UK consulting engineer Arup has teamed up with two firms to provide a “future weather service” to help building owners and cities prepare for future climate conditions.
The initiative combines weather data, building physics and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections to help designers cope with change.
Arup is working with climate data provider Argos Analytics and building physics company Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES).
Arup and Argos developed their WeatherShift tool in 2014 to help building owners and local authorities assess the cost implications of climate change. That service was free, but users will now be able to purchase future weather data by specifying a location, an emissions scenario, and time period.
Arup and Argos will then provide the purchaser with customised future weather data, which they will generate by adjusting historical weather reports based on climate projections run for the recent IPCC “Fifth Assessment Report”.
The data can then be used to simulate building and city performance under future climate conditions and enable designers to prepare their buildings to respond by, for example, increasing the performance of its air-conditioning system.
Cole Roberts, associate principal of Arup, said in a statement: “The collaboration with IES has lowered the entry price point to $250 and simplified the product for repeated use on multiple projects, increasing the likelihood of standardisation in practice.”
Craig Wheatley, the chief technical officer of IES, added: “Making this simulation weather data available for any global location now gives designers the opportunity to better understand the impact of future climate predictions when designing the buildings of tomorrow, futureproofing their designs, providing greater levels of sustainability and mitigating the effects of climate change.”
The service will be available through IES’ website at www.iesve.com.
Image: Buildings are likely to be faced with increasingly rapid climate change (Climate Change Centre)
