On the impact of urban climate on the energy consumption of buildings

Climatic measurements from almost 30 urban and suburban stations as well as specific measurements performed in 10 urban canyons in Athens, Greece, have been used to assess the impact of the urban climate on the energy consumption of buildings. It is found that for the city of Athens, where the mean heat island intensity exceeds 10 degreesC, the cooling load of urban buildings may be doubled, the peak electricity load for cooling purposes may be tripled especially for higher set point temperatures, while the minimum COP value of air conditioners may be decreased up to 25% because of the higher ambient temperatures. During the winter period, the heating load of centrally located urban buildings is found to be reduced up to 30%. Regarding the potential of natural ventilation techniques when applied to buildings located in urban canyons, it ii found that, mainly during the day, this is seriously reduced because of the important decrease of the wind speed inside the canyon. Air now reduction may be up to 10 times the flow that corresponds to undisturbed ambient wind conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.