Quantitative Analysis of the Impact of Regional Microclimate on Energy Consumption in University Dormitory Complexes and Identification of Key Climatic Factors

In evaluating energy consumption in building complexes, the influence of urban microclimate variations—primarily driven by the urban heat island (UHI) effect—is often overlooked, leading to modeling inaccuracies. This study develops a numerical simulation framework integrating Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and EnergyPlus to assess the energy consumption of university dormitories while accounting for regional microclimate conditions. This is because university dormitories serve as a key indicator for measuring the type of high-density residential buildings in China. The model incorporates dynamic microclimate variables, including ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, and cloud cover, to simulate dormitory energy consumption profiles. Simulation results are validated against measured data, yielding an annual energy consumption error of −1.03%. Quantitative analysis indicates that ignoring the microclimate effect and directly using data from nearby meteorological stations or TMY data has a limited impact on the annual total energy consumption but has a significant impact on seasonal results. To improve the simulation accuracy of building complexes, more attention should be paid to temperature and relative humidity. Moreover, for areas with low occupant density and a high shape coefficient, energy consumption simulation should also consider the local microclimate factors.