Effects of building design elements on residential thermal environment

Abstract

Residential thermal environment affects the life of residents in terms of their physical and mental health. Many studies have shown that building design elements affect the urban thermal environment. In this study, Nanjing City was used as the study area. A three-dimensional microclimate model was used to simulate and analyze the effects of four main factors, namely, building height, density, layout and green ratio, on thermal environment in residential areas. Results showed that 25% building density obtained a low average air temperature (ATa) and average predicted mean vote (APMV) during 24 h. Thus, a higher building height indicates a lower ATa and APMV and better outdoor comfort level. In addition, peripheral layout had the lowest ATa and APMV, followed by the determinant and point group layouts. The green ratio increased from 0% to 50% with a 10% step and the ATa and APMV decreased gradually. However, when the green ratio increased from 30% to 40%, ATa and APMV decreased most. The effects of building height, density and green ratio on the thermal environment in residential areas were interactive. The effects of building density, green ratio and layout on hourly air temperature and hourly predicted mean vote in daytime varied from these indicators during night time. How the four building design elements interact with thermal environment were probed from two aspects of air temperature and thermal comfort based on the validated ENVI-met, which is the element of novelty in this study. However, thermal comfort has rarely been considered in the past studies about urban outdoor thermal environment.