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Enhancing sustainable urban environments in China: Daytime radiative cooling for building energy efficiency and heat island mitigation

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Ze
  • Chen, Jianheng
  • Wang, Chuyao
  • Wang, Wenqi
  • Fu, Yang
  • Chen, Xu
  • Zhang, Rui
  • Pan, Aiqiang
  • Ho, Tsz Chung
  • Lin, Kaixin
  • Liang, Lin
  • Tso, Chi Yan

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in China has led to a significant increase in building energy consumption, highlighting the need for effective energy-saving strategies to enhance urban sustainability. Daytime radiative cooling (RC) offers a passive cooling solution that can reduce energy consumption without electricity usage. However, practical guidance on the applicability of RC coatings across diverse urban environments and climatic conditions remains limited. In this study, a RC model was integrated into the Urban Canopy Model (UCM) and validated through extensive large-scale field experiments. By simulating urban canyons in 338 cities across China, this work evaluated the potential of RC coatings applied to urban skins (walls and pavements) to enhance building energy efficiency. The analysis reveals that implementing RC coatings can significantly lower surface temperatures by up to 35 °C in Hong Kong and up to 40 °C in certain northwestern cities. This substantial temperature reduction leads to decreased building cooling loads, offering notable energy savings across different climatic zones. Based on these findings, strategic implementations of RC pavements and walls are proposed, particularly in densely populated high-rise areas within the temperate and hot-summer/warm-winter regions of China's climate zones. This research provides actionable strategies for reducing energy consumption in the built environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Ze & Chen, Jianheng & Wang, Chuyao & Wang, Wenqi & Fu, Yang & Chen, Xu & Zhang, Rui & Pan, Aiqiang & Ho, Tsz Chung & Lin, Kaixin & Liang, Lin & Tso, Chi Yan, 2025. "Enhancing sustainable urban environments in China: Daytime radiative cooling for building energy efficiency and heat island mitigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 393(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:393:y:2025:i:c:s0306261925008682
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126138
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