Energy-saving and thermal comfort potential of vernacular urban block porosity shading

Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 Available online 28 November 2022 2210-6707/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Energy-saving and thermal comfort potential of vernacular urban block porosity shading Eduardo Diz-Mellado, Victoria Patricia L´ opez-Cabeza, Jorge Roa-Fern´ andez, Carlos Rivera-G´ omez, Carmen Gal´ an-Marín * Instituto Universitario de Arquitectura y Ciencias de la Construcci´ on, Escuela T´ ecnica Superior de Arquitectura, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes, 2, 41012 Seville, Spain ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Mediterranean courtyard Urban microclimate GIS Shading PET Energy-saving ABSTRACT Built environment configurations of vernacular architecture are the result of an evolutionary adaptation to climatic conditions, while the historic districts of many cities worldwide are shaped by their extensive architectural heritage. These factors, coupled with the present day awareness and renewed interest in the passive retrofitting of buildings, have prompted a review of traditional strategies, most notably direct solar radiation management through courtyard perforations. Although the vernacular courtyard microclimate has been discussed in the literature in recent years, few studies have successfully translated its climatic benefits to the city scale in order to assess its real potential. There is a notable absence of overall urban estimations of the impact on energy-saving and thermal comfort of some of the most effective strategies, such as the use of shading devices. Combining stateof-the-art GIS-based tools and statistical data analysis from field monitoring campaigns this research performs a large-scale evaluation in urban courtyards in the historic centre of a Mediterranean city. Based on the results obtained it can be stated that a widespread use of shading devices can increase the number of hours of comfort, according to PET, by 27% and can reduce global cooling demand by 31%. 1. Introduction Due to the high concentration of population, services, and infrastructure, the impacts of climate change will be felt harshly in urban settings (Estrada, Botzen & Tol, 2017; Satterthwaite, 2014). If the current trend of progressive population displacement from rural areas to cities continues and existing infrastructures are not upgraded to increase resilience, urban areas are at risk of becoming the most prone to the adverse effects of global overheating. Furthermore, the generalized increase in temperatures, known as Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, will exacerbate these climate aftermaths (DeFries, Edenhofer & Halliday, 2019; Estrada et al., 2017). For this reason, the impacts of climate change are already considered potentially important factors in mediumand long-term decision-making and are mainly related to development and infrastructure investment patterns, particularly linked to city-level development strategies (Hunt & Watkiss, 2011). In the local context of southern Europe, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report (Masson-Delmotte et al., 2021), Mediterranean cities will be some of the geographical areas that will suffer the effects of this climate crisis most severely. In the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in the southern region of Andalucía, the reports collected by the Environment and Spatial Planning of the Andalusian Government forecast an increase of up to 5 ◦C in annual average temperatures in some elevated areas of the community, whereas in inland areas this increase is expected to be just over 3 ◦C on average; the change will be least noticeable in Mediterranean coastal areas (IPCC, 2018). At city spatial level, to date, most efforts to improve adaptation to these new conditions have focused on the climate retrofitting of buildings, aiming to improve their energy efficiency profile (Communication from the commission to the European Parliament, 2022). Despite the analysis and quantification of UHIs in some cities in the European climatic environment (Kim & Brown, 2021) little focus has been placed on urban block porosity (UBP), understood as the rate between built and unbuilt area for urban blocks, in the comprehensive study of the impact of current climate patterns on the potential degradation of environmental and living conditions in cities. In the last decade, several studies have been conducted on the impact of climate change in cities (Anderson, Oleson, Jones & Peng, 2018; Estrada et al., 2017; Abadie, Galarraga, Markandya & Sainz De Murieta, 2019; Hallegatte, Green, * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (E. Diz-Mellado), [email protected] (V.P. L´ opez-Cabeza), [email protected] (J. Roa-Fern´ andez), [email protected] (C. Gal´ an-Marín). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Sustainable Cities and Society journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scs https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2022.104325 Received 28 July 2022; Received in revised form 25 November 2022; Accepted 25 November 2022 Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 2 Nicholls & Corfee-Morlot, 2013), with some of these analysing the impact of extreme temperatures on the well-being and health of citizens (Estrada et al., 2017; Lee, Bell & Gasparrini, 2018, 2018; Lim, Hong & Kim, 2012). Several of these papers also stress how, in order to guarantee effectiveness on an urban scale, both current and projected impacts over different time horizons must be identified and assessed, establishing appropriate intervention measures at each stage to assess the progress of adaptation (Chatzipoulka, Steemers & Nikolopoulou, 2020; Chen, K´ antor & Nikolopoulou, 2022). 