Conference Paper

Proceedings of Building Simulation 2021: 17th Conference of IBPSA

A framework for integrating high-resolution trees in urban energy use models

Diba Malekpour Koupaei, Ulrike Passe, Janette Thompson
Iowa State University, United States of America

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2021.31097
Abstract: Urban vegetation is known to be effective in mitigating the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and reducing building energy use, specifically that associated with cooling. However, to quantify urban trees’ cooling effect, the influence of their characteristics on cooling effectiveness and the corresponding building energy use needs to be assessed quantitatively and reflected in energy simulation efforts. In this study, a modelling framework is introduced to facilitate the integration of high-resolution geometries for trees in urban energy simulation models. A preliminary study of this modelling framework showed that our enhanced tree models can predict cooling loads that are as much as 2.2% lower than those predicted with the simplified tree models that are typically used. This enhancement in modelling can address current shortcomings for predicted and actual energy consumption of buildings.
Keywords: Urban building energy simulation, Tree shade, Urban forest
Pages: 2284 - 2291
Paper: