Riccardo Paolini
UNSW, Faculty Of The Built Environment, Department Member
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Urban and building typologies have a serious impact on the urban climate and determine at large the magnitude of the urban overheating and urban heat island intensity. The present study aims to analyze the impact of various city... more
Urban and building typologies have a serious impact on the urban climate and determine at large the magnitude of the urban overheating and urban heat island intensity. The present study aims to analyze the impact of various city typologies and urban planning characteristics on the mitigation of the urban heat island. The effect of the building height, street width, aspect ratio, built area ratio, orientation, and dimensions of open spaces on the distribution of the ambient and surface temperature in open spaces is analyzed using the Sydney Metropolitan Area as a case study for both unmitigated and mitigated scenarios. Fourteen precincts are developed and simulated using ENVI-met the simulation tool. The ambient temperature, surface temperature, and wind speed are extracted. The parameter ‘Gradient of the Temperature Decrease along the Precinct Axis’ (GTD) is introduced to study the cooling potential of the various precincts. In the mitigated precincts, the GTD ranges between 0.01 K/...
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The present study is aiming to pre-design and optimize a smart climatic street in Parramatta, named Phillip st., exhibiting high climatic, environmental, and energy performance.The specific objective of the study is to propose,... more
The present study is aiming to pre-design and optimize a smart climatic street in Parramatta, named Phillip st., exhibiting high climatic, environmental, and energy performance.The specific objective of the study is to propose, investigate, and optimize the combination of advanced thermal mitigation and smart technologies to improve thermal comfort and mitigate the urban overheating in the area.To satisfy the above described objective, the whole study involves the following research phases:Phase 1: Aerial monitoring of the surface temperatures using drone technologies. Use of the mobile Energy Bus to measure the temperature distribution in the whole area.Phase 2: Identification of the climatic conditions and hot spots in the area and development of preliminary mitigation scenarios.Phase 3: Preliminary climatic evaluation of the proposed mitigation scenarios and final selection of the technologies and systems to be implemented.Phase 4: Detailed thermal study and optimization of the p...
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The indoor thermal comfort and air quality in classrooms have become of interest worldwide, predominantly because of their influence on children’s health, learning performance and productivity. Growing concerns with building energy... more
The indoor thermal comfort and air quality in classrooms have become of interest worldwide, predominantly because of their influence on children’s health, learning performance and productivity. Growing concerns with building energy efficiency emphasize the significance of this topic. This paper illustrates the outcome of a field study conducted in secondary school classrooms in Sydney, Australia, during the school year in 2018/2019. The procedure of the study consists of two approaches to collecting data including survey questionnaires designed for the young population, and measurements of physical variables. The study includes long-term measurements of environmental parameters in two adjacent classrooms (air temperature, relative humidity, CO2), spot measurements of indoor air quality (PM10, PM2.5, and Formaldehyde), and questionnaire surveys designed to match the students’ cognitive level. The participants were students aged between 12 and 18. The questionnaire includes questions ...
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The Urban Heat Island (UHI) has become increasingly important due to the increased vulnerability of urban areas to UHI effects and thermal risk for urban residents. In Australia, extreme heat and overheated outdoor environments adversely... more
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) has become increasingly important due to the increased vulnerability of urban areas to UHI effects and thermal risk for urban residents. In Australia, extreme heat and overheated outdoor environments adversely affect the well-being of the urban population, energy consumption for cooling, sustainability and liveability of cities. This paper examines microclimate characteristics of three Australian cities, namely, Darwin, Alice Springs, and Western Sydney using the microclimate model ENVI-met. The simulations involve urban environments both in the existing situation and after application of appropriate mitigation strategies in a representative warm summer day. This evaluation is of importance due to the potential of mitigation strategies to decrease the ambient temperature and provide comfort for residents. This study involved a selection of mitigation strategies (e.g., urban greenery, cool material, water-technologies, solar control, and combinations). Mic...
