Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Alex Nutkiewicz, Alessio Mastrucci, Narasimha D. Rao, Rishee K. Jain
Summary: Informal settlement redevelopment programs provide an opportunity to improve living conditions and reduce energy consumption. Improving building design and using cool roofs can help mitigate heat stress exposure for informal settlement dwellers.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mengrong Lu, Liyue Zeng, Qingman Li, Jian Hang, Jiajia Hua, Xuemei Wang, Weiwen Wang
Summary: Field measurements in Guangzhou, China reveal that different reflective coatings on building surfaces can affect overall urban albedo, roof and wall temperature, and street air temperature. The study shows that cool roofs can significantly increase albedo and decrease roof temperature, while having minimal impact on wall and air temperature.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Wenye Lin, Alan Green, Laia Ledo Gomis, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Paul Cooper
Summary: This paper presents a numerical investigation of dew formation on building roofs and its impact on thermal and energy performance. A new semi-analytical model was developed to evaluate the effects of rooftop dew. Case study simulations showed that dew significantly influenced predictions of benefits and penalties of a 'cool roof'. Neglecting dew effects resulted in overestimating electricity savings and gas heating penalties associated with a cool roof. The study highlights the importance of considering dew's thermal effects in building performance simulations and provides a simple model to include these effects.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Keivan Bamdad
Summary: Cool roofs provide a passive solution to reduce cooling demand, but they may increase heating demand. The energy-saving potential of cool roofs depends on climate characteristics and may change due to global warming. Evaluating the impact of cool roofs under present and future climates is important for understanding their energy-saving potential.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Jie Feng, Maria Saliari, Kai Gao, Mattheos Santamouris
Summary: This study proposes a new method using TRNSYS integrated with MATLAB thermal model to calculate the energy saving for buildings with spectral-dependent radiative cooling roofs. The energy-related strengths and weaknesses of applying such materials on the rooftop under various climatic and insulating conditions have been revealed. It provides reference and guidance for energy-oriented decision-making process for implementing radiative cooling roofs.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ashley M. Broadbent, Juan Declet-Barreto, E. Scott Krayenhoff, Sharon L. Harlan, Matei Georgescu
Summary: Cities face the dual pressures of climate warming driven by greenhouse gases and urban heating induced locally. To reduce urban temperatures, cool roofing using reflective materials is a possible adaptation measure. This study examines the equity implications of cool roofing in Maricopa County, Arizona, by comparing uniform implementation with targeted implementation in heat-sensitive areas. The results show that targeting cool roofs in high sensitivity areas provides more cooling where it is most needed, benefiting densely populated and highly heat-sensitive regions. The study demonstrates the importance of assessing the needs-based equity implications of heat-reducing strategies.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Terence Mushore, John Odindi, Onisimo Mutanga
Summary: This study used Sentinel 2 and Landsat 8 data to analyze the urban heat island phenomenon and the impact of roof colors on urban thermal characteristics. The results showed that green roofs were the warmest and blue roofs were the coolest. The study recommends considering the shape and different shades of roof colors, and using high spatial resolution data to determine roof colors and properties.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hamed Yazdani, Mehdi Baneshi
Summary: This study compares the air-conditioning energy demands of a residential building with dynamic cool roofs (DCRs) and green roofs (GRs) under different climatic conditions, and finds the optimal roof techniques for various regions. The results show that in hot and humid climates, GRs with irrigation system are the best choice, while DCRs outperform both dry and wet GRs in hot summer-cold winter cities. Dry GRs are the most energy efficient in areas where space heating is dominant. The application of these optimal roof techniques can significantly reduce annual CO2 emissions of buildings.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chenghao Wang, Zhi-Hua Wang, Kamil E. Kaloush, Joseph Shacat
Summary: The urban heat island effect presents challenges to urban environmental quality, building energy consumption, and public health. Research, policy-making, and industry efforts are being made to develop UHI mitigation strategies, but lack of synergies between different stakeholders may hinder effectiveness. Cool pavement technologies have potential to mitigate UHI, but gaps exist in research and implementation, requiring further collaboration and action for sustainable urban energy use.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sunmin Lee, Young-Il Cho, Moung-Jin Lee, Young-Shin Lim
Summary: In recent years, various types of damage caused by abnormal climate conditions have been increasing, especially in cities with a high degree of complexity. This study assessed the quantitative effects of two heatwave mitigation measures in Gimhae, Republic of Korea, and found that these measures can effectively reduce surface temperatures.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Evyatar Erell, Bin Zhou
