| Project Title | Energy efficiencies model for thermal comfort in urban applications |
| Objective | The principal objective is to develop a simulation framework that includes various mitigation strategies and identify the best case for reducing urban heat island (UHI) effects and improving outdoor thermal comfort in urban areas . |
| Description | Improving people's standard of living has increased their requirements for the environment. Increasing air temperature in urban areas due to urban heat islands (UHI) has been a global concern since industrialization. Apart from suitable facilities and landscapes, a comfortable outdoor thermal environment can improve the efficiency of urban space use. Ensuring outdoor comfort is an integral part of the design agenda where the UHI phenomenon plays a significant role. A study has been conducted on a residential building campus to analyze the effect of these heat island countermeasures (individual and combined) with the help of the simulation tool Grasshopper. A 3D reference model of a small residential campus is developed. The outdoor thermal comfort level is studied for this case, and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) is evaluated. Further, several UHI mitigation strategies such as wall and roof reflectivity, vegetation, plantation, pavement configuration, and shading are applied to find their effect on the micro-climate and outdoor thermal comfort. Based on the simulation outcomes, urban geometry is identified as the most influential design factor in decreasing the urban heat island effect and outdoor thermal comfort. The study's principal objective is to develop a simulation framework including all mitigation strategies and find the best case for UHI reduction. |
| Key Findings | The simulation framework demonstrates that urban geometry is the most influential factor in mitigating UHI effects. The UTCI can be reduced by approximately 5°C by combining various mitigation strategies such as reflectivity adjustments, vegetation, tree plantation, pavement configuration, and shading. The study provides a flexible yet time-efficient simulation methodology that can assist urban designers in optimizing outdoor spaces for enhanced energy efficiency and reduced thermal discomfort . |
| Funder | Research and Education Promotion Association (REPA) |
| Grant Number | P02EN2201JP02 |
| Funding Amount | Confidential |
| Grant Year | 2022 |
| Duration | 2 years |
| Principal Investigator (PI) | Dr. Danish Mir Sayed Shah |
| Principal Researcher (PR) | Mr. Vaibhav Rai Khare |
| Contributors | Khare, Vaibhav Rai, Vaishaly, Mir Sayed Shah Danish, Mahdi Khosravy, Abdul Matin Ibrahimi, Alexey Mikhaylov, and Tomonobu Senjyu |
| Contributors' Institutions | Environmental Design Solutions, Nagoya University, Cross Labs, Cross-compass Ltd., University of the Ryukyus, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation |
| Publications | Journal of Environmental Science Revolution 2022, 3(1), 1-17; https://doi.org/10.37357/1068/jesr/3.1.01 |
| Citation | Khare, Vaibhav Rai, Vaishaly, Mir Sayed Shah Danish, Mahdi Khosravy, Abdul Matin Ibrahimi, Alexey Mikhaylov, and Tomonobu Senjyu. 2022. "Energy efficiencies model for thermal comfort in urban applications" Journal of Environmental Science Revolution 3, no. 1: 1-17. https://doi.org/10.37357/1068/jesr/3.1.01 |
| Future Work | Further research is needed to refine the simulation framework, incorporating more diverse urban geometries and broader climatic data to enhance the accuracy and applicability of the model in different urban settings. Additionally, field validation of simulation outcomes is recommended to ensure practical efficacy and reliability of the proposed UHI mitigation strategies . |
| Project Status | Completed |
| Contact | support@repa-int.org |