Energy and Buildings, 15 - 16 (1990/91) 399 - 405 399

The Issues of Urban and Building Climatology for Building Science

JANA PULPITLOVAand PETER MATIA~OVSK~r

Institute of Construction and Architecture, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 842 20 Bratislava
(Czechoslovakia)

HIROSHI NAKAMURA
Kyushu University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Architecture, 6.10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi, Fukuoka 812 (Japan)
STANISLAV DARULA
Building Research Institute, Pestovatel'skd Street, 823 66 Bratislava (Czechoslovakia)

ABSTRACT determination of the solar radiation and day-

The authors describe the concept of mod-
elling the dynamics of daylight climate (or
other climatological element)for the purposes of
building design.
For this modelling two possibilities of typifi-
cation of the weather conditions are used. The
first is the classification of the oceanity of the
climate, the second possibility is the typification
of the weather types.
The application is presented in the case of
the sunshine duration, air temperature and
cloudiness. Using 4th-order polynomials it is
possible to express mathematically the fre-
quency of cloudiness probability in various
weather situations.
The examples confirm that it is possible to
use the typification of the weather situations for
technical practice.
INTRODUCTION
One of the main components of the urban
climate is the solar radiation and its visible
part - - daylight. A correct consideration and
utilization of the solar radiation and daylight
in u r b an planning, a r chi t ect ur a l design and
engineering on a large scale influences not
only the quality of the interior and exterior
spaces but also the building and m ai nt enance
costs.
The effective use of the solar radiation and
daylight, as one of the most i m por t a nt energy
sources, was studied especially in the last
decades. The approximative methods for pre-
light availability, although based on the mea-
sured data, were gradually replaced by more
complex methods which can take into account
all rel evant climatic factors.
The penet rat i on of n a t u r a l radiation into
various oriented interiors depends on even
more conditions, e.g., sun position on the sky
vault, t errai n reflectance, the turbidity of at-
mosphere, cloudiness, sunshine duration, etc.
PROBLEM ANALYSIS OF RELEVANT CLIMATIC
CONDITIONS AND FACTORS
In c u r r e n t climatology, the evaluation of
meteorological data based on averages and
other statistical quantities is widely used. It is
possible to process the chosen period statisti-
cally in several ways to achieve what could be
standardized as a typical course. However the
climate fluctuations in other periods might be
more or less important for different purposes
of energy-efficient design and building perfor-
mance.
Nowadays in daylight design we also feel
t hat modelling of the daylight climate in its
dynamic processes is not possible when using
these average values. So we have studied how
to express the dynamics of the daylight cli-
mate [1- 4].
For daylight climate modelling we can use
the following data from meteorological obser-
vations:
- - cloudiness
- - sunshine duration
- - solar radiation

0378-7788/91/$3.50 (c~ Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands

400

TABLE 1

Description of c h o s e n localities

Locality Latitude Longitude Height above

sea-level

Bratislava-Ivanka 48o12 , 17°12 ' 133 m

Hurbanovo 4W52' 18°12 ' 119 m
Ko~ice-Barca 48°42 ' 21 ~'16' 230 m

where cloudiness is the most dynamic factor

influencing the sky luminance/radiance distri-
bution. The data on sunshine duration express
# 5
only very approximately the fact of the pres-
ence or absence of sunshine or its duration. In
our paper we present the evaluation of the
1 5 10 15 20 25 30
cloudiness in southern Slovakia during the
(a)
period 1951-1960 to document the multiple
variations and occurrence frequencies. Data
from three observatories (Table 1) were used.

~ 5 ,/
RESULTS
-;-;-;-
In meteorology the dynamic characteristics 1 5 10 15 20 25 30
can be studied taking into account the sky (b)
states using two possibilities: Fig. 1. C o m p a r i s o n of (a) long-term m e a n values (1966-
(1) classifying the oceanity of the climate; 1975) in Bratislava, and (b) real and a p p r o x i m a t e courses
(2) typifying the weather situations. of daily s u n s h i n e d u r a t i o n in M a r c h 1985 in Bratislava.
We have tried to apply this system with re- The a p p r o x i m a t e c o u r s e s were estimated as the seasonal
m e a n s c o r r e s p o n d i n g to actual w e a t h e r situations. - -
spect to building climatology tasks. m e a s u r e d values in M a r c h 1985; - - - actual w e a t h e r
The second possibility, used in Figs. 1 and situations.
2, is showing the time variations of mean and
actual sunshine durations and air tempera-
tures in spring (March 1985).
As the territory of Slovakia is in the Eu-
2ot
15
ropean temperate climate zone, it is under the .~ lO
dominant influence of the continental polar
and oceanic polar air masses during the whole
year. Sporadic invasions of arctic and tropical 1 5 10 15 20 25 30
air masses usually cause the extremes in air (a)
temperature and solar radiation.
The climate characterization of different
weather situations, in particular weather sea-
sons, with the evaluation of the share of indi- ~10 ,,,- .... ,-- -