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Urban overheating coincides with Heatwaves (HWs) and the thermal stress might get amplified in cities. To predict the interactions between urban overheating and HWs, the surface energy balance response to HWs is crucial. HW is a regional... more
Urban overheating coincides with Heatwaves (HWs) and the thermal stress might get amplified in cities. To predict the interactions between urban overheating and HWs, the surface energy balance response to HWs is crucial. HW is a regional phenomenon and the climatic conditions may influence the local conditions to alter the energy budget contrast between a city and its adjacent peripheral areas. The interactions between the urban overheating and HWs are explored in a coastal city (Sydney Australia), also in the proximity of dry landmass, while considering the site characteristics, distance from the coast, and the population density. A positive response between urban overheating and HWs is reported. Advective heat flux in the form of a dualistic circulation system is found responsible for exacerbating the urban overheating magnitude (ΔT) during the HWs and altering the available energy balance. Land-coastal distance is also found as an important contributor in magnifying the urban-suburban temperature contrast. Considering the future urbanization in western Sydney, surfaces capable of retaining higher moisture content are prescribed to reduce the occurrence of extreme HW events. Activation of the ventilation corridor for the coastal wind penetration in western Sydney is another recommendation of this study.
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Abstract In the context of global warming, radiative coolers with high solar reflectance and strong emissivity in the atmospheric window can cool the substrate as well as the ambient air. Silica at its nano or micro-scale being randomly... more
Abstract In the context of global warming, radiative coolers with high solar reflectance and strong emissivity in the atmospheric window can cool the substrate as well as the ambient air. Silica at its nano or micro-scale being randomly dispersed into a uniform transparent polymer can form scalable radiative coolers for large-scale application. Promising cooling performance has been reported for silica-polymers compared with conventional cooling materials, but their performance can be largely influenced by various fabrication parameters. So far, how fabrication parameters influence the emissivity and the cooling performance has not been experimentally demonstrated and the cooling capacity of silica-polymers reported was not substantial compared to other superior radiative coolers. In this work, random silica-polymer has been optimized experimentally. Lab measurement and experimental testing of six fabricated silica-polymers under subtropical and desert climates indicated that due to the complexity of the thermo-radiative balance, high emissivity and strong selectivity are both indispensable in the production of high cooling power. If combined with superior reflectors with higher solar reflectance and especially the emissivity in 8–13 μm enhancing the heat dissipation ability, substantial cooling capacity can be achieved: under the harsh desert climate with average peak solar radiation over 1100 Wm-2, the combination presented sub-ambient temperature of maximum 4.7 °C when air temperature reached its peak and the maximum daytime and night-time sub-ambient temperatures were 12.5 °C and 15.9 °C respectively.
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Abstract Climate change is one of the most significant environmental issues facing communities, while poor construction and absence of effective air-conditioning (AC) predominantly cause indoor overheating. Although AC may help meeting... more
Abstract Climate change is one of the most significant environmental issues facing communities, while poor construction and absence of effective air-conditioning (AC) predominantly cause indoor overheating. Although AC may help meeting indoor comfort, it increases the vulnerability of low-income residents, triggers large energy consumption, and generates anthropogenic heat, which worsens heat stress outdoor. The capacity of buildings to maintain comfortable thermal conditions without mechanical cooling is the key factor protecting occupants against the rising temperature. Residents of Darwin, Australia, will be largely affected by increasing temperature where the annual peak ambient temperature may increase by 7.4 °C in 2060, while the number of hours above 30 °C will rise by 70%. Based on regional climate modelling for the Australian area and using a building energy simulation platform, we computed that by 2060 the indoor air temperature in a typical residential building may exceed 30 °C for over 4000 h under free-floating condition, with a peak daytime and night-time temperatures of 39 °C and 36.5 °C, respectively. The sensible thermal energy need for cooling per unit area under thermostatically controlled condition will increase from the current level of 110.7 kWh/m2 to 196.8 kWh/m2 in 2060. Different adaptation techniques when applied to the typical residential building yield to the peak indoor air temperature drop by 3.3–12 °C, and cooling energy needs reductions by 23.5–195.3 kWh/m2 (12–99.7%) for low, medium, and high retrofit buildings compared to the typical residential building in 2060. Our study indicates that improved building quality is necessary to enhance survivability and energy efficiency in Darwin considering the role of building adaptation measures to counterbalance the impacts of global warming.
