Multi-scale modelling to improve climate data for building energy models

The recent AR5 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has again stressed on the need for mitigation and adaptation measures to tackle issues related to climate change. Tackling future urban planning and energy efficiency in the building sector is crucial as they account for almost 40% of energy use in developed countries. A one-dimensional canopy interface module (CIM) was recently developed to improve the surface representation in meteorological models and to enhance boundary conditions for building energy models. In the present study, we explain the methodology to couple CIM to the CitySim software. We show that CIM can be used to provide high-resolution vertical profiles to improve the calculation of the energy balance.