vidual weather situations on the formation of

climate, enable the approximate prediction of
the day-to-day course for the main climatic (b) 1 5 10 15 20 25 30
e l e m e n t s - mean daily sunshine duration in
Fig. I and daily air temperatures in Fig. 2. Fig. 2. C o m p a r i s o n of (a) long-term m e a n values (1966-
1975) in Bratislava, and (b) real and a p p r o x i m a t e c o u r s e s
The approximate courses of daily sunshine of m e a n daily air t e m p e r a t u r e in M a r c h 1985 in
duration and mean daily temperature depicted Bratislava. - - m e a s u r e d values in M a r c h 1985; - -
in these Figures were chosen for actual March actual w e a t h e r situations.
 401

days. The courses were determined as the di- TABLE 2

rect description of the sequence of occurring The main weather types by typification used in Czechoslo-
weather situations by the sequence of the mean vakia
spring values of these two climatic components
combination. So for each meteorological situa- Cyclonic situations
tion, there exists a certain combination of the Wcs Westerly (with south path)
Wc Westerly
mean seasonal value of daily sunshine dura-
Nc Northerly
~tion and mean daily temperature directly cor- NWc North-westerly
responding to this meteorological situation. NEc North.easterly
For the mentioned example the mean spring Ec Easterly
values of sunshine duration and temperature SEc South-easterly
SWcl
in individual meteorological situations in
SWc2 South-westerly
Bratislava for a period of ten years (1966- 1975) SWc3
were used. For illustration the actual and C Cyclone
approximate courses are compared with long- B Low-pressure cell
term mean ones. Vfz Frontal zone (entrance)
Current dynamic climatology is trying to
Anticyclonic situations
represent the climate changes in a given loca- Wa Westerly
tion using the weather typification. Wal Westerly (summer type)
The course of the meteorological elements, NWa North-westerly
such as cloudiness, sunshine, rainfall, snow- NEa North-easterly
Ea Easterly
fall, temperature and others, characterizes the
SEa South-easterly
type of weather. In spite of the fact that vari- Sa Southerly
ability, inconstancy of meteorological parame- SWa South-westerly
ters in nature, is very great we can observe A Anticyclone
some characteristic states due to the circula-
tion of the atmosphere. The changes of the
atmospherical circulation are connected with
the changes of the solar radiation flux during 15 cyclonic (see Table 2). This typification is
the year. They occur with various periodicity for the purpose of both short- and medium-
of frequencies and intensities within the cy- term forecasting. For every weather type cho-
clone and anticyclone development. sen meteorological elements were processed.
Generally in the temperate zone in Europe, These weather types are published in the form
the cyclones are characterized by cloudy of a catalogue for every day in a year. At
weather with less sunshine and with the present, there is a catalogue of weather situa-
greater occurrence of rain and snowfall in tions in Czechoslovakia starting from the year
comparison with the anticyclonic situation. 1946 [12]. Three twin "antagonistic" types are
The variability of meteorological elements in specified in Tables 3 and 4, where the higher
an arbitrary location can be studied by occurrence of the very cloudy skies in cy-
analysing and modelling such typical states clonic situations Wc, Ec and C is evident.
using a broad range of statistical methods. So In Fig. 3 the relationship of these weather
the trends of the development of individual or situations and the cloudiness is presented.
single meteorological elements can be prede- The comparison of all cyclonic situations with
termined. the anticyclonic ones in Fig. 3 documents the
In Europe some typifications have already high probability of cloudiness cover under
been used by Hess and Brezowsky [5], Ballon, different weather types.
Forgac and Molnar [6], Bradek et al. [7], If we evaluate the various amounts of
Lamb [8], Lauscher [9], Maheras [10], Giles cloudiness N in various weather situations,
and Makrogiannis [11]. These typifications we can select the typical or characteristic
give diverse results and can be applied only states in winter, summer and intermediate pe-
locally. riods of a year (in Fig. 3 selected groupings of
For instance the typification of the March - April- May, J u n e - J u l y - August, Sep-
Czechoslovak Hydrometeorological Institute tember- October - November, December- Jan-
involves 25 s i t u a t i o n s - 10 anticyclonic and u a r y - February are shown).
402