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Abstract Indoor thermal comfort and air quality in school classrooms are of interest worldwide, primarily because of their potential impacts on students’ health, learning performance and productivity. Further, increasing concerns with... more
Abstract Indoor thermal comfort and air quality in school classrooms are of interest worldwide, primarily because of their potential impacts on students’ health, learning performance and productivity. Further, increasing concerns with changing climate and building energy efficiency highlight the importance of ventilation and comfort in educational settings. The existing literature on indoor air quality (IAQ), ventilation, and thermal comfort in classrooms in subtropical regions of Australia is sparse. Here, we present the results of a field study conducted in secondary school classrooms in Sydney during the school year in 2018 and 2019. We collected data with subjective surveys through questionnaires and with field measurements related to IAQ the thermal comfort in two adjacent similar classrooms. The infiltration and ventilation rates were measured during the non-occupied period using the concentration decay method. We analysed the performance of a cloud-connected demand-controlled mechanical extract ventilation system (DCV), which was installed in one of the two surveyed classrooms during mid-season. Before application of the DCV, CO2 levels were similar in both classrooms with a maximum concentration of approximately 2418 ppm during cold season. The DCV reduced the peak CO2 concentration to 1335 ppm, while CO2 raised to 2981 ppm in the classrooms without DCV during mid-season. Further, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) analysed from air samples show improved air quality in the classroom with DCV. Our results highlight the impact of both indoor temperature and CO2 concentration on students’ feeling of fatigue. Students showed adaptability to indoor temperature change. A period of one week is needed for students’ adaptation to a step change in the mean outdoor temperature. Understanding classroom indoor air quality and thermal environment, as well as students’ perceived comfort, is vital to develop child-based design guidelines for schools.
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Abstract Urban overheating affects the health and wellbeing of communities, the environmental quality, and the economic performance of cities. This study demonstrates that outdoor thermal comfort can be improved in a single street by... more
Abstract Urban overheating affects the health and wellbeing of communities, the environmental quality, and the economic performance of cities. This study demonstrates that outdoor thermal comfort can be improved in a single street by decreasing ambient (Ta) and surface (Ts) temperatures by implementing innovative and traditional heat mitigation strategies. Ten scenarios were modelled in ENVI-met and evaluated based on detailed in-situ and airborne-based meteorological data collected along Phillip Street (Parramatta) in Sydney, Australia. The best-performing scenario combining reflective materials, increased greenery, spray systems, and traditional shading provides a very significant reduction of Ta and Ts of up to 3.3 °C and 30.9 °C, respectively. On its own, radiative cooling materials applied on shading devices offer a comparable incanyon cooling capacity with maximum Ta and Ts decrease of up to 1.6 °C and 24.2 °C. Similar results are obtained by applying traditional solar control devices, which reduce peak Ta by 1.3 °C and Ts by 21.8 °C. When reflective pavements are accompanied by an increment in greenery, peak Ta and Ts are additionally reduced by 0.2 °C and 3.6 °C, respectively. When applied individually, an increase in evaporative cooling and greenery shows a strong local effect with a maximum in-canyon Ta decrease of 2.7 °C and 0.5 °C, respectively. Results show increased wind speeds have a positive impact on greenery, shading, radiative and reflective technologies and an unfavourable effect on spray systems. Future research should concentrate on examining the cooling potential of radiative coolers in different proportions and arrangements and quantifying the contributions and interactions between different strategies when applied simultaneously.
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Abstract In several areas of the world, the population concentrates along the coastal regions, benefitting from the sea breeze, with warmer inland areas. However, increasing population is driving urban sprawl in traditionally low-density... more
Abstract In several areas of the world, the population concentrates along the coastal regions, benefitting from the sea breeze, with warmer inland areas. However, increasing population is driving urban sprawl in traditionally low-density areas, enhancing the synergies between global and local climate change. Here we show that local climate mitigation can reduce the impacts of climate change, with the analysis of a new development area in Sydney, 50 km from the coast. With meso-scale climate modelling, we computed that by 2050 the peak summer temperature will increase by 0.8 °C and the daily average summer temperature by 1.6 °C. Mitigation with cool materials, greenery, and irrigation will lower the peak and average daily temperatures respectively by 2.2 °C and 1.6 °C with respect to the unmitigated future climate scenario. Mitigation techniques when applied in the whole Sydney area yield to cooling energy needs reductions by 6.7–8.6 kWh/m2 (13.4–19.3%) for typical residential, office, and school buildings, with a negligible heating penalty, compared to an unmitigated future scenario. Combined adaptation and mitigation can reduce the future cooling energy needs by 31.3 kWh/m2 (70%), 29.3 kWh/m2 (57.3%), and 20.9 kWh/m2 (59.4%) for typical residential, office, and school building, respectively. Our study indicates that the consolidated and widely available mitigation technologies alone cannot counteract the energy impact of both global and local climate change. A structured system of interventions at building and urban scale is necessary while developing novel and higher efficiency mitigation technologies.
