Review of user‐friendly models to improve the urban micro‐climate

Britta Jänicke*, Dragan Milošević, Suneja Manavvi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Various micro‐scale models for comparing alternative design concepts have been developed in recent decades. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of current user‐friendly micro‐climate models. In the results, a vast majority of models identified were excluded from the review because the models were not micro‐scale, lacking a user‐interface, or were not available. In total, eight models met the seven‐point inclusion criteria. These models were ADMS Temperature and Humidity model, advanced SkyHelios model, ANSYS FLUENT, ENVI‐met, RayMan, SOL‐ WEIG, TownScope, and UMEP. These models differ in their complexity and their widespread use in the scientific community, ranging from very few to thousands of citations. Most of these models simulate air temperature, global radiation, and mean radiant temperature, which helps to evaluate outdoor thermal comfort in cities. All of these models offer a linkage to CAD or GIS software and user support systems at various levels, which facilitates a smooth integration to planning and de-sign. We detected that all models have been evaluated against observations. A wider model com-parison, however, has only been performed for fewer models. With this review, we aim to support the finding of a reliable tool, which is fit for the specific purpose.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1291
Number of pages22
JournalAtmosphere
Volume12
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Oct 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Micro‐climate model
  • Outdoor thermal comfort
  • Review
  • Urban climate

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