TABLE 3
Characterization of the selected weather situations in Hurbanovo 1951 - 1960

Cyclonic weather Characterization (%)

situation
Relative Clear Overcast Foggy
sunshine days days days

Wc- Westerly
Spring 38 2 32 --
Summer 54 6 20 --
Autumn 42 5 33 11
Winter 30 5 60 15

Ec -- Easterly
Spring 24 1 54 7
Summer 24 -- 57 5
Autumn 16 3 64 8
Winter 9 -- 77 5

C Cyclone
Spring 31 7 47 1
Summer 35 6 48 3
Autumn 24 -- 49 7
Winter 11 5 45 --

TABLE 4
Characterization of the selected anticyclonic weather situations in Hurbanovo 1951 - 1960

Anticyclonic weather Characterization (%)

situation
Relative Clear Overcast Foggy
sunshine days days days

Wa -- Westerly
Spring 70 32 15 --
Summer 75 37 3 1
Autumn 55 25 12 22
Winter 32 12 44 23

Ea -- Easterly
Spring 53 15 21 11
Summer 64 8 13 8
Autumn 50 21 26 18
Winter 32 14 43 16

A -- Anticyclone
Spring 79 58 2 9
Summer 83 53 1 --
Autumn 63 50 14 15
Winter 35 25 38 24

During winter there is a high occurrence of a low occurrence of clear skies due to the
the cloudy skies both in cyclonic and anti- convection cloudiness.
cyclonic situations. During summer, there is a During winter months in the morning and
great variability in the sky states in both evening, there are, even in the anticyclonic
cyclonic and anticyclonic, i.e., d u r i n g a l l o b - situations, very often higher occurrences of
servations. At 13:00 observation time there is o v e r c a s t s k i e s d u e t o fog.
 q p.m.
,-i

sEc ,~wc,I sii~

ilIII '"'
I[,,,,,,I' i l!!II I Illl"'
s. !~lilIH II~'li J
III • r
.......... A liliii, i!lllll Iliill 1Iiili/I
. ~ v ii
i ,~ii;~" ~11 ~ i
,v.~ AA-LIk,4/I ~ _~ "FI il LAJ/I','
o.<'ll~llfi ...... .li IIllllll . ' Ilil~I : i ,,, , !i!,
II~'!~ .... 1! IJ.ill!ll ' 'lltll . . . . ... . .. . . . . .iil
I~1,
i : i
I
I il
I .
! i ! ~"

°"it~!ili ~ litlliit i t1!I~ i Ii1:! ! i' i'

o.l,~i~!ll ,: llliilll iilil 1 ~'''!!! !!!! ~ ..... !, ' I:! '! I Ii ii
"'
,~qli!illb ..::: , li,!.-II!ll li!~l /I il,l,,#~i',
I i' ,'1 lit ;f+!llT"'
°flii,liil ........ Ilfli/ll ,~ f ~,,,!! ',, i i . / i :tillil '
iili!lil~ ~ II Ilililil,il, ili ........... #lli~!~iiiiil', !i if! ~i,ti7 ' i, ' 1 i i / ~ l t ,: /
~< I1~!iii/iii~i / II IIJ..tlllli!l/IIIii ~-~..~,
i Vllli~..., .'~LL.Li.4-4..~7111!llilil!lilil/ll!ill!7
LL-LLLZtVI ~ ' ~7I I. i:, I..I ~1/
-I
,~,'~,' _ L i i l ~, ~'~i~,~
0 2 z, 5 2 z, 6 8 ~ ' 8 2 z, 2 4 6 2 z, 6 8: 2 4 6 8 2 4 6 8' 2 4 6 ,8 2 ~ 6 . 2 " 6