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There is no consensus regarding the change of magnitude of urban overheating during HW periods, and possible interactions between the two phenomena are still an open question, despite the increasing frequency and impacts of Heatwaves... more
There is no consensus regarding the change of magnitude of urban overheating during HW periods, and possible interactions between the two phenomena are still an open question, despite the increasing frequency and impacts of Heatwaves (HW). The purpose of this study is to explore the interactions between urban overheating and HWs in Sydney, which is under the influence of two synoptic circulation systems. For this purpose, a detailed analysis has been performed for the city of Sydney, while considering an urban (Observatory Hill), in the Central Business District (CBD), and a non-urban station in Western Sydney (Penrith Lakes). Summer 2017 was considered as a study period, and HW and Non-Heatwave (NHW) periods were identified to explore the interactions between urban overheating and HWs. A strong link was observed between urban overheating and HWs, and the difference between the peak average urban overheating magnitude during HWs and NHWs was around 8 °C. Additionally, the daytime ur...
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Over three million people live below the poverty line in Australia. Low-income households suffer from overheated or cold homes and experience problems associated with energy inefficiency and poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ), which... more
Over three million people live below the poverty line in Australia. Low-income households suffer from overheated or cold homes and experience problems associated with energy inefficiency and poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ), which ultimately affect residents’ quality of life, comfort, well-being, physical and mental health. These circumstances are the main drivers of a social challenge known as Energy Poverty (EP) when residents have difficulties in paying the electricity bills. EP needs to be addressed by i) implementing energy efficiency measures in social housing, ii) educating low-income families about energy saving practices and behaviours, iii) developing new energy policies. We investigated the level of EP in social housing located in New South Wales, Australia. Indoor thermal environment and air quality were monitored in 106 low-income households over the winter and summer periods 2018/2019. Questionnaire responses informed the real living conditions of participating ...
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In the last decades progressively growing efforts were spent to identify strategies and to develop tools and techniques helpful to design sustainable, resilient, and low energy built environments. Green and high albedo roofs have been... more
In the last decades progressively growing efforts were spent to identify strategies and to develop tools and techniques helpful to design sustainable, resilient, and low energy built environments. Green and high albedo roofs have been proved as effective countermeasures to urban heat islands, but their performance may vary over time and depending on the environmental conditions. Herein, an overview on recent advances about performance assessment of green and cool roofs is presented, after experimental activity and numerical modelling.
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The quality of the interior spaces is strongly related to the hygro-thermal conditions which affect the users’ comfort, and may yield to preservation risk for the built heritage. Moreover, careless management of exposition spaces with... more
The quality of the interior spaces is strongly related to the hygro-thermal conditions which affect the users’ comfort, and may yield to preservation risk for the built heritage. Moreover, careless management of exposition spaces with excessive occupancy may result in moisture loads that promote degradation. In this paper, as a case study, an exposition hall representative of the built heritage is considered. The microbiological growth risk is investigated at two different climate conditions, namely Milan and Barcelona, considering varying ventilation rates and number of visitors. The results outline the need of policies informed by advanced analyses to prevent hygro-thermal risk in the absence of dedicated building services, that cannot always be integrated in built heritage.
Research Interests: Engineering and Geography
A manifold positive contribution to climate change mitigation and in the improvement of air quality of built environments can be provided by the use of titanium dioxide (TiO2), also – but not exclusively – as coating for building envelope... more
A manifold positive contribution to climate change mitigation and in the improvement of air quality of built environments can be provided by the use of titanium dioxide (TiO2), also – but not exclusively – as coating for building envelope materials, to spread its beneficial effect on the largest surface area possible. The benefits in applying TiO2 coatings –containing in particular the anatase phase – rely, first of all, on the UV-activated photocatalytic degradation of pollutants mediated by it, which can mitigate pollution arising from industrial sources, heating and transportation. Moreover, changes in wettability upon UV irradiation lead to a superhydrophilic state which, coupled with photocatalysis, results in the so called self-cleaning effect, allowing materials to retain a cleaner and more reflective surface over time. Reducing the impact of aging on the optical-radiative performance of built environment surfaces has a strong influence on the thermal comfort and energy consu...
