This paper presents the field measured data of the ambient temperature profile and the heat stress occurrences directly underneath ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays (monocrystalline-based), focusing on different temperature levels. A previous study has shown that a 1 °C increase in PV cell temperature results in a reduction of 0.5% in energy conversion efficiency; thus, the temperature factor is critical, especially to solar farm operators. The transpiration process also plays an important role in the cooling of green plants where, on average, it could dissipate a significant amount of the total solar energy absorbed by the leaves, making it a good natural cooling mechanism. It was found from this work that the PV system’s bottom surface temperature was the main source of dissipated heat, as shown in the thermal images recorded at 5-min intervals at three sampling times. A statistical analysis further showed that the thermal correlation for the transpiration process and heat stress occurrences between the PV system’s bottom surface and plant height will be an important factor for large scale plant cultivation in agrivoltaic farms.

This study investigated the effects of urban morphology on microclimate parameters in an urban university campus in Malaysia. Outdoor air temperatures (T_out) were recorded at eight different locations inside the campus for seven days. The study used three urban morphological parameters such as green cover ratio, height-to-width (H/W) ratio, and sky view factor (SVF). The relationship between urban morphological parameters and T_out obtained from in situ measurements was investigated. The results showed that, at a dense green cover ratio of 22% in a 7833 m² area where the H/W ratio was 0.2, T_out was reduced by about 1% due to a long building shadow cover (12 h) and a high range of SVF (from 0.61 to 0.68). The use of geographic information system (GIS) to generate the spatial data of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Campus (UTMKL), morphological features and in situ T_out distributions provided useful information of T_out variations, and proved the applicability of GIS as a useful tool in smart city urban planning.

This study investigated the variation of outdoor air temperature in the shaded area covered by buildings in an urban university campus in Malaysia. In-situ field measurements were conducted to measure the distribution of outdoor air temperature at eight different locations for seven days. Meanwhile, the building-induced shadows were generated using the AutoCAD Revit software to investigate the air temperature change. The study used four urban morphological parameters namely building to greenery ratio, sky view factor (SVF), and height-to-street width (H/W) ratio. The relationship between building-induced shadow and outdoor air temperature (T_out) obtained from the in-situ measurement was investigated. The results showed that the building-induced shadows could lower air temperature. It can be noted that a high ratio of building to greenery resulted in a higher air temperature. In contrast, the area with a low SVF value due to the combination of prolonged shading by buildings and trees had a lower air temperature. Thus, the area with a high building ratio, low greenery ratio, higher SVF value, and low H/W ratio potentially has a higher outdoor air temperature. Conclusively, combination of building shading created by appropriate ratio of building morphology and sufficient greenery able to improve the microclimate of a campus area.

As a Malay Agricultural Settlement established in 1900, Kampung Baru which is located in Kuala Lumpur, has become a subject of prolonged national interests in terms of economic, social, environment, and political issues along with the pressure of modern and future development. This study investigated the urban morphological impact of Kampung Baru on the intensity of urban heat island (UHI) by developing a smart geodatabase for urban climatic mapping. The database provided baseline data which was crucial to unveil the spatiotemporal characteristics of UHI in Kampung Baru. Determination of the urban heat island intensity (UHII) in Kampung Baru was carried out through two approaches, mobile and fixed measurements. In a period of six days, the mobile measurement was conducted within the target area at night using a motorcycle equipped with the temperature and relative humidity data logger while the fixed measurement was conducted using the similar equipment installed at a school building in the area. Building height data were also collected while building footprints were digitized using a topographical map and the satellite image was used as the base map. To estimate the UHII, the reference data for rural temperature was obtained from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD). All of the data were analyzed using ArcGIS to portray the temperature pattern in the study area. The analysis revealed the presence of UHI effect in Kampung Baru at the average building height of six to ten metres. The results of the fixed measurement showed an island-like local maximum in the study area with the average and maximum UHII values of 4.4 °C and 6.0 °C, respectively. The results from the mobile measurement also showed that the highest temperature was recorded in Kampung Baru rather than in the surrounding areas of different land-use types throughout the observation days. The spatial temperature distribution in the study area also showed that the most affected part was the south-west of Kampung Baru which is surrounded by tall buildings. The findings of this study could be utilized in the planning of new development in the city of Kuala Lumpur.