, II
°.811 v,, II
0</11111111 w° w. ,E°
I11 ,illllllllllllllll i!°111 ¸ II!11 i 11111
Sa I !1111
sW° i
II /111
~"v~ I,, "1"H-+~ I ' "l
°~111ii IIII IIIII Iii111111111111!11il I1t111 liilllll IIIii!i,!1 !1 IIII
~liltl I ~r[[~f III .,'!1!![:1~ II l!ll
1 ,,,!JI illll
o<,,,,,,~,i ili!!i
i~,~i!i~llll,' Is illliil~iiillli,i--i, iilil! ,!t i i i l
v~,.v,,~ l',v ,~,J, ~.~ ~i~'.~ ~, r~ ~ t..<~
~j!Jlll!lJ I!iJl ,~:b! iiL!ll!llililllliji
! Illlll I IIill II iilii!~ ~iilli~il!iill~:l !i I l i l
,~×l!i!lllll II!1i ii I '; ',: it',Ill
iii I,.,tll,l.,t ,,
. !1i I 1i! I! ,,,!!!',I'. ~ ,,
L:llli: ,~
:/

o<l!!:lilll !l!lI~ iilLi[illliililll Ilill I' I ~!~ ~, i,~i,

'li!:!lllil iiill~ llill!liA/!!!lf!l Ilili
,~.i',~ L .-LLI.ffl lii~, ~1"t~--4--1-b4-~"~-~~1
Cloudiness N (in oc~as)
Fig. 3. F r e q u e n c y p r o b a b i l i t y of c l o u d i n e s s N ( c l o u d a m o u n t is in o c t a s 0 - 8) in c y c l o n i c a n d a n t i c y c l o n i c s i t u a t i o n s for 13:00 o b s e r v a t i o n time. T h e
Months of a y e a r w e r e s e l e c t e d in q u a r t e r s c o r r e s p o n d i n g to t h e m a i n s e a s o n s , i.e., M a r c h - A p r i l - M a y , etc. T h e u p p e r p a r t g i v e s f r e q u e n c y d i s t r i b u t i o n
in cyclonic s i t u a t i o n s a n d t h e l o w e r p a r t in a n t i c y c l o n i c s i t u a t i o n s .
404

density of the cloudiness probability in a

Wc- II.Q 7. a , m
given situation conforms to the differential
0.7
equation:
f ( N ) = - l , 3 1 9 . 1 0 - 3 N 4 . , 2,121.10 - 2 N 3 -
0.6
_9,999 10--2 N 2 .,. 0,1416N ~.0,0428 df(N) f(N)
- (2)
0,5 dN c~x4+a2x3 +a3x2.+-a4x +a5
P = 0,9983
H
M = 5,37 We tested this mathematical description with
0,4
o=2,8 the observed data using Kolmogoroff's test
O
0,3- and a chi-square test. The results of the tests

02t indicate t hat it is not unreasonable to accept

the hypothesis. So the simulation of cloudi-
ness probability using polynomial series
(dashed curves in Fig. 4) is possible.
Meteorological statistics usually exagger-
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ate in temperate zones the U-shape cloudiness
CLOUDINESS N
distribution in the frequency and cloud
(a)
amount diagrams, although it is correct only
for average cloudiness data, i.e., for the over-
Wa - II.Q 7.a.m.
all cloud amount. However if we discuss the
0.7-
selected cloud types we obtain a J-shaped dis-
0,6 f(N)=-6'37610-4N4"8'07110-3N3- tribution and a normal one. On the basis of
- 1,96310 - 2 N 2 _ 5,796.10- 2 N ÷ 0,2462 our first application we can conclude that this
0,5 characteristic U-shaped cloudiness distribu-
H
0.4- P = 0,9914 tion is suggested because of mixing the data
H
M=2,96 for cyclonic and anticyclonic situations to-
0,3- ~ = 3.01 gether. So in processed and published data of
cloudiness data the average values present
the least occurring state.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
CLOUDrNESS N
The building industry expects better
(b) knowledge and data on the exterior climate
Fig. 4. T h e s i m u l a t i o n of c l o u d i n e s s p r o b a b i l i t y u s i n g for an effective use of the natural energy
p o l y n o m i a l series for two " a n t a g o n i s t i c " w e a t h e r t y p e s : resources. The existing methods based on the
(a) w e s t e r l y cyclonic a n d (b) Westerly a n t i c y c l o n i c .
yearly or long-term average values do not
m e a s u r e d d a t a in S l o v a k i a d u r i n g 1951 - 1960. - - math-
ematical simulation. describe adequately the real natural condi-
tions and their impact on buildings. It is nec-
essary to model these processes in their
For the processing of the phenomena, Pear- dynamical substance and characteristic
son [13, 14] developed a system of the continu- change. F u r t h e r m o r e it is necessary to take
ous distributions density which conforms to a into account t hat all phenomena of the exte-
differential equation rior climate are in some correlation. The spec-
df(x) f(x)(x ÷ a) ification of light climate is sometimes based
- - - (1) on sunshine duration and we have shown
dx bo + blx + b2x 2
that anot her element for its description is
Using this system we tried to express mathe- cloudiness. Using cloudiness, the dynamical
matically the occurrence probability of the processes and changes of the daylight climate
cloudiness in the various weather situations. can be expressed with a better specification
As the variability of these situations is very by using the sky states based on general
great it was not possible to use this system weather types. Of course this new concept
reliably. In the case of applying Pearson's has to be studied closer and in broader terms
approach using a 4th-order polynomial, the in the future.

