Interactions between Building Integrated Photovoltaics and Microclimate in Urban Environments

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiping Wang ◽  
Wei Tian ◽  
Li Zhu ◽  
Jianbo Ren ◽  
Yonghui Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Cooling Load ◽  
Canopy Layer ◽  
Building Integrated Photovoltaics ◽  
Building Cooling

BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics) has progressed in the past years and become an element to be considered in city planning. BIPV has significant influence on microclimate in urban environments and the performance of BIPV is also affected by urban climate. The thermal model and electrical performance model of ventilated BIPV are combined to predict PV temperature and PV power output in Tianjin, China. Then, by using dynamic building energy model, the building cooling load for installing BIPV is calculated. A multi-layer model AUSSSM of urban canopy layer is used to assess the effect of BIPV on the Urban Heat Island (UHI). The simulation results show that in comparison with the conventional roof, the total building cooling load with ventilation PV roof may be decreased by 10%. The UHI effect after using BIPV relies on the surface absorptivity of original building. In this case, the daily total PV electricity output in urban areas may be reduced by 13% compared with the suburban areas due to UHI and solar radiation attenuation because of urban air pollution. The calculation results reveal that it is necessary to pay attention to and further analyze interactions between BIPV and microclimate in urban environments to decrease urban pollution, improve BIPV performance and reduce cooling load.

Interactions Between Building Integrated Photovoltaics and Microclimate in Urban Environments

Solar Energy ◽  
2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiping Wang ◽  
Wei Tian ◽  
Li Zhu ◽  
Jianbo Ren ◽  
Yonghui Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Irradiance ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Anthropogenic Heat ◽  
Partial Replacement ◽  
Radiation Balance ◽  
Cooling Load ◽  
Urban Microclimate ◽  
Building Integrated Photovoltaics

BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) has progressed in the past years and become an element to be considered in city planning. BIPV has influence on microclimate in urban environments and the performance of BIPV is also affected by urban climate. The effect of BIPV on urban microclimate can be summarized under the following four aspects. The change of absorptivity and emissivity from original building surface to PV will change urban radiation balance. After installation of PV, building cooling load will be reduced because of PV shading effect, so urban anthropogenic heat also decreases to some extent. Because PV can reduce carbon dioxide emissions which is one of the reasons for urban heat island, BIPV is useful to mitigate this phenomena. The anthropogenic heat will alter after using BIPV, because partial replacement of fossil fuel means to change sensible heat from fossil fuel to solar energy. Different urban microclimate may have various effects on BIPV performance that can be analyzed from two perspectives. Firstly, BIPV performance may decline with the increase of air temperature in densely built areas because many factors in urban areas cause higher temperature than that of the surrounding countryside. Secondly, the change of solar irradiance at the ground level under urban air pollution will lead to the variation of BIPV performance because total solar irradiance usually is reduced and each solar cell has a different spectral response characteristic. The thermal model and performance model of ventilated BIPV according to actual meteorologic data in Tianjin (China) are combined to predict PV temperature and power output in the city of Tianjin. Then, using dynamic building energy model, cooling load is calculated after BIPV installation. The calculation made based in Tianjin shows that it is necessary to pay attention to and further analyze interactions between them to decrease urban pollution, improve BIPV performance and reduce cooling load.

Re-thinking “Smart City” – transferring urban climate research into city planning processes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Fallmann ◽  
Hans Schipper ◽  
Stefan Emeis ◽  
Marc Barra ◽  
Holger Tost
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Urban Greening ◽  
Holistic Understanding

<p>With more and more people residing in cities globally, urban areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change. It is therefore important, that the principles of climate-resilient city planning are reflected in the planning phase already. A discussion of adaptation measures requires a holistic understanding of the complex urban environment, and necessarily has to involve cross-scale interactions, both spatially and temporally. This work examines the term “Smart City” with regard to its suitability for the definition of sustainable urban planning based on urban climate studies over the past decade and own modelling work. Existing literature is assessed from a meteorological perspective in order to answer the question how results from these studies can be linked to architectural design of future urban areas. It has been long understood that measures such as urban greening, or so-called "Nature Based Solutions", are able to dampen excess heat and help reducing energetic costs. As numerous studies show however, integrating vegetation in the urban landscape shares a double role in regional adaptation to climate change due to both cooling effect and air pollution control. Using the state-of-the-art chemical transport model MECO(n) coupled to the urban canopy parametrisation TERRA_URB, we simulated a case study for the Rhine-Main metropolitan region in Germany, highlighting mutual unwanted relationships in modern city planning. Hence, we oppose the so-called compact city approach to an urban greening scenario with regard to the potential for both heat island mitigation and air quality.</p>

PALM-4U – A building-resolving microscale model to support future adaptation of cities in a changing urban climate

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Hettrich ◽  
Björn Maronga ◽  
Siegfried Raasch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Scientific Models ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Microscale Model

