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In the last decades, urban climate researchers have highlighted the need for a reliable provision of meteorological data in the local urban context. Several efforts have been made in this direction using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), demonstrating that they are an accurate alternative to numerical approaches when modelling large time series. However, existing approaches are varied, and it is unclear how much data are needed to train them. This study explores whether the need for training data can be reduced without overly compromising model accuracy, and if model reliability can be increased by selecting the UHI intensity as the main model output instead of air temperature. These two approaches were compared using a common ANN configuration and under different data availability scenarios. Results show that reducing the training dataset from 12 to 9 or even 6 months would still produce reliable results, particularly if the UHI intensity is used. The latter proved to be more effective than the temperature approach under most training scenarios, with an average RMSE improvement of 16.4% when using only 3 months of data. These findings have important implications for urban climate research as they can potentially reduce the duration and cost of field measurement campaigns.
Miguel Núñez-Peiró; Anna Mavrogianni; Phil Symonds; Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; F. Neila González. Modelling Long-Term Urban Temperatures with Less Training Data: A Comparative Study Using Neural Networks in the City of Madrid. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8143 .
AMA StyleMiguel Núñez-Peiró, Anna Mavrogianni, Phil Symonds, Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez, F. Neila González. Modelling Long-Term Urban Temperatures with Less Training Data: A Comparative Study Using Neural Networks in the City of Madrid. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (15):8143.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMiguel Núñez-Peiró; Anna Mavrogianni; Phil Symonds; Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; F. Neila González. 2021. "Modelling Long-Term Urban Temperatures with Less Training Data: A Comparative Study Using Neural Networks in the City of Madrid." Sustainability 13, no. 15: 8143.
The intensity and duration of hot weather and the number of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, are increasing, leading to a growing need for space cooling energy demand. Together with the building stock’s low energy performance, this phenomenon may also increase households’ energy consumption. On the other hand, the low level of ownership of cooling equipment can cause low energy consumption, leading to a lack of indoor thermal comfort and several health-related problems, yet increasing the risk of energy poverty in summer. Understanding future temperature variations and the associated impacts on building cooling demand will allow mitigating future issues related to a warmer climate. In this respect, this paper analyses the effects of change in temperatures in the residential sector cooling demand in 2050 for a case study of nineteen cities across seven countries: Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Israel, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain, by estimating cooling degree days and hours (CDD and CDH). CDD and CDH are calculated using both fixed and adaptive thermal comfort temperature thresholds for 2020 and 2050, understanding their strengths and weaknesses to assess the effects of warmer temperatures. Results suggest a noticeable average increase in CDD and CDH values, up to double, by using both thresholds for 2050, with a particular interest in northern countries where structural modifications in the building stock and occupants’ behavior should be anticipated. Furthermore, the use of the adaptive thermal comfort threshold shows that the projected temperature increases for 2050 might affect people’s capability to adapt their comfort band (i.e., indoor habitability) as temperatures would be higher than the maximum admissible values for people’s comfort and health.
Raúl Castaño-Rosa; Roberto Barrella; Carmen Sánchez-Guevara; Ricardo Barbosa; Ioanna Kyprianou; Eleftheria Paschalidou; Nikolaos Thomaidis; Dusana Dokupilova; João Gouveia; József Kádár; Tareq Hamed; Pedro Palma. Cooling Degree Models and Future Energy Demand in the Residential Sector. A Seven-Country Case Study. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2987 .
AMA StyleRaúl Castaño-Rosa, Roberto Barrella, Carmen Sánchez-Guevara, Ricardo Barbosa, Ioanna Kyprianou, Eleftheria Paschalidou, Nikolaos Thomaidis, Dusana Dokupilova, João Gouveia, József Kádár, Tareq Hamed, Pedro Palma. Cooling Degree Models and Future Energy Demand in the Residential Sector. A Seven-Country Case Study. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (5):2987.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaúl Castaño-Rosa; Roberto Barrella; Carmen Sánchez-Guevara; Ricardo Barbosa; Ioanna Kyprianou; Eleftheria Paschalidou; Nikolaos Thomaidis; Dusana Dokupilova; João Gouveia; József Kádár; Tareq Hamed; Pedro Palma. 2021. "Cooling Degree Models and Future Energy Demand in the Residential Sector. A Seven-Country Case Study." Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2987.
