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Selection of Weather Files and Their Importance for Building Performance Simulations in the Light of Climate Change and Urban Heat Islands

Czachura, Agnieszka LU ; Gentile, Niko LU ; Kanters, Jouri LU and Wall, Maria LU (2022) ISES Solar World Congress, SWC 2021 p.1218-1227
Abstract
Building performance predictions and their reliability rely heavily on weather data inputs. Climate is affected by spatial and temporal differences related to climate change and urban heat island effects, but the weather files used in building performance simulations (BPS) often remain unchanged and may represent weather observations generated from inadequate space and time for their application. This study investigated Swedish weather data using statistical methods and analysed i) the local differences related to rural and urban microclimates and ii) the country-wide differences linked to climate change; by comparing recent observation data to the respective EnergyPlus Weather (EPW) files. The findings reveal that there are significant... (More)
Building performance predictions and their reliability rely heavily on weather data inputs. Climate is affected by spatial and temporal differences related to climate change and urban heat island effects, but the weather files used in building performance simulations (BPS) often remain unchanged and may represent weather observations generated from inadequate space and time for their application. This study investigated Swedish weather data using statistical methods and analysed i) the local differences related to rural and urban microclimates and ii) the country-wide differences linked to climate change; by comparing recent observation data to the respective EnergyPlus Weather (EPW) files. The findings reveal that there are significant differences between rural and urban temperature means, and that outdated model years of weather data files make them unsuitable for BPS. The impact of using an inadequate weather file based on changes in recent climate in Sweden can lead to an overestimation of heating demand by 6.5 % on average, while the impact is higher for warmer climates-up to 12 %. The combined impact including climate change and urban heat island effects can lead to a heating energy overestimation by 12 % to 19 %, based on the Stockholm example. On the other hand, it was found that although the global radiation means saw a slightly increasing trend, its impact on the BPS remains inconclusive. The study highlights the importance of selection of adequate weather data for BPS keeping in mind the spatial and temporal influencing factors. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Proceedings ISES Solar World Congress 2021
pages
1218 - 1227
publisher
International Solar Energy Society
conference name
ISES Solar World Congress, SWC 2021
conference location
Virtual
conference dates
2021-10-25 - 2021-10-29
external identifiers
  • scopus:85135942024
ISBN
978-3-9820408-7-5
DOI
10.18086/swc.2021.46.02
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7126cba3-a3b3-4278-ace2-e5406108203e
date added to LUP
2022-07-27 09:23:04
date last changed
2023-04-05 18:59:27
@inproceedings{7126cba3-a3b3-4278-ace2-e5406108203e,
  abstract     = {{Building performance predictions and their reliability rely heavily on weather data inputs. Climate is affected by spatial and temporal differences related to climate change and urban heat island effects, but the weather files used in building performance simulations (BPS) often remain unchanged and may represent weather observations generated from inadequate space and time for their application. This study investigated Swedish weather data using statistical methods and analysed i) the local differences related to rural and urban microclimates and ii) the country-wide differences linked to climate change; by comparing recent observation data to the respective EnergyPlus Weather (EPW) files. The findings reveal that there are significant differences between rural and urban temperature means, and that outdated model years of weather data files make them unsuitable for BPS. The impact of using an inadequate weather file based on changes in recent climate in Sweden can lead to an overestimation of heating demand by 6.5 % on average, while the impact is higher for warmer climates-up to 12 %. The combined impact including climate change and urban heat island effects can lead to a heating energy overestimation by 12 % to 19 %, based on the Stockholm example. On the other hand, it was found that although the global radiation means saw a slightly increasing trend, its impact on the BPS remains inconclusive. The study highlights the importance of selection of adequate weather data for BPS keeping in mind the spatial and temporal influencing factors.}},
  author       = {{Czachura, Agnieszka and Gentile, Niko and Kanters, Jouri and Wall, Maria}},
  booktitle    = {{Proceedings ISES Solar World Congress 2021}},
  isbn         = {{978-3-9820408-7-5}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1218--1227}},
  publisher    = {{International Solar Energy Society}},
  title        = {{Selection of Weather Files and Their Importance for Building Performance Simulations in the Light of Climate Change and Urban Heat Islands}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/121952063/Selection_of_Weather_Files_and_Their_Importance_for_Building_Performance_Simulations_2021.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.18086/swc.2021.46.02}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}