Effects of urban compactness on the building energy performance in Mediterranean climate

Abstract

This work explores the double effect of urban compactness on buildings energy performance in Mediterranean climate, namely the increase of urban heat island (UHI) intensity and the decrease of solar radiation availability on the building façades. The energy demand of a test apartment has been calculated considering the variability of UHI intensity and solar radiation in different urban textures. Results show robust relationships between the energy demand and the texture’s site coverage ratio, which demonstrate that rather compact urban textures are more energy efficient than less dense urban patterns in Mediterranean climate.