REFERENCES
1 S. Darula, Daylight Climate and Utility Properties of
Building Construction, Private Research Report,
USTARCH SAV, Bratislava, 1988, 123 p.
2 R. Kittler and J. Pulpitlov~, Characteristics of radia-
tion climate based on yearly changes of cloudiness in
Bratislava, Proc. Solar Energy and its Utilization,
1978, Piestany (in Slovak).
3 H. Nakamura et al., A study on the estimation of the
relative frequency of occurrences of the clear sky, the
intermediate sky and the overcast sky in Japan, J.
Light Vis. Environ., 9 (2) (1985) 22- 31.
4 J. Pulpitlov~, Is appropriate attention given to the
cloudiness in the IDMY recording? Proc. Symposium
Daylight and Solar Radiation Measurements, October
9-11, 1989, West Berlin, Observatory Hlohovec.
5 P. Hess and H. Brezowsky, Katalog der Grosswetterla-
gen Europas, Ber. Deutsch. Wetterdienstes in der US-
Zone, Nr. 33, Bad Kissingen, 1952.
6 L. Ballon, P. Forgac and F. Molnar, Weather in Slo-
vakia in Typical Weather Situations, HMU, Prague,
1964 (in Slovak).
7 J. Bradek et al., Weather in Bohemia and Moravia in
Typical Weather Situations, HMU, Prague, 1961 (in
Slovak).
8 H. H. Lamb, Types and spells of weather around the
year in the British Isles: annual trends, seasonal
structure of the year, singularities, Q. J. R. Meteorol.
Soc., 76 (1950) 393- 438.
9 F. Lauscher, Anwendungen der ostalpinen Wetterla-
genklassifikation (Bericht uber die Jahre 1976-1980),
Wetter Leben, 34 (1) (1982) 20- 28.
10 P. Maheras, Weather-type classification by factor
405
analysis in the Thessaloniki area, J. Climatol., 4
(1984) 437- 443.
11 B. D. Giles and T. T. Makrogiannis, Local indices and
weather types over the British Isles: anticyclonic and
cyclonic, J. Meteorol., 9 (91) (1984) 205- 209.
12 Yearly Book of Weather Observations at Meteorological
Stations in Czechoslovakia 1951. 1965, HMU, Prague
(in Slovak).
13 C. E. P. Brook and N. Carruthers, Handbook of Statis-
tical Methods in Meteorology, HMSO, London, 1953,
412 p.
14 Z. Kaczmarek, Metody statystyczne w hidrologii i mete-
orologii, WKL, Warsaw, 1970, 312 p.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
V. Bruzek, Circulation fluctuations in relation to sun-
shine and the possibilities of their long-range forecast-
ing, Meteorol. Zpr., 39 (3) (1986) 76- 80.
B. L. Dzerdzejewskij, V. I. Kurganskaja and Z. M. Vitvick-
aja, Typizacija cirkulacjonnych mechanizmov v Sever-
nom polusariji i charakteristika synopticeskich sezonov,
Gidrometeoizdat, 1946.
I. T. Lyal, Changes in the frequency of circulation types
around the year, J. Meteorol., 8 (84) (1983) 311 - 317.
S. Petrovic, Climatic Conditions in Hurbanovo, HMU,
Prague, 1960 (in Slovak).
S. Petrovic and J. Soltis, Dynamic climate of Podunajska
nizina: cyclonic situations, Meteorol. Zpr., 17 (1) (1964)
15-23 (in Slovak).
S. Petrovic and J. Soltis, Dynamic climate of Podunajska
nizina: anticyclonic situations, Meteorol. Zpr., 17 (3)
(1964) 74-81 (in Slovak).