Urban-Scale Building Air Change Rate Estimation Using Corrected Wind Speeds and Three-Zone Building Modeling

Published

October 31, 2025

Author(s)

Yasemin Usta, William Dols, Guglielmina Mutani

Abstract

This study presents a scalable, time-efficient methodology for estimating building-specific air change rates by incorporating local urban morphology and wind conditions. The presented methodology is used to develop a QGIS-based plugin (Quantum Geographic Information System) to automate the integration of aerodynamic parameters derived from the Urban Multi-scale Environmental Predictor, with a simplified three-zone lumped-parameter model and multizone airflow simulations using CONTAM. The plugin calculates façade-specific wind-speed modifiers across 30° directional intervals. These modifiers are then used in a three-zone CONTAM model to calculate hourly building air change rates. The results were incorporated into an hourly energy consumption model for space heating and validated against measured energy-use from residential buildings in Turin, Italy. Results show that replacing constant air change rates with site-specific estimates reduced the Mean Absolute Percentage Error by 11 % to 20 %. In particular, the error was reduced from 49% ± 9% to 32% ± 6.5% in January, corresponding to relative error reductions of approximately 34%. The proposed method demonstrates improved accuracy in simulating building energy consumption considering the influence of an accurate shape of the urban environment on air change rates; moreover, it offers an automated framework for urban-scale assessments of ventilation, infiltration, and energy performance.

Citation

International Journal of Heat and Technology

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

air change rate, building infiltration, urban roughness, UMEP, multizone airflow, energy modeling, QGIS plugin

Citation

Usta, Y. , Dols, W. and Mutani, G. (2025), Urban-Scale Building Air Change Rate Estimation Using Corrected Wind Speeds and Three-Zone Building Modeling, International Journal of Heat and Technology (Accessed February 19, 2026)