Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1029/2021EF002476
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) The Goldilocks zone in cooling demand: What can we do better?
Author Maia-Silva, D.; Kumar, R. ORCID logo ; Nateghi, R.
Source Titel Earth's Future
Year 2022
Department CHS
Volume 10
Issue 1
Page From e2021EF002476
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1029%2F2021EF002476&file=2021EF002476-sup-0001-Supporting+Information+SI-S01.pdf
Abstract The higher frequency and intensity of sustained heat events have increased the demand for cooling energy across the globe. Current estimates of summer-time energy demand are primarily based on Cooling Degree Days (CDD), representing the number of degrees a day’s average temperature exceeds a predetermined comfort zone temperature. Through a comprehensive analysis of the historical energy demand data across the USA, we show that the commonly used CDD estimates fall significantly short (±25%) of capturing regional thermal comfort levels. Moreover, given the increasingly compelling evidence that air temperature alone is not sufficient for characterizing human thermal comfort, we extend the widely-used CDD calculation to heat index, which accounts for both air temperature and humidity. Our results indicate significant mis-estimation of regional thermal comfort when humidity is ignored. Our findings have significant implications for the security, sustainability, and resilience of the grid under climate change.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=25539
Maia-Silva, D., Kumar, R., Nateghi, R. (2022):
The Goldilocks zone in cooling demand: What can we do better?
Earth Future 10 (1), e2021EF002476 10.1029/2021EF002476