Towards Climate, Bioclimatism, and Building Performance—A Characterization of the Brazilian Territory from 2008 to 2022

Abstract

Representative weather data are fundamental to characterizing a place and determining ideal design approaches. This is particularly important for large countries like Brazil, whose extension and geographical position contribute to defining diverse climatic conditions along the territory. In this context, this study intends to characterize the Brazilian territory based on a 15-year weather record (2008–2022), providing a climatic assessment based on a climatic and bioclimatic profile for the whole country. The climate analysis was focused on temperature, humidity, precipitation, and solar radiation, followed by a bioclimatic analysis guided by the Givoni chart and the natural ventilation potential assessment. In both situations, the results were analyzed using three resolutions: country-level, administrative division, and bioclimatic zones. This study also identified representative locations for the Brazilian bioclimatic zones for a building-centered analysis based on the thermal and energy performance of a single-family house with different envelope configurations. The results proved that most Brazilian territories increased above 0.4 °C in the dry bulb temperature and reduced relative humidity. The precipitation had the highest reduction, reaching more than 50% for some locations. The warmer and drier conditions impacted also the Köppen–Geiger classification, with an increase in the number of Semi-Arid and Arid locations. The bioclimatic study showed that ventilation is the primary strategy for the Brazilian territory, as confirmed by the natural ventilation potential results, followed by passive heating strategies during the year’s coldest months. Finally, building performance simulation underlined that, in colder climates, indoor thermal comfort conditions and air-conditioning demands are less affected by solar absorptance for constructions with low U-values, while in warmer climates, low solar absorptance with intermediary U-values is recommended.