Summary: This study uses computer simulation to investigate the effects of adding vegetation to an urban neighborhood in Tel Aviv on microclimate. The results show that although urban night-time temperatures increase summer cooling loads, reduced winter heating loads compensate for this, resulting in a decrease in electricity use for heating and cooling. The main impact of the urban heat island is the reduction in the potential for cooling by night ventilation, which is almost absent in the summer months. Implementing extensive planting can lower the average annual temperature and save energy in the city.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
T. C. Quevedo, A. P. Melo
Summary: The use of low-emissivity materials in roofing provides a cost-effective solution to reduce cooling demand in hot climate countries. This study evaluates different modeling approaches to simulate radiant barriers in attics and proposes thermal resistance values for attic simulations with low-emissivity materials in hot climates. The model that adopted the energy management system and thermal resistance calculated according to ISO standards showed the closest results to experimental tests and literature.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
K. Vasilakopoulou, G. Ulpiani, A. Khan, A. Synnefa, M. Santamouris
Summary: Photovoltaics (PVs) provide clean and affordable energy. Increasing the roof albedo of PV modules can enhance their energy production and contribute to urban heat mitigation. Previous studies have shown that increasing roof albedo can increase the energy yield of both monofacial and bifacial PV modules.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Samiran Khorat, Debashish Das, Rupali Khatun, Sk Mohammad Aziz, Prashant Anand, Ansar Khan, Mattheos Santamouris, Dev Niyogi
Summary: Cool roofs can effectively mitigate heatwave-induced excess heat and enhance thermal comfort in urban areas. Implementing cool roofs can significantly improve urban meteorology and thermal comfort, reducing energy flux and heat stress.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wenning Li, Ranhao Sun
Summary: This study investigates the tradeoff between heatwave-induced human health risks and vegetation heat mitigation benefits. A new supply-demand matching model is proposed to combine vegetation cooling supply and cooling demand. The results show that the model can identify cooling supply-demand mismatch zones and remote sensing data can better represent the cooling benefits of vegetation.
Article
Biophysics
D. J. Sailor, J. Anand, L. Kalkstein
Summary: The study analyzed two historical extreme heat events in Los Angeles using atmospheric and building models, exploring the potential of increasing vegetative cover and surface solar reflectance to reduce heat exposure. The results suggest that improvements in indoor thermal conditions play a significant role in the health benefits of large-scale heat mitigation strategies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY
(2021)
Review
Construction & Building Technology
D. J. Sailor, J. Anand, R. R. King
Summary: This review explores the feedback mechanisms between photovoltaic energy production and the urban environment, highlighting the potential impacts on urban temperatures, building energy use, and overall PV efficiency. Future developments of PV technologies should focus on increasing efficiency, enhancing reflection of unconverted energy, and considering the effects of urban conditions on system performance.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jyothis Anand, David J. Sailor
Summary: Modified pavements can help cool cities by altering their radiative and thermal properties to reduce the urban heat island effect. Pavements with higher thermal conductivity and storage can reduce excess heat during the day, while pavements with lower conductivity and storage can mitigate nocturnal heat island effect.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mansour Alhazmi, David J. Sailor, Jyothis Anand
Summary: The magnitude and timing of heat emissions from buildings can be different from their energy consumption profile. The definition of anthropogenic heat needs to be rethought in order to understand the role of buildings in urban heating and identify opportunities for heat reduction. A new definition is proposed based on comparing the total sensible heat emissions from a building and its surrounding land with the emissions from the same land without a building. The framework considers various factors such as convection, air conditioning system emissions, heat infiltration/exfiltration, and shading effects. The results highlight the importance of considering building construction, materials, and operations in understanding their impact on the urban thermal environment.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Laurence S. Kalkstein, David P. Eisenman, Edith B. de Guzman, David J. Sailor
Summary: Strategies to prevent the heat-health impacts of climate change, such as increasing tree cover and albedo as well as using higher reflectance surface materials, are recommended for mitigating the urban heat island effect. Our study quantified the potential impact of various tree cover and albedo scenarios on heat-related mortality, temperature, humidity, and oppressive air masses in Los Angeles, California. We found that implementing interventions could save approximately one in four lives currently lost during heat waves and delay climate change-induced warming by around 40-70 years.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Lingye Yao, David J. Sailor, Xiang Zhang, Junsong Wang, Lihua Zhao, Xiaoshan Yang
Summary: This study evaluates the diurnal thermal effects of an urban pond in Nanjing, China, and explores the underlying mechanisms through energy-balance analysis. Results demonstrate that the pond has a moderate daytime cooling effect but a pronounced nocturnal warming effect. This research improves our understanding of the thermal effects of urban water bodies and can inform urban planners and landscape designers towards creating sustainable cool cities and communities.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Jyothis Anand
