings in a wide range of climates while savings also depend on the nature of the building and its use. In cool climates, climate warming forces net energy-load decreases through reductions of the winter heating loads. For example, a one-degree increase in annual air temperature in Duluth led to a 10 kWh decrease in net energy loads for a small office building. In warm climates, urbanization tends to accelerate energy consumption although shadowing may contribute significantly to decreases in summer cooling loads. In Phoenix, annual mean daily net energy loads decreased by about 10 kWh due to shadowing for the same office building. Even in relatively cool regions, summer cooling-load reductions caused by shadowing are effective.

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