1.1. Geographic information systems (GIS) Although climate classifications focusing on the concentration of overheating in urban areas can be used to establish climate contingency plans (Local & Zones, 2012), the high number of factors involved complicates weather forecasting and climate modelling (Lizana et al., 2022). However, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based territorial and urban analysis models have evolved and now incorporate new attribute tables for vector data, such as visibility and solar radiation analysis, while allowing the creation of increasingly complex data fields and result calculation. These new systems can be used as prevention tools for future climate scenarios, as the data feedback allowed can be helpful in improving the climate resilience of cities (Gal´ an-Marín et al., 2021). GIS approaches are particularly suitable for urban studies, as they can handle different scales and information layers depending on the data considered and can also be linked to other databases. GIS tools can accurately determine multiple parameters of the urban morphology, such as porosity, enabling correlations and statistical studies that can be used in their design or optimization (Rojas-Fern´ andez, Gal´ an-Marín, Roa-Fern´ andez & Rivera-G´ omez, 2017). 1.2. Courtyard microclimate As a general rule, the vernacular architecture of a region offers housing archetypes that have been tested over centuries and adapted to the specific climatic, spatial and social conditions of the site (Karahan & Davardoust, 2020). Although these typologies do not usually fit the industrial processes of modern construction, the insights that can be gained from the analysis of vernacular architecture offer the possibility of finding alternatives beyond the default solution, enclosed urban blocks usually relegate the courtyard to marginal use or ignore it altogether (Anna-Maria, 2009; Philokyprou, Michael, Malaktou & Savvides, 2017). Furthermore, considering the extensive built heritage, still in use, in many cities in the Mediterranean context, like Cordova, Venezia, Nice, Tetouan, etc. it seems logical to analyse their passive climate performance and their ability to generate thermal comfort in order to maximize their potential for adaptation and improvement. Therefore, the cooling potential of vernacular courtyards as archetypes of functional porosity, referred to as thermal tempering capacity, is a value to be considered in cities with a Mediterranean climate. The tempering potential of courtyards, studied previously (Rivera-G´ omez, Diz-Mellado, Gal´ an-Marín & L´ opez-Cabeza, 2019; Zamani, Heidari & Hanachi, 2018), is due to the thermodynamic effects occurring in these courtyards. These effects are the result of the air temperature differences in surfaces brought about by the self-shading geometry, material properties or other elements inside the courtyard. Stratification and convection effects usually result in a temperature difference between the outdoor and the inside of the courtyard at the hottest time of day. The tempering potential of the courtyards is dependant on the shade generated by the built and unbuilt spaces of the urban fabric. From a bioclimatic perspective, the Mediterranean courtyard is considered to combine two major effects. While on the one hand, as a semi-outdoor living space, the Mediterranean courtyard possesses the quality to thermally buffer the outdoor temperatures generating environments with better thermal comfort features (L´ opez-Cabeza, Diz-Mellado, Rivera-G´ omez, Gal´ an-- Marín & Samuelson, 2022), on the other, it can also provide better ventilation to the building interior as there is sufficient space for air exchange between indoor and outdoor temperatures. Thus, the effectiveness of the courtyard in providing ventilation is dependant on the use of both stack and wind forces to generate airflows through the rooms adjacent to the building. During summer, the stack force can be inactive while the walls act like a chimney, venting warm air out through roof openings. Previous research has addressed these topics in different climates (Nasrollahi, Hatami, Khastar & Taleghani, 2017; Taleghani, Tenpierik, van den Dobbelsteen & Sailor, 2014). The findings of these studies show that the effectiveness of courtyards depends on their constructive and spatial characteristics, such as geometry (Muhaisen, 2006), Aspect Ratio (AR) (Qaid & Ossen, 2015; Rodríguez-Algeciras, Tablada, Chaos-Yeras, De la Paz & Matzarakis, 2018), defined as the ratio of height (H) to width (W) of the courtyards. AR =H/W.(1) orientation (Oktay, 2002), presence of vegetation or water (Lai, Lian & Liu, 2020), degree of exposure to wind (Safarzadeh & Bahadori, 2005), constructive finishes (albedo) (Taleghani, 2018), shading elements (Cindel, Yung, Norhayati & Norafida, 2018), etc. However, it is the usual outdoor temperature range of a local climatic zone (Callejas, Durante, Diz-Mellado & Gal´ an-Marín, 2020) which determines when a courtyard can temper a specific environment to varying degrees (Rivera-G´ omez et al., 2019). In addition, the air temperature inside the courtyard may allow the users to be in comfort conditions most of the day (Diz-Mellado, Gal´ an-Marín & Rivera-G´ omez, 2020), while also acting as an energy-saving device, since courtyards are adjacent to several indoor rooms of the building (Abdulkareem, 2016; Sadafi, Salleh, Haw & Jaafar, 2011; S´ anchez de la Flor, Ruiz-Pardo, Diz-Mellado, Rivera-G´ omez & Gal´ an-Marín, 2021). These passive strategies can also be implemented in