Summary: Nearly one-third of U.S. households are struggling to pay their energy bills, and the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the burden of air conditioning costs in hot cities. Working from home (WFH) has become a long-term option for many employees, leading to an increase in residential energy bills in very hot climates like Phoenix. A study using building energy simulations shows that WFH can potentially increase annual energy bills for some residences in Phoenix by more than $1100 (up to a 70% increase). Retrofit measures for existing buildings can help reduce this WFH energy bill penalty.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Lingye Yao, David J. Sailor, Xiaoshan Yang, Genyu Xu, Lihua Zhao
Summary: This study investigated the potential nocturnal urban heat island effect of water bodies and its impact on urban heat mitigation. The findings showed that urban lakes can help mitigate urban heat during daytime, but the effect is not significant at night. Additionally, lakes contribute to moisture excess during nighttime and cold seasons, which intensifies the warming and humidifying effect.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Jyothis Anand, David J. Sailor
Summary: The urban heat island effect is most pronounced during the night/evening hours, while in some cases, an urban cool island effect during daytime has been observed. This phenomenon is primarily caused by the use of impervious and thermally massive materials in urban areas, which store energy during the day and release it at night. However, current urban cooling strategies are more effective during the day than at night. This study investigates the impact of thermal storage capacity in buildings on nighttime urban air temperature, comparing lightweight buildings (cross-laminated timber) with concrete buildings in hot arid and hot humid cities. The results show that adopting lightweight buildings can reduce nighttime temperatures and slightly increase daytime temperatures, while cool roofs significantly reduce daytime temperatures and slightly affect nighttime temperatures. Therefore, incorporating both lightweight buildings and cool roofs can lower the surrounding air temperature by an average of about 1 degree Celsius throughout the day, enhancing thermal comfort and reducing cooling demand.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Economics
Mansour Alhazmi, David J. Sailor, Ronnen Levinson
Summary: Major urban centers are getting warmer due to global and local factors. City governments are adopting strategies to reduce the impacts of extreme heat, such as using cool surfaces on buildings that reflect solar energy. This report reviews the history of cool surface deployment and identifies challenges and opportunities for widespread adoption.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Deepak Amaripadath, Riccardo Paolini, David J. Sailor, Shady Attia
Summary: With the increasing urbanization and higher internal gains, commercial buildings face a greater risk of indoor overheating. This study evaluates the performance of natural and mechanical night ventilation in reducing indoor overheating and energy needs of an office building in Brussels during heat wave and non-heat wave periods. The findings show that natural night ventilation is more effective during heat waves and helps maintain safer heat index values compared to other strategies. The results provide guidelines, recommendations, and identify the need for further research.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Gabriele Bernardini, Tiago Miguel Ferreira, Pilar Baquedano Julia, Rafael Ramirez Eudave, Enrico Quagliarini
Summary: This research offers a methodology for combined spatiotemporal flood risk assessment, considering hazard, physical vulnerability, user exposure, and vulnerability. It adopts a mesoscale approach and investigates indoor and outdoor users' exposure and vulnerability, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process to combine risk factors.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ying Liu, Chunli Chu, Ruijun Zhang, Shaoqing Chen, Chao Xu, Dongliang Zhao, Chunchun Meng, Meiting Ju, Zhi Cao
Summary: This study investigates the effects of increasing road, wall, and roof albedo on mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect in different areas of Tianjin. The results reveal that increasing road albedo is more effective in fringe areas, while increasing wall and roof albedo is more effective in central areas. The temperature changes induced by albedo changes also show seasonal characteristics.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xisheng Lin, Yunfei Fu, Daniel Z. Peng, Chun-Ho Liu, Mengyuan Chu, Zengshun Chen, Fan Yang, Tim K. T. Tse, Cruz Y. Li, Xinxin Feng
Summary: This study employed computational fluid dynamics and neural network models to investigate and predict pollutant dispersion in urban environments, providing valuable insights for designing effective strategies to mitigate the impacts of hazardous pollutants.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Dipanjan Nag, Arkopal Kishore Goswami
Summary: Future-oriented urban planning should continue to focus on the principles of accessible and walkable cities. The perception of people is crucial for developing better urban walking infrastructure, but current evaluation tools often neglect the "perceived" features of the walking network. This study used conjoint analysis to evaluate users' perception of link and network attributes, revealing the importance of considering both in improving the walking environment.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yongxin Su, Tao Zhang, Mengyao Xu, Mao Tan, Yuzhou Zhang, Rui Wang, Ling Wang
