Abstract
Urban areas are already suffering from the heat island effect. In the context of climate change, there will be higher temperatures and longer, more severe, and more frequent heat waves. The balance of indoor air temperature and relative humidity is very important for health and comfort of the occupants, building energy consumption and durability of the building envelope. In this study, a numerical model that incorporates building envelopes, indoor environment, indoor moisture and heat generation is developed. This model is validated with an analytical solution and with the BESTEST cases. We apply the whole building simulation model to study indoor temperature and humidity conditions in urban and suburban areas in Zurich, Switzerland in the summer of 2018. Indoor air temperature and relative humidity will not be accurately simulated when moisture transport in the building envelopes is not considered. There is a large difference of indoor temperature in the urban and suburban area during heat wave. The effect of moisture transport in the building envelopes on indoor temperature and relative humidity is important. Moisture transport could sometimes have a large influence on indoor thermal conditions. There is a potential of using hygroscopic material to lower indoor air temperature during heat waves.
Highlights
An urban area is usually much warmer than its surrounding rural areas, which is known as urban heat island (UHI) effect
There is a potential of using hygroscopic material to lower indoor air temperature during heat waves
Influence of coupled heat and moisture transport in building envelopes The whole building simulation models that consider only heat transport in building envelopes tend to have different indoor air temperature and relative humidity compared to whole building simulation models that consider coupled heat and moisture transport in building envelopes
Summary
An urban area is usually much warmer than its surrounding rural areas, which is known as urban heat island (UHI) effect. The temperature difference between urban and rural areas is much larger at night than during the day. The urban area will be even warmer in the future due to the influence of climate change [1]. Whole building simulations have been used to calculate indoor air temperature [3]. Most whole building simulation models such as TRNSYS consider only heat transport in wall envelopes while moisture transport in wall envelopes is not considered. Vapor transport in building envelopes is associated with sensible and latent heat flux. Omitting moisture transport may lead to incorrect simulation of indoor air temperature
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