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The aim of this contribution is to provide information about the possible contribution of this specific methods for ETICS in refining and improving the general procedure for Service Life Prediction portrayed in ISO 15686-2
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Dynamic energy simulation tools of building energy consumption usually require as climatic input a Test Reference Year, which reports hourly values of dry-bulb air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity and wind velocity. For the... more
Dynamic energy simulation tools of building energy consumption usually require as climatic input a Test Reference Year, which reports hourly values of dry-bulb air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity and wind velocity. For the city of Milano (Northern Italy) unfortunately this sequence is available only from old data measurements in a non-urban context (local airports). Therefore, in this paper, a new TRY based on data collected in the centre of Milan is proposed. Consequently, energy demand simulations are carried out for a building type widespread in Milan using urban and non-urban data. The aim of this paper is hence to achieve a first evaluation of the influence of the Urban Heat Island in Milan over the energy demand of buildings
The External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems with rendering (ETICS) are a building envelope technology widely used both in new construction interventions and in energy refurbishments. Installed ETICS display multiple failure modes,... more
The External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems with rendering (ETICS) are a building envelope technology widely used both in new construction interventions and in energy refurbishments. Installed ETICS display multiple failure modes, which are often the result of the repeated action of multiple agents inducing cyclic stresses and strains, thus fatigue. In this study, to predict the performance decay over time and to assess the durability, we coupled two numerical models: a hygrothermal model, computing the Heat and Moisture Transport (HMT) in porous media, coupled to a Thermo-Mechanical Finite Element Method model (TM-FEM). The transient temperature profile computed with the HMT model was the input for the TM-FEM simulations, with which we assessed the thermal stress over time, and the frequency of the events exceeding the critical stress thresholds, beyond which the base coat is subject to fatigue. As variables, we considered the moisture response of the base coat, and the optic...
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Urban climates are highly influenced by the ability of built surfaces to reflect solar radiation, and the use of high-albedo materials has been widely investigated as an effective option to mitigate urban overheating. While diffusely... more
Urban climates are highly influenced by the ability of built surfaces to reflect solar radiation, and the use of high-albedo materials has been widely investigated as an effective option to mitigate urban overheating. While diffusely solar reflective walls have attracted concerns in the architectural and thermal comfort community, the potential of concave and polished surfaces, such as glass and metal panels, to cause extreme glare and localized thermal stress has been underinvestigated. Furthermore, there is the need for a systematic comparison of the solar concentration at the pedestrian level in front of tall buildings. Herein, we show the findings of an experimental campaign measuring the magnitude of the sunlight reflected by scale models reproducing archetypical tall buildings. Three 1:100 scaled prototypes with different shapes (classic vertical façade, 10% tilted façade, curved concave façade) and different finishing materials (representative of extremes in reflectance prope...
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A manifold positive contribution to climate change mitigation and in the improvement of air quality of built environments can be provided by the use of titanium dioxide (TiO2), also – but not exclusively – as coating for building envelope... more
A manifold positive contribution to climate change mitigation and in the improvement of air quality of built environments can be provided by the use of titanium dioxide (TiO2), also – but not exclusively – as coating for building envelope materials, to spread its beneficial effect on the largest surface area possible. The benefits in applying TiO2 coatings –containing in particular the anatase phase – rely, first of all, on the UV-activated photocatalytic degradation of pollutants mediated by it, which can mitigate pollution arising from industrial sources, heating and transportation. Moreover, changes in wettability upon UV irradiation lead to a superhydrophilic state which, coupled with photocatalysis, results in the so called self-cleaning effect, allowing materials to retain a cleaner and more reflective surface over time. Reducing the impact of aging on the optical-radiative performance of built environment surfaces has a strong influence on the thermal comfort and energy consu...