Summary: This study proposes an optimization method for household integrated demand response (HIDR) by combining rough knowledge and a dueling deep Q-network (DDQN), aiming to address uncertainties in a household multi-energy system (HMES). The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms rule-based methods and DDQN in terms of energy cost savings.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Sijia Sun, S. F. A. Batista, Monica Menendez, Yuanqing Wang, Shuang Zhang
Summary: This paper comprehensively analyzes the energy consumption characteristics of electric buses (EBs) and diesel buses (DBs) on different bus lane configurations and operational conditions. The study shows that EBs consume less energy in suburban areas when using regular lanes, while both EBs and DBs save substantial energy when operating on dedicated bus lanes in downtown areas. Notably, shared-use bus lanes have the highest energy consumption.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Shangshang Shen, Dan Yan, Xiaojie Liu
Summary: This study developed a comprehensive theoretical framework for evaluating, diagnosing, and optimizing multi-functional urban agriculture. The framework was applied in Xiamen, China to identify the obstacles that impede its coordinated development and propose optimized modes for its development. Results showed that urban agriculture in Xiamen exhibits sound social function, moderate economic function, and poor ecological function.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Oluwafemi E. Adeyeri, Akinleye H. Folorunsho, Kayode I. Ayegbusi, Vishal Bobde, Tolulope E. Adeliyi, Christopher E. Ndehedehe, Akintomide A. Akinsanola
Summary: This study examines the impact of land cover, vegetation health, climatic forcings, elevation heat loads, and terrain characteristics on land surface temperature distribution over West Africa. The random forest model performs the best in downscaling predictands. The southern regions consistently exhibit healthy vegetation, while areas with unhealthy vegetation coincide with hot land surface temperature clusters. Positive Normalized Difference Vegetation Index trends in the Sahel highlight rainfall recovery and subsequent greening. Southwest winds cause the upwelling of cold waters, resulting in low land surface temperatures in southern West Africa. Considering LVCET factors is crucial for prioritizing greening initiatives and urban planning.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yuchi Cao, Yan Li, Shouyun Shen, Weiwei Wang, Xiao Peng, Jiaao Chen, Jingpeng Liao, Xinyi Lv, Yifan Liu, Lehan Ma, Guodian Hu, Jinghuan Jiang, Dan Sun, Qingchu Jiang, Qiulin Liao
Summary: The study reveals significant disparities in urban green equity, with high property price areas having better access to green spaces than low property price areas. Landscape and greening have the most significant impact on urban green space differentiation.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Shaobo Sun, Kui Shan, Shengwei Wang
Summary: Economizer control is an important measure for energy savings in air-conditioning systems during moderate seasons. Humidity measurement uncertainties have a significant impact on enthalpy-based economizer control, and an uncertainty-tolerant control strategy is proposed to mitigate these effects.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ding Mao, Peng Wang, Yi-Ping Fang, Long Ni
Summary: This study analyzes the structure, function, operation, and failure characteristics of district heating networks (DHNs) and proposes vulnerability analysis methods. The effectiveness of these methods is validated through application to a DHN in a Chinese city. The study finds that the heat source connectivity efficiency loss rate effectively characterizes topological and functional vulnerability. It also reveals that controllable DHNs have higher functional vulnerability under large area failure scenarios.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Hamid Karimi, Saeed Hasanzadeh, Hedayat Saboori
Summary: This paper presents a stochastic and cooperative approach for the operation of a cluster of interconnected multi-energy systems. The proposed model investigates the interaction among energy systems and integrates hydrogen and water systems into the overall energy structure. The model studies the performance of energy system agents in decentralized and cooperative scheduling.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Zhiyu Yan, Xiaogang Guo, Zilong Zhao, Luliang Tang
Summary: This study proposes a novel framework for fine-grained information extraction and dynamic spatial-temporal awareness in disaster-stricken areas based on social media data. The framework utilizes deep learning modules to extract location and water depth information from text and images, and analyzes the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics. The results show that the fusion of text and image-based information can enhance the perception of flood processes.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
M. A. Pans, G. Claudio, P. C. Eames
Summary: This study simulated and optimized a speculative district heating system in an existing urban area in Loughborough, UK. The system used only renewable heat sources and thermal energy storage to address the mismatch between heat generation and demand. The study assessed the impact of long-term storage volume and charging temperature on system cost and energy efficiency.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Jianmei Zhong, Wei Zhang, Xiaoli Wang, Jinsheng Zhan, Tao Xia, Lingzhi Xie, Xiding Zeng, Kun Yang, Zhangyu Li, Ruiwen Zou, Zepu Bai, Qing Wang, Chenyang Zhang
Summary: This study aims to propose a suitable air distribution design and reduce the energy consumption of the BSL-4 laboratory. It analyzes the diffusion characteristics of aerosols, infection risk under different air distributions, and ventilation parameters. The results show that the proposed energy-saving operation strategy can reduce the energy consumption of the laboratory by 15-30%.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2024)