CHAPTER 14

CLIMATIC DESIGN INFORMATION

Climatic Design Conditions..................................................... 14.1 Generating Design-Day Data ................................................ 14.12
Calculating Clear-Sky Solar Radiation ................................... 14.8 Estimation of Degree-Days .................................................... 14.13
Transposition to Receiving Surfaces of Representativeness of Data and Sources of Uncertainty ....... 14.14
Various Orientations.......................................................... 14.11 Other Sources of Climatic Information.................................. 14.17

HIS chapter and the accompanying data summaries in PDF Recent trends for a few specific elements are also listed.
T format provide the climatic design information for 9237 locations
in the United States, Canada, and around the world. This is an
Although they reflect the evolution of climatic design conditions in
the recent past, they are not necessarily good indicators for future
increase of 1119 stations from the 2017 ASHRAE Handbook—Fun- trends related to climate change or other anthropogenic factors.
damentals. As in previous editions, the large number of stations However, they clearly make users aware of the current evolution of
made printing the whole tables impractical. Consequently, the com- climate worldwide, with a general trend towards higher tempera-
plete table of design conditions for only an “example city” appears tures.
in this printed chapter to illustrate the table format. However, a sub- Design conditions are provided for locations for which long-term
set of the table elements most often used is presented in the Appen- hourly observations were available (1994-2019 for most stations).
dix at the end of this chapter for selected stations representing major Compared to the 2017 chapter, the number of U.S. stations increased
urban centers in the United States, Canada, and around the world. from 1952 to 2220 (14% increase); Canadian stations increased from
The complete data tables for all 9237 stations are included with both 765 to 841 (10% increase); and stations in the rest of the world in-
the PDF version of this chapter (downloadable from technologyportal creased from 5401 to 6176 (14% increase; see Figure 1 for map).
.ashrae.org) and the Handbook Online version.
This climatic design information is commonly used for design, 1. CLIMATIC DESIGN CONDITIONS
sizing, distribution, installation, and marketing of heating, ventilat-
ing, air-conditioning, and dehumidification equipment, as well as for Table 1 shows climatic design conditions for the example city to
other energy-related processes in residential, agricultural, commer- illustrate the format of the data available as PDF downloads. The
cial, and industrial applications. These summaries include values of example city is a fictional station based on Atlanta, GA, over the
dry-bulb, wet-bulb, and dew-point temperature, and wind speed with 1990-2014 period of record; it will be used in example calculations
direction at various frequencies of occurrence. Also included are throughout this chapter and elsewhere in the Handbook. A limited
monthly degree-days to various bases, parameters to calculate clear- subset of these data for 1445 of the 9237 locations for 21 annual data
sky irradiance, and monthly averages of daily all-sky solar radiation. elements is provided for convenience in the Appendix.
Sources of other climate information of potential interest to Station Information
ASHRAE members are described later in this chapter.
Design information in this chapter was developed largely through The top part of the table contains station information as follows:
research project RP-1847 (Roth 2021). The information includes • Name of the observing station, state (USA) or province (Canada),
design values of dry-bulb with mean coincident wet-bulb tempera- country.
ture, design wet-bulb with mean coincident dry-bulb temperature, • World Meteorological Organization (WMO) station identifier.
and design dew-point with mean coincident dry-bulb temperature • Weather Bureau Army Navy (WBAN) number (99999 denotes
and corresponding humidity ratio. These data allow the designer to missing).
consider various operational peak conditions. Design values of wind • Latitude of station, °N/S.
speed facilitate the design of smoke management systems in build- • Longitude of station, °E/W.
ings (Lamming and Salmon 1996, 1998). • Elevation of station, m.
Warm-season temperature and humidity conditions are based on • Standard pressure at elevation, in kPa (see Chapter 1 for equations
annual percentiles of 0.4, 1.0, and 2.0. Cold-season conditions are used to calculate standard pressure).
based on annual percentiles of 99.6 and 99.0. The use of annual per- • Time zone, h ± UTC.
centiles to define design conditions ensures that they represent the
• Time zone code (e.g., NAE = Eastern Time, USA and Canada).
same probability of occurrence in any climate, regardless of the sea-
Both the PDF version of this chapter (available from technology
sonal distribution of extreme temperature and humidity.
portal.ashrae.org) and the Handbook Online version contain a list
Monthly precipitation data are also included. They are used of all time zone codes used in the tables.
mostly to determine climate zones for ASHRAE Standard 169, but
• Period analyzed (e.g., 94-19 = data from 1994 to 2019 were used).
may also be helpful in developing green technologies such as vege-
Note that this period does not apply to precipitation and solar radi-
tative roofs and stormwater harvesting.
ation, which came from different data sources (see the section on
The clear-sky solar radiation model introduced in the 2009 edi- Data Sources).
tion and slightly modified in the 2013 edition is unchanged in its
• Latitudes and longitudes are shown to their decimal place accu-
general formulation. However, the site-specific coefficients have
racy by default. For those stations that have had their locations
been recalculated, based on the latest atmospheric information avail-
visually confirmed, latitudes and longitudes are reported to four
able. All-sky solar radiation values are also provided; these are use-
decimal places.
ful in assessing solar technologies (solar heating, photovoltaics),
which are typically necessary in the quest for designing net-zero- Annual Design Conditions
energy buildings.
Annual climatic design conditions are contained in the first three
sections following the top part of the table. They contain information
The preparation of this chapter is assigned to TC 4.2, Climatic Information. as follows:

