Building Thermal Performance, Extreme Heat, and Climate Change
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 23, Issue 3
Abstract
The leading source of weather-related deaths in the United States is heat, and future projections show that the frequency, duration, and intensity of heat events will increase in the Southwest. Presently, there is a dearth of knowledge about how infrastructure may perform during heat waves or could contribute to social vulnerability. To understand how buildings perform in heat and potentially stress people, indoor air temperature changes when air conditioning is inaccessible are modeled for building archetypes in Los Angeles, California, and Phoenix, Arizona, when air conditioning is inaccessible is estimated. An energy simulation model is used to estimate how quickly indoor air temperature changes when building archetypes are exposed to extreme heat. Building age and geometry (which together determine the building envelope material composition) are found to be the strongest indicators of thermal envelope performance. Older neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Phoenix (often more centrally located in the metropolitan areas) are found to contain the buildings whose interiors warm the fastest, raising particular concern because these regions are also forecast to experience temperature increases. To combat infrastructure vulnerability and provide heat refuge for residents, incentives should be adopted to strategically retrofit buildings where both socially vulnerable populations reside and increasing temperatures are forecast.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (Award Nos. IMEE 1335556, IMEE 1335640, IMEE 1635490, and SRN 1444755).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 23 • Issue 3 • September 2017
Copyright
©2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 12, 2016
Accepted: Sep 14, 2016
Published online: Nov 11, 2016
Discussion open until: Apr 11, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
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