existing courtyards, modifying their indoor microclimate in a controlled way. Several examples from the literature have studied the effects of variations of albedo (Lopez-Cabeza, Alzate-Gaviria, Diz-Mellado, Rivera-Gomez & Galan-Marin, 2022), vegetation (Diz-Mellado, L´ opez-Cabeza, Rivera-G´ omez, Roa-Fern´ andez & Gal´ an-Marín, 2020), the use of nebulizers (Ulpiani, Di Giuseppe, Di Perna, D’Orazio & Zinzi, 2019; Ulpiani, di Perna & Zinzi, 2019) and water sheets (Hweij, Al, Ghali & Ghaddar, 2017; Pearlmutter & Berliner, 2017), and the control of incident solar radiation through the use of shading elements (Shashua-Bar, Pearlmutter & Erell, 2009), many of them analysed jointly or individually (Soflaei, Shokouhian, Abraveshdar & Alipour, 2017). However, due to the set of possible constructive conditions that can affect the microclimate of the courtyard and its interaction with the local climate and the nearby urban context, the task of establishing which of these passive strategies is most important overall is a complex one (Rivera-G´ omez et al., 2019). Nomenclature UHI Urban Heat Island TG Thermal Gap DTR Diurnal Thermal Range CS Case Study CDD Cooling Degree Days RH Relative Humidity MRT Mean Radiant Temperature PET Physiologically Equivalent Temperature AR Aspect Ratio GIS Geographical Information System UBP Urban Block Porosity UBPC Urban Block Porosity Cell E. Diz-Mellado et al. Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 3 1.3. Shading strategy As shade management is often considered the most economical and easy-to-implement solution, this research aims to assess its effectiveness as a strategy for the microclimatic modification of courtyards (Elgheznawy & Eltarabily, 2021). The shading strategy is of particular interest as it allows the management of the flow of fresh air during the night and the regulation of the level of incident solar radiation during the day. Shade, or its absence, in courtyards has previously been studied from different points of view (Ghaffarianhoseini, Berardi & Ghaffarianhoseini, 2015; Lee, Oertel & Mayer, 2022). Furthermore, the effectiveness of shading in outdoor environments such as urban canyons has been demonstrated on an experimental basis (Ma, Fukuda, Zhou, Gao & Wang, 2019). On the one hand, the geometry of the courtyard and the volume of the building generate shade on the internal facades of the courtyard (Toe & Kubota, 2015). Shading studies in courtyards with different geometries show the influence of AR on courtyard temperature (Akbari, Cherati, Monazam & Noguchi, 2021; Muhaisen & Gadi, 2006), according to the climatic location (Muhaisen, 2006). Depending on the courtyard facade height the shade cast on the facades is more influential than other variables such as the thermal mass of the walls (Al-Hafith, Satish, Bradbury & De Wilde, 2017; Yang, Li & Yang, 2012). Furthermore, permanent or removable shading devices have been included in the courtyard to ensure radiation flux control (Cant´ on, Ganem, Barea & Llano, 2014). These studies have evaluated the influence of different shaded areas inside the courtyard (Berkovic, Yezioro & Bitan, 2012), the presence of trees and/or other large vegetation species (Shashua-Bar et al., 2009) and the microclimatic performance modelling of virtual shading elements (Muhaisen & Gadi, 2005). A review of the state-of-the-art shading strategies in microclimate has been made in Table 1. 1.4. Thermal comfort The relationship between urban design parameters and outdoor thermal comfort has been widely researched (Yang, Olofsson, Nair & Kabanshi, 2017; Zhao, Lian & Lai, 2021). Several of these studies have examined the influence of city design through the analysis of urban spaces such as parks (Chan & Chau, 2021) and squares (Marçal, RM, Santos & dos, 2019), applying different comfort indices to estimate pedestrian thermal comfort. The selection of the comfort index to be used in this research is based on the Metamatrix Thermal Comfort (Migliari, Babut, De Gaulmyn, Chesne & Baverel, 2022). Part IV identifies historical and geographical information and performance indices related to climatic factors, physical factors and meteorological conditions, which are the criteria considered most relevant. Among them, PMV*, Out_SET*, PET, UTCI, PT** and mPET stand out as the most comprehensive indices. The measurement scales for the outdoor comfort index Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) (Callejas et al., 2020) developed by Matzarakis and Mayer (1997), vary according to the specific climatic zone considered (Cohen, Potchter & Matzarakis, 2013; Matzarakis, Mayer & Iziomon, 1999). Previous research has incorporated coupling models using different comfort indices depending on the experimental values modified, such as humidity, pavement porosity, etc. (Liu, Ma, Zhang & Luo, 2022; Ma, Zhang, Jia, Hou & Wang, 2021). While most of these works analyse outdoor environments such as parks, squares, urban canyons and even large-scale urban areas (Santamouris, Ding & Fiorito, 2017), the analysis of comfort in transitional spaces is more limited (Jamei, Rajagopalan, Seyedmahmoudian & Jamei, 2016). In spite of this, recent years have seen an increase in the number of publications studying microclimatic conditions and the resulting thermal comfort conditions in courtyards. Some of these are based on numerical simulations (L´ opez-Cabeza, Gal´ an-Marín, Rivera-G´ omez & Roa-Fern´ andez, 2018; Taleghani, Kleerekoper, Tenpierik & van den Dobbelsteen, 2015), and others on field monitoring campaigns (Gal´ an-Marín, L´ opez-Cabeza, Rivera-G´ omez & Rojas-Fern´ andez, 2018; Lopez-Cabeza, Gal´ an-Marín & Rivera-G´ omezs, 2020) or on combinations of both approaches (Diz-Mellado et al., 2021; L´ opez-Cabeza et al., 2022). 