Urban climate and its influence on energy consumption a case study in two brazilian cities

Two  prototype  office  buildings  with  low  internal gains were simulated using DOE2 software  to evaluate its energy consumption in different urban microclimates. Weather data from two weather stations were used: in Rio de Janeiro – Santos Dumont local airport and Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport – and in Florianópolis  – Hercílio Luz  International  Airport  and  LABSOLAR at Federal University of Santa Catarina. One prototype was designed to be more sensitive to the external environment and the other, less sensitive. The  weather  files  of  3  stations  did  not  have  solar radiation  data.  Solar  radiation  was  estimated  from cloud cover based in a different model than that used by DOE 2.1-E that was calibrated with satellite data. This paper presents the comparison of the results of total  building  electric  energy  consumption  for  the two  different  climatic  data  files  in  each  city.  It presents  also  the  differences  in  some  weather  data variables,  dry  bulb  temperature,  solar  radiation  and wind speed, found in each city. Site characteristics, such as urban occupation or location into the city, are factors that affected simulation results. Also, building components    characteristics    modify    consumption according   to   the   site   where   the   prototype   is simulated.