This paper presents the evaluation and quantification of energy poverty in Madrid, at the city and district level. The incidence of energy poverty is assessed by means of the High Share of Energy Expenditure in Income indicator combined with the monetary poverty perspective, enabling to identify different energy-poor household profiles. The study links the city and district statistical levels. The analysis of the different household groups at the city level allows identifying several determining factors linked to energy poverty in Madrid. Based on these determining factors, this research explores district statistics by following an area-based approach and assesses its energy poverty distribution. The High Energy Requirements index is then built on these determining factors to help to pinpoint the urban areas where energy-poor households are more prone to be located. The results show that 22.7% of households are at risk of energy poverty and suggest a need for effectively incorporating households’ income levels and a monetary approach into energy poverty assessments. Finally, based on the two-scale (city and district) analysis conducted, this paper concludes with energy retrofitting policy guidelines, distinguishing between the different levels of funding, and the efficiency measures to be implemented according to each particular energy poverty condition.
Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Ana Sanz Fernández; Miguel Núñez Peiró; Gloria Gómez Muñoz. Energy poverty in Madrid: Data exploitation at the city and district level. Energy Policy 2020, 144, 111653 .
AMA StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez, Ana Sanz Fernández, Miguel Núñez Peiró, Gloria Gómez Muñoz. Energy poverty in Madrid: Data exploitation at the city and district level. Energy Policy. 2020; 144 ():111653.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Ana Sanz Fernández; Miguel Núñez Peiró; Gloria Gómez Muñoz. 2020. "Energy poverty in Madrid: Data exploitation at the city and district level." Energy Policy 144, no. : 111653.
Almost 23% of households in the city of Madrid are at risk of energy poverty according to the Technical Study on Energy Poverty in Madrid. Women are the main breadwinners in over half these households, and may either be pensioners or heads of single-parent families, highlighting the existence of gender inequalities in relation to energy poverty. Recent studies have noted that women are more sensitive to extreme temperatures, which may place women suffering energy poverty at a greater risk. These worrying data point to the urgent need to analyse the incidence of energy poverty from a gender perspective. This study focuses on the feminisation of energy poverty in the city of Madrid using various statistical databases and Geographic Information Systems to perform an exploratory analysis on its distribution. The aim is to characterise women’s different deprivation conditions within the city, and the geographical distribution of this unequal access to energy. This research is expected to contribute to an overhaul of public policies for housing, energy and public health in Madrid.
Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Ana Sanz Fernández; Miguel Núñez Peiró. Feminisation of energy poverty in the city of Madrid. Energy and Buildings 2020, 223, 110157 .
AMA StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez, Ana Sanz Fernández, Miguel Núñez Peiró. Feminisation of energy poverty in the city of Madrid. Energy and Buildings. 2020; 223 ():110157.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Ana Sanz Fernández; Miguel Núñez Peiró. 2020. "Feminisation of energy poverty in the city of Madrid." Energy and Buildings 223, no. : 110157.
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and duration of hot weather and its associated adverse health effects. In dense urban areas, these phenomena will be exacerbated by the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and indoor overheating. This paper assesses population exposure and vulnerability to high summer temperatures by exploring the geospatial connection between the UHI, housing energy efficiency and overheating risk, and social vulnerability indicators, such as income and the elderly population. Focusing on Madrid and London, two European cities with strong UHIs but contrasting drivers of indoor heat risk, the spatial distribution of selected indicators were analysed by means of Geographical Information Systems, and areas with the highest vulnerability towards summer energy poverty were identified. It was found that while ‘hot and vulnerable’ areas are present in both Madrid and London, there are significant differences in climate, socioeconomic distribution and housing between the two cities. In warmer climates such as Madrid, energy poverty - traditionally defined by wintertime heating - requires its definition to be broadened to include summertime cooling needs; in the context of climate change and urban warming trends, this may soon also be the case in northern cities such as London.
Carmen Sanchez-Guevara; Miguel Núñez Peiró; Jonathon Taylor; Anna Mavrogianni; Javier Neila González. Assessing population vulnerability towards summer energy poverty: Case studies of Madrid and London. Energy and Buildings 2019, 190, 132 -143.
AMA StyleCarmen Sanchez-Guevara, Miguel Núñez Peiró, Jonathon Taylor, Anna Mavrogianni, Javier Neila González. Assessing population vulnerability towards summer energy poverty: Case studies of Madrid and London. Energy and Buildings. 2019; 190 ():132-143.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarmen Sanchez-Guevara; Miguel Núñez Peiró; Jonathon Taylor; Anna Mavrogianni; Javier Neila González. 2019. "Assessing population vulnerability towards summer energy poverty: Case studies of Madrid and London." Energy and Buildings 190, no. : 132-143.