1.5. Research aims and structure As a starting hypothesis, this research combines different instrumental and analytical methods for the global evaluation of both energy efficiency and thermal resilience for increasing comfort conditions within the historic centre of many of cities in the Mediterranean region. This benchmarking, based on previous studies on courtyards (Gal´ an-- Marín et al., 2021, Rivera-G´ omez et al., 2019), would enable the assessment of the potential of urban vernacular districts in the event of global warming thermal challenges as well as the optimization of their constructive features through pragmatic solutions considering cost-efficiency ratio. This task will be performed taking advantage of the availability of state-of-the-art GIS-based tools, as well as the statistical analysis of results from field monitoring campaigns. For this purpose, the historic quarters of the city of Cordova in southern Spain have been selected as a case study with an overall size, percentage, and geometric attributes of UBP similar to those of other cities like Dumyat (Egypt), Setif (Algeria), Sousse (Tunisia) or Tetouan (Morocco), in the same geographical and climatic context (Ten The population of Mediterranean cities /MC3 2022). The novelty of this study lies in the global methodology proposed, which combines two urban scales in three methodological stages. At an Table 1 A review of state-of-the-art shading strategies in microclimates. Authors/Year Courtyards shading UBPC Ref. Cooling Approach Thermal Gap (TG) Thermal Comfort A.S. Muhasisen et al. (2005) Model of a circular courtyard in Rome (Italy) Muhaisen and Gadi (2005) • A.S. Muhasisen et al. (2006) Model of a polygonal courtyard in Rome (Italy) Muhaisen and Gadi (2006) • L. Shashua-Bar et al. (2009) Courtyard in Negev Highland (Israel) Shashua-Bar et al. (2009) • S. Berkovic et al. (2012) Single courtyards in Beer-Sheba (Israel) Berkovic et al. (2012) • M.A. Cant´ on et al. (2014) School courtyards in Mendoza (Argentina) Cant´ on et al. (2014) • • D.H.C. Toe et al. (2015) Traditional Malay houses in Pontian (Malaysia) Toe and Kubota (2015) • • A. Ghaffarianhoseini et al. (2015) Samples of courtyards in different building types in Malaysia Ghaffarianhoseini et al. (2015) • • L. Huang et al. (2016) Traditional dwelling buildings in Lhasa (China) Huang, Hamza, Lan and Zahi (2016) • • F. Soflaei et al. (2017) Traditional houses (Iran) Soflaei et al. (2017) • • O. Al-Hafith et al. (2017) Two neighbourhoods in Mosul, Iraq Ghaffarianhoseini et al. (2015) • Z. Zamani et al. (2018) Literature review Zamani et al. (2018) • • S. Cindel et al. (2018) Open places and models Cindel et al. (2018) • X. Ma et al. (2019) Dao He Old Block in Taizhou (China) Ma et al. (2019) • D. Elgheznawy et al. (2021) School courtyard in Port Said (Egypt) Elgheznawy and Eltarabily (2021) • • H. Akbari et al. (2021) Courtyard houses in central Iran Akbari et al. (2021) • H. Lee et al. (2022) University building in Freiburg (Germany) Lee et al. (2022) • E. Diz-Mellado et al. Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 4 initial stage, the identification of different pattern-geometries after a morphological study at an urban scale is performed by means of a porosity study using GIS tools (Section 3.1). In the second stage of this study these urban courtyard geometries acting as Urban Block Porosity Cells (UBPCs) are used to carry out the field monitoring campaign analysing these cells-types at building scale. Thus, a comparison is carried out of the different UBPCs before and after the implementation of shading strategies (Sections 3.2-4.2). And, finally, these results are applied to the whole urban fabric following a numerical extrapolation to quantify the energy-savings and the improvement of comfort parameters in the entire area within the urban perimeter of the case study (Section 4.3). While the results obtained from this study are limited to certain geometric characteristics of buildings with courtyards and their residential use, the numbers obtained must be considered as a general reference of the potential of the strategy. Nevertheless, taking these limitations into account, the methodology can be adapted for the analysis of any other city and strategy, providing the UBPC selection and reference data are accurate. The Fig. 1 below offers a visual summary of the methodology followed in this research. 2. Materials and methods This section provides an in-depth analysis of the methodology described above. Following an initial explanation of the GIS tools used, a description is provided for the weather and the selected UBPC. Finally, the methodologies for comfort analysis and demand calculation are explained. 2.1. GIS urban analysis Previous studies have demonstrated the major presence of courtyards in the vernacular architecture of the city centres of the Mediterranean climate (Diz-Mellado, Gal´ an-Marín, Rivera-G´ omez & VP, 2020). This research follows a similar methodology using QGIS 3.22.3 release (Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) 2022) an open-source GIS tool to focus on the city of Cordova as case study. Cordova the city with the highest number of courtyards in Spain (Fiesta of the Patios In, 2022) (Table 2), is well-known for its courtyard celebrations, which are included in the UNESCO Intangible Heritage Lists because of their role in the city heritage (Intangible Heritage 2022). For this reason, the methodology selected for this study focuses on the historic city centre, which is where traditional architecture with courtyards is found. Data for the analysis were obtained from the “Direcci´ on General del Catastro” (Government S. 2022) of the Spanish Ministry of Finance and Civil Service where the shapefile vector files from Spanish cities can be found. These files follow INSPIRE (Infrastructure for spatial information in Europe European Directive) (Euroepan Parliament 2022). The entity overlay method is used to identify the polygons in the files that meet the criteria (courtyards). Only inner courtyards (completely surrounded by buildings) are considered, along with information relating to their surface area and the building height. 