Impacts of Urban Morphology, Climate, and Occupant Behavior on Building Energy Consumption in a Cold Region: An Agent-Based Modeling Study of Energy-Saving Strategies

Urban morphology, climate, and occupant behavior significantly affect urban building energy consumption. This study analyzed 200 example blocks with 4754 buildings in Harbin, China, a representative city with a severe cold climate, to calculate urban morphology and climate factors. A questionnaire was conducted to quantify the data on the energy use behaviors of building occupants. Linear and nonlinear methods were used to explore correlations between these three types of factors and energy consumption. An agent-based modeling (ABM) approach was applied to establish a city-scale energy consumption simulation model, and simulations of energy-saving scenarios were carried out to derive optimization strategies. Key findings include: (1) the living area is the most significant determinant of daily energy use intensity (EUI), contributing 24.42%; (2) the floor area ratio (FAR) most influences annual electricity EUI (30.55%), while building height (BH) has the largest impact on heating EUI (32.62%); and (3) altering urban morphology and climatic factors by one unit can, respectively, reduce energy consumption by up to 13.0 and 224.7 kWh/m2 annually. Increasing energy-saving awareness campaigns can reduce household EUI by 30.6127 kWh/m2. This study provides strategic recommendations for urban energy-saving planning in cold regions.