Enhancing building energy efficiency estimation by integrating microclimate conditions

The building sector accounts for over a third of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide and 36% of energy consumption globally. Urban settlements alone are responsible for around 70% of carbon dioxide emissions. Building performance simulation tools (e.g., EnergyPlus) are frequently used to conduct energy calculations which use weather data (obtained from weather stations) as one of the boundary conditions. However, it is hypothesised that the energy calculations are more dependent on microclimatic conditions, leading to inaccuracy in energy estimations. Therefore, a new approach by integrating a microclimate tool (i.e., ENVI-MET) with a building performance simulation tool to enhance the accuracy of energy estimations is proposed in this study. A comparative analysis using computational tools was carried out for a real-scale typical UK residential settlement and it was observed that there is a distinctive difference (around 1°C) caused by the microclimate for both the summer as well as the winter period.