2.2. Weather description Cordova (Spain, 37 ◦53 ’ 30 " N 4 ◦46 ’ 22′′ W, elevation 106 m.a.s.l) has been selected as a suitable case study for its climate. This city has abundant heat waves in summer, and is one of the most affected in this regard (Euroepan Parliament 2022). As it is located within the B4 climatic zone according to the Spanish regulations (CTE) (Ministerio de Fomento (Gobierno de Espa˜ na) 2017), winters are mild (B) while extremely high temperatures are observed in summers (4). According to the K¨ oppen climate classification, Cordova is located in the Csa zone (Kottek et al., 2006). This area has characteristically hot and dry summers with average maximum temperatures above 36 ◦C and mild winters with average temperatures of 11 ◦C. In addition, the absolute maximum and minimum temperatures of this city, reflected in Table 2, have been obtained from the historical climatological database of the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) (Ministerio de Fomento (Gobierno de Espa˜ na) 2017). As these air temperature data have been measured in a peripheral environment of the city, they do not take into account the effect known as urban heat island (UHI). Previous research shows that UHI accentuates temperatures in urban settings such as those where the UBPCs are located (Diz-Mellado et al., 2021). 2.3. Field measurement methodology The follow-up monitoring campaigns for all three case studies (CS_UBPC), described in Section 3.1.4 below, lasted for a minimum period of two weeks during the summer season, when outdoor temperatures are their highest, and followed the previously established protocols (Diz-Mellado et al., 2021). The first campaign, which took place from 11 July to 31 July 2019, studied the thermodynamic performance of the courtyard without solar protection elements. The second campaign ran from 1 August to 2 October 2019 and studied the tempering potential of the courtyard with shade elements (awnings). In order to avoid overheating of the courtyards at night and evacuate the accumulated heat during the day, a black high-density polyethylene canvas awning with breathable texture (UV filter 75% and around 70 g/m 2 density) was used to allow the wind flow to exit the courtyard (Diz-Mellado et al., 2021). The shading elements were placed covering Fig. 1. Methodology diagram. E. Diz-Mellado et al. Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 5 the entire surface of the case studies, but leaving a considerable gap between these and the facades to allow for convection flows (Fig. 2). For monitoring, a portable weather station type PCE-FWS (Table 3) was located 3.00 m above the roof of the building, in an area with direct exposure to the outdoor environment in order to find conditions unaffected by urban microclimate fluctuations. Base on previous works (Rivera-G´ omez et al., 2019) where are used different weather stations for each case study, the microclimatic differences in the city centre of Cordova are imperceptible. This is due to the homogeneity of the historic centre in terms of heights, building typologies, materials and vegetation distribution. Furthermore, none of the case studies are further than 900 m from the weather station. The presence of the water is considered negligible due to the reduced flow during the warm season and its elevation, which is much lower than the city (−23.00 m). The river, with an average annual flow of 60 m 3 /s has a flow rate of 8–10 m 3 /s during summer. This greatly reduces its evaporative capacity and its influence on the relative humidity of the city. In addition, wind patterns (from Southwest to Northeast), make the area of the city centre unaffected by the river humidity. Inside the courtyards, air temperature and relative humidity (RH) data loggers TESTO 174 T and TESTO 174 H (Table 3) were placed at different heights (+1.5 and +3.0 m) to record the thermal stratification on the facade receiving the least direct radiation in order to avoid overheating. The data loggers were protected from direct solar radiation and other climatic factors such as rain, with shading protection shields using ventilated material. The mean radiant temperature (MRT) required for the thermal comfort analysis was monitored using QUESTemp 34/36. This measurement was taken in the shade, at a distance of 1 m from the centre point of north-facing facade 1.1 m above ground level (agl), which referred to the human-biometeorological reference height (Lee et al., 2022). The outdoor temperature data monitored have been compared in previous research (Diz-Mellado et al., 2021) with meteorological data obtained from the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) meteorological station located at Cordova airport. A difference of 6.5 ◦C was observed between the monitored data and those provided by AEMET. This is due to the peripheral location of the airport, and the fact that the AEMET data do not take into account the heat island effect (UHI) of the city (Fig. 3). The final data of the monitoring campaigns were obtained following a screening process of the recorded data. This made it possible to exclude any anomalies