Liu et al. (2026) Novel Parameterization of Building Storage Heat Flux for Urban Climate Modeling

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-01
• Authors: Yiqing Liu, Sue Grimmond, Matthew Paskin, Jian Hang, Zhiwen Luo
• DOI: 10.1029/2026ms005834

Research Groups

• Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto
• Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia
• Scaled Outdoor Measurement of Urban Climate and Health (SOMUCH) platform

Short Summary

This study develops a physically informed parameterization for the Objective Hysteresis Model (OHM) coefficients, linking them to key construction properties and weather forcing. The new scheme enables rapid inference of OHM coefficients from readily available building and meteorological data.

Objective

• Develop a physically informed parameterization for OHM coefficients that accounts for diverse construction types and meteorological regimes.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Building, neighborhood scale
• Temporal Scale: Hourly to daily time steps

Methodology and Data

• Models used: EnergyPlus simulations, Surface Urban Energy and Water Balance Scheme (SUEWS)
• Data sources: Field observations from the Scaled Outdoor Measurement of Urban Climate and Health (SOMUCH) platform, satellite data, reanalysis datasets

Main Results

• The new parameterization links OHM coefficients to thermal-mass thickness, insulation placement, and meteorological drivers.
• Insulation placement is found to be the dominant factor influencing heat storage and release in buildings.
• The derived coefficients are verified using field observations from the SOMUCH platform.

Contributions

• This study provides a practical means to rapidly infer OHM coefficients from readily available building and meteorological data, broadening OHM's applicability across materials and climates.
• The new scheme enables assessment of how construction choices affect neighborhood-scale microclimate (e.g., air temperature, wind speed).

Funding

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
• Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS)
• University of Toronto's Connaught Fund

Citation

@article{Liu2026Novel,
  author = {Liu, Yiqing and Grimmond, Sue and Paskin, Matthew and Hang, Jian and Luo, Zhiwen},
  title = {Novel Parameterization of Building Storage Heat Flux for Urban Climate Modeling},
  journal = {Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2026ms005834},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2026ms005834}
}