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Dynamic energy simulation tools of building energy consumption usually require as climatic input a Test Reference Year, which reports hourly values of dry-bulb air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity and wind velocity. For the... more
Dynamic energy simulation tools of building energy consumption usually require as climatic input a Test Reference Year, which reports hourly values of dry-bulb air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity and wind velocity. For the city of Milano (Northern Italy) unfortunately this sequence is available only from old data measurements in a non-urban context (local airports). Therefore, in this paper, a new TRY based on data collected in the centre of Milan is proposed. Consequently, energy demand simulations are carried out for a building type widespread in Milan using urban and non-urban data. The aim of this paper is hence to achieve a first evaluation of the influence of the Urban Heat Island in Milan over the energy demand of buildings
Cities in Australia are experiencing unprecedented levels of urban overheating, which has caused a significant impact on the country’s socioeconomic environment. This article provides a comprehensive review on urban overheating, its... more
Cities in Australia are experiencing unprecedented levels of urban overheating, which has caused a significant impact on the country’s socioeconomic environment. This article provides a comprehensive review on urban overheating, its impact on health, energy, economy, and the heat mitigation potential of a series of strategies in Australia. Existing studies show that the average urban heat island (UHI) intensity ranges from 1.0 °C to 13.0 °C. The magnitude of urban overheating phenomenon in Australia is determined by a combination of UHI effects and dualistic atmospheric circulation systems (cool sea breeze and hot desert winds). The strong relation between multiple characteristics contribute to dramatic fluctuations and high spatiotemporal variabilities in urban overheating. In addition, urban overheating contributes to serious impacts on human health, energy costs, thermal comfort, labour productivity, and social behaviour. Evidence suggest that cool materials, green roofs, vertica...
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Overheated outdoor environments adversely impact urban sustainability and livability. Urban areas are particularly affected by heat waves and global climate change, which is a serious threat due to increasing heat stress and thermal risk... more
Overheated outdoor environments adversely impact urban sustainability and livability. Urban areas are particularly affected by heat waves and global climate change, which is a serious threat due to increasing heat stress and thermal risk for residents. The tropical city of Darwin, Australia, for example, is especially susceptible to urban overheating that can kill inhabitants. Here, using a modeling platform supported by detailed measurements of meteorological data, we report the first quantified analysis of the urban microclimate and evaluate the impacts of heat mitigation technologies to decrease the ambient temperature in the city of Darwin. We present a holistic study that quantifies the benefits of city-scale heat mitigation to human health, energy consumption, and peak electricity demand. The best-performing mitigation scenario, which combines cool materials, shading, and greenery, reduces the peak ambient temperature by 2.7 °C and consequently decreases the peak electricity d...
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Cities in Australia are experiencing unprecedented levels of urban overheating, which has caused a significant impact on the country’s socioeconomic environment. This article provides a comprehensive review on urban overheating, its... more
Cities in Australia are experiencing unprecedented levels of urban overheating, which has caused a significant impact on the country’s socioeconomic environment. This article provides a comprehensive review on urban overheating, its impact on health, energy, economy, and the heat mitigation potential of a series of strategies in Australia. Existing studies show that the average urban heat island (UHI) intensity ranges from 1.0 °C to 13.0 °C. The magnitude of urban overheating phenomenon in Australia is determined by a combination of UHI effects and dualistic atmospheric circulation systems (cool sea breeze and hot desert winds). The strong relation between multiple characteristics contribute to dramatic fluctuations and high spatiotemporal variabilities in urban overheating. In addition, urban overheating contributes to serious impacts on human health, energy costs, thermal comfort, labour productivity, and social behaviour. Evidence suggest that cool materials, green roofs, vertica...
Research Interests:
Overheated outdoor environments adversely impact urban sustainability and livability. Urban areas are particularly affected by heat waves and global climate change, which is a serious threat due to increasing heat stress and thermal risk... more
Overheated outdoor environments adversely impact urban sustainability and livability. Urban areas are particularly affected by heat waves and global climate change, which is a serious threat due to increasing heat stress and thermal risk for residents. The tropical city of Darwin, Australia, for example, is especially susceptible to urban overheating that can kill inhabitants. Here, using a modeling platform supported by detailed measurements of meteorological data, we report the first quantified analysis of the urban microclimate and evaluate the impacts of heat mitigation technologies to decrease the ambient temperature in the city of Darwin. We present a holistic study that quantifies the benefits of city-scale heat mitigation to human health, energy consumption, and peak electricity demand. The best-performing mitigation scenario, which combines cool materials, shading, and greenery, reduces the peak ambient temperature by 2.7 °C and consequently decreases the peak electricity d...