relating to the overheating of some data loggers, while the effect of wind has not been included in the control results, as it is considered negligible, with summer values below 0,2 m/s. 2.4. Comfort analysis with PET Following the experimental measurements inside the courtyards, this research goes on to analyse the comfort of these semi-outdoor spaces. Climatic conditions, location, physical factors, and degree of solar exposure are fundamental factors for selecting the correct index for the evaluation of thermal comfort (Migliari et al., 2022). Some research shows that PET index, based on psychological parameters of individuals, can be adapted to different thermal ranges, as people have been able to adapt to different climatic zones of the planet. This index, which is more adaptive to different climatic zones (Yang et al., 2017; Zhao et al., 2021), on a more sectorized scale, has been chosen for this work. This research uses the scale proposed by Cohen et al. (2013) for Tel Aviv, given the similarity with the climatic conditions in Cordova (Fig. 4). There are different methods for the calculation of the PET index. This Table 2 Historical maximum and minimum temperatures for the city of Cordova. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max 22,9 27,8 33 34 41,2 45 46,9 46,2 45,4 36 29,7 23,8 Min −8,2 −5 −4,2 0,2 2,4 7 11 11 6 1 −3,6 −7,8 Fig. 2. Placement of shading elements and field monitoring campaign data loggers (TESTO 174 T) . Table 3 Summary of technical data of the measurement instruments. Sensor Variable Resolution Accuracy Range Data logger TESTO 174 (T/h) RH 2% ±0.1% 0–100% Dry bulb Temp. 0.1 ◦C ±0.5 ◦C −20 to +70 ◦C QUESTemp 34/36 MRT 0.1 ◦C ±0.5 ◦C 0 to +120 ◦C PCE Instruments PCEFWS 20 RH 1% ±5% 12–99% Dry bulb Temp. 0.1 ◦C ±1 ◦C −40 to +65 ◦C Wind – ±1 m/s 0–180 km/h E. Diz-Mellado et al. Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 6 study has used the Rayman software (Indices, 2018), which can calculate radiation fluxes as a function of various parameters in different environments. Therefore, at least the values of wind speed, air temperature, RH, and MRT must be measured in the monitoring campaigns. In addition, the software adapts the values of the users of the space, that is, weight, height, gender and age, as well as clothing and type of metabolic activity. In addition, location and nearby buildings are used to identify the surrounding conditions. This study used the values proposed by H¨ oppe (2002), introduced by default in the program, but modifying user level of clothing. The users were 35-year-old men, 1.75 m tall and weighing 75 kg, with a clothing thermal resistance of 0.5 clo and a metabolic activity of 80 W. The clothing thermal resistance selected, 0.5 clo, is the average value set out in EN 16,798 (Technical Committee CTN 100. UNE-EN 16798-1 2020) for summer. The wind level used for the PET calculation was that measured on the roof of the building taking into account the logarithmic scale reduction for a densely built environment (Ten The population of Mediterranean cities /MC3 2022). 2.5. Energy-savings assessment The effect of the installation of a shading device in the courtyard is analysed in terms of thermal comfort of users in the courtyard, as well as building energy demand. The metric used for the analysis of the reduction in potential energy demand due to the installation of a shading device is that of cooling degree days (CDD). According to ISO 15,927–6:2007 (UNE-EN ISO 15927-6:2009 2022), cooling degree days (CDD) for cooling conditions constitute an acceptable index for the comparison of climatic severity in relation to the energy consumption of buildings. CDD is the difference between the outdoor temperature and a base temperature, considering the temperature below which there is no need for a building to use cooling. This parameter can be calculated in a number of ways. In this case, the base temperature considered was 12 ◦C (the normalized base temperature recommended in UNE-EN ISO 15, 927–6:2007 (UNE-EN ISO 15927-6:2009 2022)) and the calculation was performed using hourly data for the outdoor temperature. A comparison of this value was performed for the building outdoor temperature, the courtyard temperature, and the shaded courtyard temperature. Furthermore, based on the GIS information obtained, the potential for energy demand for cooling reduction of the strategy has been studied at city scale for the area selected considering plots with a courtyard, a surface area similar to the UBPC, and the building use (single-family housing and multifamily dwellings). This calculation follows the Spanish reference values of energy demand published by IDAE for existing buildings (Idae 2011). 3. Results In this study, the architectural environments analysed, courtyards, are highly confined spaces with a particular microclimate. The tempering performance of this kind of elements in buildings is very different from that of the full open spaces such as parks or rivers, so the specific local cooling potential of courtyards will be evaluated. The results are analysed according to the methodology described. The aim is to assess the tempering potential of the courtyards and subsequently analyse the effect of a shading element on the courtyard’s microclimate, extending the analysis to the urban scale and energy demand of the city. The results of the urban analysis are shown initially before presenting the results of the shaded and unshaded monitoring campaign. Finally, the results of the comfort analysis and the implications of urban energy demand are included. 