Measurement of the impact of buildings on meteorological variables

A meteorological tower was installed on the EPFL campus in a semi-urban environment for the high frequency monitoring of the micro-climate. This project was done in the larger framework of the measurement of the meteorological profiles and also a quantification of the energy consumption and the outdoor human comfort. A long-term monitoring of various meteorological variables like wind speed, air temperature, turbulence, humidity is realized by the use of 3D sonic anemometers, surface temperature sensor and a meteorological station so as to analyse the micro-climate in an urban context. The preliminary results from the experimental setup confirms that the wind speed is considerably modified in the urban canopy. We show that the decrease in the wind speed will have a significant effect on the heat convection coefficient. Furthermore, we demonstrate that it is possible to reconstruct the air temperature along the vertical axis with a correction using the data from the meteorological station. In the near future, a net radiometer will be installed to analyse the influence of the incoming and outgoing radiation in the urban setup on the energy balance of the district.