Integration of moisture effects into urban building energy modeling
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
To address the limitations of current urban building energy modeling (UBEM), which often neglects moisture effects, we developed a comprehensive roadmap for modeling urban heat and moisture flows. This effort included developing an urban-scale whole-building heat and moisture transfer (HAMT) model that considers wind-driven rain, integrated with a microclimate model known as Urban Weather Generator (UWG). The proposed model was validated through analytical and comparative cases of whole-building hygrothermal performance analyses from the Annex 41 Project. The integrated whole-building and microclimate HAMT models were applied to a real urban building to assess the impact of moisture on annual energy predictions in a hot-humid region of Shanghai. The results show that incorporating moisture effects into the UBEM increases the annual cooling energy demand by 22.11% (5.92% owing to latent heat loads) and the annual heating loads by 6.06%, resulting in a 19.73% increase in the total annual energy loads. Additionally, the outer wall surface temperature decreases during and after rainfall events, with maximum decreases of 3.23 °C in winter and 8.80 °C in summer. Therefore, integrating moisture effects into UBEM is crucial, particularly in humid regions.
Details
Original language | English |
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Journal | Building simulation |
Publication status | Published - 25 Jan 2025 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
ORCID | /0000-0002-9524-3560/work/176862566 |
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unpaywall | 10.1007/s12273-025-1226-x |