3.1. Urban analysis 3.1.1. Delimitation of the study area The area studied is limited to the Historic Area of Cultural Interest of Fig. 3. Thermal difference between published (AEMET) and measured values. Fig. 4. Comparison between Western Middle Europe PET and adapted PET for Tel Aviv (Cohen et al., 2013). E. Diz-Mellado et al. Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 7 Cordova which includes the Mosque and its surroundings, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in October 1994 (UNESCO), and the historic districts of La Villa and La Axerquía (Historic Centre of Cordoba 2022). The Historic Area of Cordova aims to preserve a large part of the city’s heritage values, located outside the boundaries. Thus, the limits defined generally coincide with the Medina wall and the Axerquia from the Muslim period. 3.1.2. Delimitation of the study ranges Subsequently, vector processes and GIS-based geoprocessing were used to locate all the courtyards within the study area, 8428 courtyards in total. Previous studies show that this density of courtyards per plot in the city of Cordova makes it one of the historic centres with the highest porosity index in Spain Rojas-Fern´ andez et al. (2017). This group of courtyards is distributed according to surface area, seen in Fig. 5. From this distribution, the three most significant ranges were identified as UBPC1–3, the data for which are given in Tables 4 and 5. UBPC2 includes courtyards measuring 10 to 20 m 2 with 4088 units, representing 25% of the total area of courtyards. The vast majority of courtyards in single-family dwellings and small neighbourhood communities are within this range. From this maximum, the curve goes downwards, although two small upturns of interest can be highlighted. One is UBPC1, 428 units of around 55–80 m 2 (15% of total area). The second, UBPC3, has a lower number of units but is also significant, with 251 units of around 140–300 m 2 (26% of the total area). Although these two ranges are unremarkable in terms of net quantity, they stand out in terms of percentage area, which is explained by the fact that as courtyards become larger and larger, their use within the plots, mostly for housing, is limited in potential due to their functionality. The total sum of the three study ranges accounts for 67% of the total area and 57% of the total units of courtyards. Table 5 reflects the impact on the total number of plots with courtyards in the study ranges (69% of the total plot area). 3.1.3. UBPC selection This study is a methodological proposal to analyse the potential benefits of a shading strategy in courtyards. The selected courtyards represent the mode i.e. the geometries that appears more often in the set of cases of the area analysed. The historic centre is very homogeneous in terms of building heights and building characteristics and the potential influence of the river is negligible. The graphic influence on the study area of the plots with courtyards selected and of the three study ranges can be seen on the plans in Fig. 6. Each of the three case studies selected, CS_UBPC1, 2, and 3, shown in Fig. 7, belongs to one of the three ranges mentioned above. 3.1.4. CS_UBPC features Once the results are obtained from the GIS analysis, three representative CS_UBPC of buildings with courtyard are selected for monitoring (Fig. 7). These buildings are for residential use and were uninhabited at the time of the experiments. In order to reduce the number of research variables, the courtyards selected were located close together, and had the same orientation and similar surface material (albedo), which is also the most common in the area. The main objective is to study the tempering potential effect of the courtyard based on its geometric characteristics, and the subsequent influence of a shading element. Previous research shows that the tempering potential of the courtyard decreases by reducing the aspect ratio (AR). In this case, the aim is to analyse the effect of the shading element. As research indicates that one of the most repeated AR intervals in historic centres is 0–2 (Rojas-Fern´ andez et al., 2017), the AR for the courtyards selected was Fig. 5. Distribution by surface area of the courtyards in the study area and the three selected ranges. Table 4 Summary of the number of courtyard of each type of UBPC in the selected area. Courtyards (Units) % of total Area (m 2 ) % of total area UBPC1 428 5% 28,267 15% UBPC2 4088 49% 46,435 25% UBPC3 251 3% 48,308 26% UBPC1+UBPC2+UBPC3 4767 57% 123,011 67% Study area 8428 100% 183,409 100% Table 5 Summary of the number of plots with courtyard selected in the studied area. Plots (Units) Surface (m 2 ) Selected plots 2875 1147,642 Selected area 4829 1662,539 Percentage 59.5% 69.0% E. Diz-Mellado et al. Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 8 below 2. CS_UBPC1. This building corresponds to the Andalusian housepalace typology. Located in a high-density residential area, this house has a square floor plan, with spacious and bright rooms around a central courtyard. The dimensions of the courtyard are 7.8 ×8.4 m 2 , with a height of 6.8 m. The courtyard, in white lime wash, also features several medium-sized windows (Fig. 8). CS_UBPC2. The second case study is a renovated courtyard-house or Fig. 6. Representation of the three study ranges and comparison with the rest of the non-selected courtyards. The zoom shown on the left side is the one marked by the rectangle on the map on the right. Fig. 7. Location of the three CS_UBPC in the courtyard grid of the study area. E. Diz-Mellado et al. Sustainable Cities and Society 89 (2023) 104325 9 “casa patio”, with a reduced exterior facade and rooms organized around the central courtyard, providing ventilation and lighting. The courtyard dimensions are 4.3 ×4.0 m 2 with a height of 6.3 m. Again, the surface material is white lime wash, with the presence of several windows (Fig. 9). CS_UBPC3. This house is organized around a central courtyard, which is the main source of ventilation and lighting of the house, along with the main facade. The courtyard is rectangular with some irregular elements (Fig. 10). The main geometric and climate characteristics of the CS_UBPC analysed in this research are shown in Table 6. Furthermore, Fig. 11 provides a comparison of their proportions using a schematic volumetry of their geometry. AR I and II values are defined, each corresponding to one direction of the vertical section, given that the courtyard is not square. 