Selection of Weather Files and Their Importance for Building Performance Simulations in the Light of Climate Change and Urban Heat Islands
Abstract
Weather data is an important input in simulations of building performance and solar potential studies, and is often based on old observations in rural areas. The research aim was to analyse, by statistical methods, reference-year weather files against true recent solar and hygrothermal observations in Sweden to determine whether simulation input remains representative of the current climate. The study also addresses the local weather differences and potential heat island effects by examining measurements from multiple Stockholm weather stations. It was shown that the urban weather differs significantly from the rural observations. The findings infer that weather files should reflect urban-rural aspects and should be frequently updated to keep up with locally changing climates for increased accuracy of performance predictions.