A methodology to promptly evaluate the energy-saving potential of bioclimatic buildings through meteorological variables

The reduction of energy consumption in the building sector is critical to achieving the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to below 2?. One promising approach is to exploit the climatic conditions to reduce the thermal load of buildings by using selective measures. Previous studies only qualitatively analyzed the potential of using selective measures. In this paper, four meteorological variables (i.e., dry-bulb temperature, wet-bulb temperature, sky temperature, and solar irradiance) that determine the energy-saving potential of selective measures were identified and a methodology was proposed to evaluate the energy-saving potential associated with these variables through building energy simulation. This methodology was then applied to a three-story medium-sized office building in 16 climate zones across the U.S. as a demonstration. It was found that the potential of utilizing the dry-bulb temperature gradually increases (14.4%-95.9%) from south to north. The potential of utilizing the wet-bulb temperature (35.0%-100.0%) and sky temperature (25.5%-98.6%) increases from south to north and from the east side to the west side of the Rocky Mountains. The potential of utilizing solar irradiance gradually increases (13.0%-100.0%) from north to south. This methodology has great application potential in building design and energy policy-making.