3.2. Monitoring results For the sake of clarity in terms of results, the information contained in the graphs of this section is detailed to facilitate this analysis. Each graph is made up of two parts (line graphs and bar chart): - Line graphs: Corresponding to the thermal evolution over 24-hour daily cycles on several consecutive days selected as representative of the thermodynamic performance of the courtyard. In this part of the graph, the outdoor temperatures monitored on the roof are shown in dark red while other colours are used to denote the air temperature recorded by data loggers at different levels of the courtyard. - Bar chart: In the lower part of the graphs, the average thermal gap (TG) for every four-hour block of each of these consecutive 24-hour daily cycles is represented as a bar chart. The thermal gap is the temperature difference in Celsius degrees between the average of the temperatures of the sensors located in the courtyard and those monitored on the deck (Eq. (2)). TG can be positive or negative depending on the temperature of the courtyard according to the outside temperature. TG =OutdoorTemperature − − CourtyardTemperature,(2) 3.2.1. Unshaded monitoring campaigns The first monitoring campaign was performed without a shading element installed from 11 to 31 July 2019; the three most representative days are shown here. The thermal range for the outdoor temperatures of the city of Cordova displayed a maximum temperature of 40–41 ◦C and a minimum temperature of 21–22 ◦C. Taking into account the concept of Diurnal Thermal Range (DTR) (Eq. (3)) which considers previous investigations to determine the tempering potential of the courtyard in a 24-hour daily cycle, the outdoor DTR was 19 ◦C. Figure 12 shows the results of the campaign. DTR =Tmax − − Tmin,(3) The results shown relate to the outdoor temperature taken by the weather station located outside, compared to two sensors located at heights of 1.5 and 3.0 metres, respectively. The TG between the outdoor and the courtyard stood at 7 ◦C in CS_UBPC1. This is the courtyard with the mid-range AR (AR =0.81–0.87). In CS_UBPC2, with the highest AR (AR =1.47–1.58), the TG between the courtyard and the outside reached 11.9 ◦C, resulting in a very high tempering potential. Finally, CS_UBPC3, with the lowest AR (AR =0.27–0.75), displayed the smallest TG of all, only 2 ◦C with the outside. As the courtyard has very little protection to the exterior and low facades, the tempering potential is lower. 3.2.2. Shaded monitoring campaigns The second monitoring campaign took place in August 2019, with a shading element installed in the courtyards. As with the previous campaigns, the three most representative days are shown. In this case, the outdoor thermal range displayed a maximum temperature of 37–38 ◦C and a minimum of 17–18 ◦C, and therefore an outdoor DTR of 20 ◦C. Figure 13 shows the results of the shaded campaign. Previous research shows that as the outside temperature increases so does the tempering potential of the courtyard. According to this, the effect of the shade element could be increased considering the outside temperatures of the first monitoring campaign. As in the previous case the thermal gap results of the shading campaign are represented in Fig. 10. In all three CS_UBPC, the influence of the shading element improved the thermal conditions of the courtyard. In CS_UBPC1, TG was 12.6 ◦C. In CS_UBPC2, the best result in the unshaded campaign, TG increased to 13.4 ◦C. CS_UBPC3, with the worst result in the first campaign, reached a TG of 11.3 ◦C with the shade installed. 3.3. Thermal comfort analysis with PET index. Shaded and unshaded courtyards The PET index has been calculated for the three CS_UBPC, in shaded and unshaded campaigns, to determine the influence of the shading element in terms of thermal comfort. The values measured during both monitoring campaigns have been used for the PET calculation. Cohen et al. define neutral thermal sensation as the range 19–26 ◦C. The results obtained using Rayman software are shown in Fig. 14. The influence of AR on the CS_UBPC2 allowed a better thermal behaviour of the courtyard depending on the PET index. As can be seen in Fig. 14, the shading element improved the thermal comfort conditions significantly. The influence of the shading element was higher in the courtyards with the lower ARs, which displayed the worst result without shading elements. This is because they are more exposed to direct solar radiation, which is countered by the shading element. 3.4. Energy demand The installation of a shading device has implications for the thermal comfort of users in the courtyard, but also predictably affects the energy demand of the building. CDDs have been calculated for the different outdoor microclimates: the outdoor temperature and the courtyard temperature, both with and without the shading device. Table 7 shows Fig. 8. Planimetry (plan and section) of CS_UBPC1. Fig. 9. 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