<p align="justify">In a world with increasing extreme weather events, such as dry or extreme rain periods, due to climate change and an ever growing population specifically in urban areas, a forsighted planning and adaption of cities and their urban surroundings is becoming more and more important. Here, particularly health and comfort of the urban population, such as thermal comfort, air quality, ventilation or UV exposure, but also other aspects like safety and environmental sustainability play an important role. In order to create the cities of tomorrow that meet the real requirements to host healthy and firendly living conditions, city planners are relying on scientific models where they can simulate how changes in the urban environment can effect its climate. The PALM-4U (Parallelised Large-Eddy Simulation Model for Urban Applications) model was specifically developed to be able to simulate a large variety of parameters on short timescales and at the high resolution that is required to resolve single buildings or obstacles like trees within the city.</p><p align="justify">In September 2019, the second phase of the German research project MOSAIK (model-based city planning and application in climate change), a module within the large over-arching project [UC]² (Urban Climate Under Change) that focusses on the further development of the model, has started.</p><p align="justify">In this overview, we will present the PALM-4U‘s current capabilities and outline the planned future development in the coming years like windbreak modelling, coupling with traffic flow models, including biogenic volatile organic compounds in urban air quality modelling. Furthermore, our PALM-4U community model strategy will be explained.</p>

scholarly journals Mapping Local Climate Zones and Their Applications in European Urban Environments: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Development Trends

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
Michal Lehnert ◽  
Stevan Savić ◽  
Dragan Milošević ◽  
Jelena Dunjić ◽  
Jan Geletič
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
Climate Zones ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Local Climate Zones ◽  
Scale Modelling

In the light of climate change and burgeoning urbanization, heat loads in urban areas have emerged as serious issues, affecting the well-being of the population and the environment. In response to a pressing need for more standardised and communicable research into urban climate, the concept of local climate zones (LCZs) has been created. This concept aims to define the morphological types of (urban) surface with respect to the formation of local climatic conditions, largely thermal. This systematic review paper analyses studies that have applied the concept of LCZs to European urban areas. The methodology utilized pre-determined keywords and five steps of literature selection. A total of 91 studies were found eligible for analysis. The results show that the concept of LCZs has been increasingly employed and become well established in European urban climate research. Dozens of measurements, satellite observations, and modelling outcomes have demonstrated the characteristic thermal responses of LCZs in European cities. However, a substantial number of the studies have concentrated on the methodological development of the classification process, generating a degree of inconsistency in the delineation of LCZs. Recent trends indicate an increasing prevalence of the accessible remote-sensing based approach over accurate GIS-based methods in the delineation of LCZs. In this context, applications of the concept in fine-scale modelling appear limited. Nevertheless, the concept of the LCZ has proven appropriate and valuable to the provision of metadata for urban stations, (surface) urban heat island analysis, and the assessment of outdoor thermal comfort and heat risk. Any further development of LCZ mapping appears to require a standardised objective approach that may be globally applicable.

Diversity of organisms

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip James
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Native Species ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
The Common ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Micro Organisms ◽  
Diversity Of Life

The focus of this chapter is an examination of the diversity of living organisms found within urban environments, both inside and outside buildings. The discussion commences with prions and viruses before moving on to consider micro-organisms, plants, and animals. Prions and viruses cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. Micro-organisms are ubiquitous and are found in great numbers throughout urban environments. New technologies are providing new insights into their diversity. Plants may be found inside buildings as well as in gardens and other green spaces. The final sections of the chapter offer a discussion of the diversity of animals that live in urban areas for part or all of their life cycle. Examples of the diversity of life in urban environments are presented throughout, including native and non-native species, those that are benign and deadly, and the common and the rare.

The physical environment

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip James
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Artificial Light ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Light At Night ◽  
High Noise ◽  
P Elements ◽  
Micro Organisms ◽  
Diversity Of Life

Elements of the physical aspects of urban environments determine which micro-organisms, plants, and animals live in urban environments. In this chapter, climate, air, water, soil, noise, and light are discussed. Urban environments are affected by the climate of the region in which they are located, and in turn and create their own, distinctive urban climate. Air, water, and soil are all affected by urbanization. Pollution of these elements is common. High noise levels and artificial light at night (ALAN—a new phenomenon) are both strongly associated with urban environments. Details of both are discussed. The discussion in this chapter provides a foundation for further exploration of the diversity of life in urban environments and for later exploration of how organisms adapt to urban living, which will be discussed in Parts II and III.

scholarly journals Multi-Criteria, Co-Evolutionary Charging Behavior: An Agent-Based Simulation of Urban Electromobility

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Lennart Adenaw ◽  
Markus Lienkamp
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
City Planning ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Simulation Framework ◽  
Agent Based Simulation ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Charging Station ◽  
Spatio Temporal