The correct contextualisation of urban measurements is one of the challenges that urban climate researchers have been dealing with for decades. The Local Climate Zones scheme (LCZs) emerges as a system for characterising these measurements from the thermal perspective. The rapid embracing of the LCZs by researchers from many disciplines, altogether with its adoption for other purposes such as planning, has led to an inexistent or, at its best, flexible use of the source area definition. This practice might call into question the contextualisation of many measurements, highlighting the imperative need to shed light on the source area methods within the urban context. In this study, a systematic review is conducted to compile previous experiences in which the source area was applied in the built environment. Results obtained from the systematic search are summarized and presented according to three scales: the inertial sublayer, the roughness sublayer, and the urban canopy layer. These previous experiences are studied according to their methodological contribution to the source area definition, emphasizing those studies that have considered this concept altogether with the LCZ scheme. This review aims at promoting the knowledge about footprint methodologies and its correct application within the LCZs.
M. Núñez Peiró; C. Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; F.J. Neila González. Source area definition for local climate zones studies. A systematic review. Building and Environment 2018, 148, 258 -285.
AMA StyleM. Núñez Peiró, C. Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez, F.J. Neila González. Source area definition for local climate zones studies. A systematic review. Building and Environment. 2018; 148 ():258-285.
Chicago/Turabian StyleM. Núñez Peiró; C. Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; F.J. Neila González. 2018. "Source area definition for local climate zones studies. A systematic review." Building and Environment 148, no. : 258-285.
Energy poverty affects an increasing number of households in the European Union. It is urgent the development of definitions and methods adapted to regional conditions that gather important housing construction and climatic differences between Northern and Southern countries beyond different income levels. Mainstream energy poverty methods are focused on heating requirements influenced by health risks derived from living in cold homes. However, the evaluation of energy poverty in warmer climates must also consider health impacts related to households’ exposure to indoor overheating and consequent cooling needs that will likely be exacerbated by temperature increase due to climate change. The present research is aimed at developing a method for evaluating energy poverty in low income dwellings adapted to the Spanish context that gathers climatic, building and socioeconomic particularities of the country. The research was conducted through the evaluation of three representative social housing blocks of vulnerable households located in three different climates and regions. The proposed method is focused on the energy expenditure required to achieve minimal thermal habitability conditions in low income dwellings. Hence, both heating and cooling needs are appraised according to adaptive comfort criteria. The resulting method constitutes a useful tool for the identification of households suffering from energy poverty as well as the degree of the need they require. Finally, the method poses an aid in the decision-making processes related to dwelling energy retrofitting actions and policy development.
Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Fco. Javier Neila González; Agustín Hernández Aja. Energy poverty methodology based on minimal thermal habitability conditions for low income housing in Spain. Energy and Buildings 2018, 169, 127 -140.
AMA StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez, Fco. Javier Neila González, Agustín Hernández Aja. Energy poverty methodology based on minimal thermal habitability conditions for low income housing in Spain. Energy and Buildings. 2018; 169 ():127-140.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Fco. Javier Neila González; Agustín Hernández Aja. 2018. "Energy poverty methodology based on minimal thermal habitability conditions for low income housing in Spain." Energy and Buildings 169, no. : 127-140.
Despite great advances on building energy evaluation, available climate data does not include the effects of the Urban Heat Island (UHI). This phenomenon, which increases the temperature in urban areas, is variable in both time and space, and implies an important lack of accuracy when simulating within an urban context. During this research the relevance of the UHI in relation to the dwellings energy performance has been confirmed, as well as the existing barriers to integrate the current UHI representations into the dynamic energy simulation process. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an update of the existing models, in order to implement it into the energy evaluation process. In this work, as a first stage of the study and based on current techniques of geolocation and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), it is established a methodology to acquire automatically an update of the UHI through isotherm maps. It is aimed to set up the starting point from which the integration of the UHI into the energy simulation process will happen.
Miguel Núñez Peiró; Carmen Sánchez-Guevara; F. Javier Neila González. Update of the Urban Heat Island of Madrid and Its Influence on the Building’s Energy Simulation. Sustainable Development and Renovation in Architecture, Urbanism and Engineering 2017, 339 -350.
