Energy-efficient landscape for buildings. Statistical assessment of factors determining urban heat island of Mendoza city

ERICA CORREA; GRACIELA LESINO

Johannesburg, South Africa

Congreso; ISES Solar World Congress 2009 - 29th Biennial Congress of the International Solar Energy Society; 2009

ISES

It is an established fact that the process of urbanization produces radical changes in the radiative, thermal, moisture and aerodynamic characteristics of the atmosphere of a region. This causes a relative increment of temperatures in cities compared to their surroundings giving way to the phenomena known as "urban heat island". Its understanding can provide the tools for creating thermally comfortable habitats for people and energy-efficient landscape for buildings. The air temperature in cities is affected by a great number of variables that are interdependent from each other. It is important to determine the interrelationship between these variables and the weight that each of them has. An analysis, of main components (PCA) has been made with the intention of determining the minimal number of variables that explain the urban heat island of Mendoza city, Argentina. The correlated data indicate that the representation in four axes could explain 88% of the variability of the observed data. The analysis show a strong relation among the air temperature and the thermal properties of materials that compose the evaluated spaces, the conditions of access to sun and to wind and the intensity of vehicular traffic.    Keywords:  sustainable urban design, urban heat island, principal components analysis (PCA).