In order to electrify the transport sector, scores of charging stations are needed to incentivize people to buy electric vehicles. In urban areas with a high charging demand and little space, decision-makers are in need of planning tools that enable them to efficiently allocate financial and organizational resources to the promotion of electromobility. As with many other city planning tasks, simulations foster successful decision-making. This article presents a novel agent-based simulation framework for urban electromobility aimed at the analysis of charging station utilization and user behavior. The approach presented here employs a novel co-evolutionary learning model for adaptive charging behavior. The simulation framework is tested and verified by means of a case study conducted in the city of Munich. The case study shows that the presented approach realistically reproduces charging behavior and spatio-temporal charger utilization.

scholarly journals Saving Up for a Rainy Day? Savings Groups and Resilience to Flooding in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Urban Forum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Panman ◽  
Ian Madison ◽  
Nyambiri Nanai Kimacha ◽  
Jean-Benoît Falisse
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Dar Es Salaam ◽  
Group Model ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
Flexible Form

AbstractThis paper explores the role of savings groups in resilience to urban climate-related disasters. Savings groups are a rapidly growing phenomenon in Africa. They are decentralized, non-institutional groups that provide millions of people excluded from the formal banking sector with a trusted, accessible, and relatively simple source of microfinance. Yet there is little work on the impacts of savings groups on resilience to disasters. In this paper, we use a combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to shed new light on the role that savings groups play in helping households cope with climate-related shocks. Drawing on new data, we show that approximately one-quarter of households have at least one member in a group, and that these households recover from flood events faster than those who do not. We further argue that the structure of savings groups allows for considerable group oversight, reducing the high costs of monitoring and sanctioning that often undermine cooperative engagement in urban areas. This makes the savings group model a uniquely flexible form of financing that is well adapted to helping households cope with shocks such as repeated flooding. In addition to this, we posit that they may provide a foundation for community initiatives focusing on preventative action.

scholarly journals High-Resolution Modelling of Thermal Exposure during a Hot Spell: A Case Study Using PALM-4U in Prague, Czech Republic

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Jan Geletič ◽  
Michal Lehnert ◽  
Pavel Krč ◽  
Jaroslav Resler ◽  
Eric Scott Krayenhoff
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Thermal Exposure ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
Street Canyons ◽  
General Terms

The modelling of thermal exposure in outdoor urban environments is a highly topical challenge in modern climate research. This paper presents the results derived from a new micrometeorological model that employs an integrated biometeorology module to model Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). This is PALM-4U, which includes an integrated human body-shape parameterization, deployed herein for a pilot domain in Prague, Czech Republic. The results highlight the key role of radiation in the spatiotemporal variability of thermal exposure in moderate-climate urban areas during summer days in terms of the way in which this directly affects thermal comfort through radiant temperature and indirectly through the complexity of turbulence in street canyons. The model simulations suggest that the highest thermal exposure may be expected within street canyons near the irradiated north sides of east–west streets and near streets oriented north–south. Heat exposure in streets increases in proximity to buildings with reflective paints. The lowest heat exposure during the day may be anticipated in tree-shaded courtyards. The cooling effect of trees may range from 4 °C to 9 °C in UTCI, and the cooling effect of grass in comparison with artificial paved surfaces in open public places may be from 2 °C to 5 °C UTCI. In general terms, this study illustrates that the PALM modelling system provides a new perspective on the spatiotemporal differentiation of thermal exposure at the pedestrian level; it may therefore contribute to more climate-sensitive urban planning.

scholarly journals An Eco-Friendly Multimodal Route Guidance System for Urban Areas Using Multi-Agent Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2057
Author(s):  
Abdallah Namoun ◽  
Ali Tufail ◽  
Nikolay Mehandjiev ◽  
Ahmed Alrehaili ◽  
Javad Akhlaghinia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Guidance System ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Flow Density ◽  
Route Guidance ◽  
Agent Based

The use and coordination of multiple modes of travel efficiently, although beneficial, remains an overarching challenge for urban cities. This paper implements a distributed architecture of an eco-friendly transport guidance system by employing the agent-based paradigm. The paradigm uses software agents to model and represent the complex transport infrastructure of urban environments, including roads, buses, trolleybuses, metros, trams, bicycles, and walking. The system exploits live traffic data (e.g., traffic flow, density, and CO2 emissions) collected from multiple data sources (e.g., road sensors and SCOOT) to provide multimodal route recommendations for travelers through a dedicated application. Moreover, the proposed system empowers the transport management authorities to monitor the traffic flow and conditions of a city in real-time through a dedicated web visualization. We exhibit the advantages of using different types of agents to represent the versatile nature of transport networks and realize the concept of smart transportation. Commuters are supplied with multimodal routes that endeavor to reduce travel times and transport carbon footprint. A technical simulation was executed using various parameters to demonstrate the scalability of our multimodal traffic management architecture. Subsequently, two real user trials were carried out in Nottingham (United Kingdom) and Sofia (Bulgaria) to show the practicality and ease of use of our multimodal travel information system in providing eco-friendly route guidance. Our validation results demonstrate the effectiveness of personalized multimodal route guidance in inducing a positive travel behavior change and the ability of the agent-based route planning system to scale to satisfy the requirements of traffic infrastructure in diverse urban environments.

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