AMA StyleMiguel Núñez Peiró, Carmen Sánchez-Guevara, F. Javier Neila González. Update of the Urban Heat Island of Madrid and Its Influence on the Building’s Energy Simulation. Sustainable Development and Renovation in Architecture, Urbanism and Engineering. 2017; ():339-350.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMiguel Núñez Peiró; Carmen Sánchez-Guevara; F. Javier Neila González. 2017. "Update of the Urban Heat Island of Madrid and Its Influence on the Building’s Energy Simulation." Sustainable Development and Renovation in Architecture, Urbanism and Engineering , no. : 339-350.
The Urban Heat Island effect shows the differences among temperatures in urban areas and the surrounding rural ones. Previous studies have demonstrated that temperature differences could be up to 8 °C during the hottest periods of summer in Madrid , and that it varies according to the urban structure. Associated to this effect, the impact of temperature increase over dwelling indoor thermal comfort seems to double cooling energy demand . In Madrid, fuel poor households already suffering from inadequate indoor temperatures can face important overheating problems and, as a consequence, relevant health problems could become more frequent and stronger. This poses an increment in mortality rates in risk groups that should be evaluated. This research is aimed at establishing the geospatial connection between the urban heat island and the most vulnerable population living in the city of Madrid. Hence, those areas most in need for an urban intervention can be detected and prioritized.
Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Miguel Núñez Peiró; F. Javier Neila González. Urban Heat Island and Vulnerable Population. The Case of Madrid. Sustainable Development and Renovation in Architecture, Urbanism and Engineering 2017, 3 -13.
AMA StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez, Miguel Núñez Peiró, F. Javier Neila González. Urban Heat Island and Vulnerable Population. The Case of Madrid. Sustainable Development and Renovation in Architecture, Urbanism and Engineering. 2017; ():3-13.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Miguel Núñez Peiró; F. Javier Neila González. 2017. "Urban Heat Island and Vulnerable Population. The Case of Madrid." Sustainable Development and Renovation in Architecture, Urbanism and Engineering , no. : 3-13.
Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Anna Mavrogianni; Fco. Javier Neila González. On the minimal thermal habitability conditions in low income dwellings in Spain for a new definition of fuel poverty. Building and Environment 2017, 114, 344 -356.
AMA StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez, Anna Mavrogianni, Fco. Javier Neila González. On the minimal thermal habitability conditions in low income dwellings in Spain for a new definition of fuel poverty. Building and Environment. 2017; 114 ():344-356.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez; Anna Mavrogianni; Fco. Javier Neila González. 2017. "On the minimal thermal habitability conditions in low income dwellings in Spain for a new definition of fuel poverty." Building and Environment 114, no. : 344-356.
Carmen Sánchez-Guevara; Ana Sanz-Fernández; Agustin Hernandez Aja. Income, energy expenditure and housing in Madrid: retrofitting policy implications. Building Research & Information 2014, 43, 737 -749.
AMA StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara, Ana Sanz-Fernández, Agustin Hernandez Aja. Income, energy expenditure and housing in Madrid: retrofitting policy implications. Building Research & Information. 2014; 43 (6):737-749.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara; Ana Sanz-Fernández; Agustin Hernandez Aja. 2014. "Income, energy expenditure and housing in Madrid: retrofitting policy implications." Building Research & Information 43, no. 6: 737-749.
This article presents the results of the energy performance improvement due to the use of an earth to air heat exchanger of an office building located in Extremadura (Spain). The climate in this region is Continental Mediterranean, with mild winters and very hot summers. The first soil temperature data measures allowed the validation of the simulation software. Heating and cooling building loads were evaluated with and without earth to air heat exchanger. Also, a combination of these models, a third one, was evaluated. The energy savings of the system in each case were measured.
Carmen Sánchez-Guevara; N. Urrutia Del Campo; J. Neila. Earth to air heat exchanger conditioning potential in an office building in a continental mediterranean climate. 2011 International Conference on Electrical and Control Engineering 2011, 2205 -2208.
AMA StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara, N. Urrutia Del Campo, J. Neila. Earth to air heat exchanger conditioning potential in an office building in a continental mediterranean climate. 2011 International Conference on Electrical and Control Engineering. 2011; ():2205-2208.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarmen Sánchez-Guevara; N. Urrutia Del Campo; J. Neila. 2011. "Earth to air heat exchanger conditioning potential in an office building in a continental mediterranean climate." 2011 International Conference on Electrical and Control Engineering , no. : 2205-2208.