Daytime urban heat island effect in high-rise and high-density residential developments in Hong Kong [An article from: Energy & Buildings]

This digital document is a journal article from Energy & Buildings, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Nearly 60% of electrical energy use in Hong Kong is for space conditioning during summer months. The paper investigates the impact of design-related variables on outdoor micro level daytime heat island effect in residential developments in Hong Kong. The paper hypothesizes that the differences in outdoor temperatures within and between residential developments can be explained by the impact of design-related variables on the overall environment. Case studies of three large housing estates reveal urban heat island effect (UHI) in the order of 1.5^oC within an estate, and 1.0^oC between estates. The results indicate that energy efficient designs can be achieved by manipulating surface albedo, sky view factor and total height to floor area ratio (building massing) while maximizing cross ventilation.