Investigating the Impacts of Urban Microclimate on Building Thermal Performance in Present and Future Climatic Conditions: A Case of New Obour City, Egypt

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled urban planners to forecast microclimate conditions, allowing them to think smartly and optimise urban design. Coupled outdoor-indoor simulations were used to overcome the packages’ inability to handle both objectives in one tool because indoor simulation methods do not consider microclimatic interactions. To predict metrological climate conditions and carbon dioxide (CO₂), ENVI-met V4.0 simulations (accounting for outdoor conditions) were combined with indoor simulations using DesignBuilder V4.2. This paper is based on a case study in New Obour City, Egypt, that begins by creating the neighbourhood using design specifications with several weather files (EPW, STAT, DDY, and Audit) to simulate and estimate future changes, then comparing the current and future in 2080. The findings highlight the significance of AI in architectural optimisation, adaptation, and prediction for long-term sustainable design. Moreover, the study presents the various flaws in the design that might be addressed to accommodate climate change. That was tackled by the active simulation for the two representative design days in the years 2023 and 2080 in the chosen neighbourhood to result in certain parameters influencing thermal comfort, including air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, CO₂, predicted mean vote (PMV), and physiological equivalent temperature (PET). The results of this study can serve as a reference for architects, urban designers, and planners in the early design stages to attain sustainable residential neighbourhoods.