75. Investigation of Urban Microclimate Parameters of City Square in Harbin

This chapter aims to address the characteristics of urban microclimate that affect building energy performance and implementation of renewable energy technologies. An experimental campaign was designed to investigate microclimatic parameters, including air and surface temperature, direct and diffuse solar irradiation levels on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, wind speed, and direction in a city square in Harbin, China. The outcomes of this research reveal that the climatic parameters are significantly influenced by the attributes of urban textures, which highlight the need for both providing microclimatic information and using it in a building’s design stages. This research provides valuable microclimatic information for a city square in Harbin. According to the outcomes of this research, a feasibility study for the implementation of renewable energy technologies and the thermal/energy performance assessment of buildings needs to be conducted using microclimatic information rather than meteorological weather data that are collected mostly from nonurban environments.