14.1
14.2 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

Fig. 1 Locations of Weather Stations

Annual Heating, Humidification, and Ventilation Design • Mean wind speed coincident with 0.4% dry-bulb temperature, m/
Conditions. s; corresponding most frequent wind direction, degrees true from
• Coldest month (i.e., month with lowest average dry-bulb tempera- north (east = 90°).
ture; 1 = January, 12 = December). • Dew-point temperature corresponding to 0.4, 1.0, and 2.0%
annual cumulative frequency of occurrence, °C; corresponding
• Dry-bulb temperature corresponding to 99.6 and 99.0% annual
humidity ratio, calculated at the standard atmospheric pressure at
cumulative frequency of occurrence (cold conditions), °C.
elevation of station, grams of moisture per kg of dry air; mean
• Dew-point temperature corresponding to 99.6 and 99.0% annual coincident dry-bulb temperature, °C.
cumulative frequency of occurrence, °C; corresponding humidity
• Enthalpy corresponding to 0.4, 1.0, and 2.0% annual cumulative
ratio, calculated at standard atmospheric pressure at elevation of
frequency of occurrence, kJ/kg; mean coincident dry-bulb tem-
station, grams of moisture per kg of dry air; mean coincident dry-
perature, °C.
bulb temperature, °C.
• Extreme maximum wet-bulb temperature, °C.
• Wind speed corresponding to 0.4 and 1.0% cumulative frequency
of occurrence for coldest month, m/s; mean coincident dry-bulb Extreme Annual Design Conditions.
temperature, °C.
• Wind speed corresponding to 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0% annual cumula-
• Mean wind speed coincident with 99.6% dry-bulb temperature, tive frequency of occurrence, m/s.
m/s; corresponding most frequent wind direction, degrees from • Mean and standard deviation of extreme annual minimum and
north (east = 90°). maximum dry-bulb temperature, °C.
• Weather and shielding factor (WSF), 1/h; this factor is used in • 5-, 10-, 20-, and 50-year return period values for minimum and
ventilation calculations as per ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2019. maximum extreme dry-bulb temperature, °C.
Annual Cooling, Dehumidification, and Enthalpy Design • Mean and standard deviation of extreme annual minimum and
Conditions. maximum wet-bulb temperature, °C.
• 5-, 10-, 20-, and 50-year return period values for minimum and
• Hottest month (i.e., month with highest average dry-bulb tem- maximum extreme wet-bulb temperature, °C.
perature; 1 = January, 12 = December).
• Daily temperature range for hottest month, °C [defined as mean of Monthly Design Conditions
the difference between daily maximum and daily minimum dry- Monthly design conditions are divided into subsections as fol-
bulb temperatures for hottest month]. lows:
• Dry-bulb temperature corresponding to 0.4, 1.0, and 2.0% annual
cumulative frequency of occurrence (warm conditions), °C; mean Temperatures, Degree-Days, and Degree-Hours.
coincident wet-bulb temperature, °C. • Average temperature, °C (defined as the average of the high and
• Wet-bulb temperature corresponding to 0.4, 1.0, and 2.0% annual low daily temperatures). This parameter is a prime indicator of
cumulative frequency of occurrence, °C; mean coincident dry- climate and is also useful to calculate heating and cooling degree-
bulb temperature, °C. days to any base.
Climatic Design Information 14.3

• Standard deviation of average daily temperature, °C. This param- annual value is roughly equivalent to the 5% monthly value for the
eter is useful to calculate heating and cooling degree-days to any hottest month, and the 2% annual value is roughly equivalent to the
base. Its use is explained in the section on Estimation of Degree- 10% monthly value for the hottest month.
Days. Mean Daily Temperature Range. These values are useful in
• Heating and cooling degree-days (bases 10 and 18.3°C). These calculating daily dry- and wet-bulb temperature profiles, as ex-
parameters are useful in energy estimating methods. They are also plained in the section on Generating Design-Day Data. Three kinds
used to classify locations into climate zones in ASHRAE Stan- of profile are defined:
dard 169.
• Cooling degree-hours (bases 23.3 and 26.7°C). These have histor- • Mean daily temperature range for month indicated, °C (defined as
ically been used in various standards, such as Standard 90.2- the mean difference between daily maximum and minimum dry-
2004. bulb temperatures).
• Mean daily dry- and wet-bulb temperature ranges coincident with
Wind. the 5% monthly design dry-bulb temperature. This is the differ-
• Monthly average wind speed, m/s. This parameter is useful to ence between daily maximum and minimum dry- or wet-bulb
estimate the wind potential at a site; however, the local topogra- temperatures, respectively, averaged over all days where the max-
phy may significantly alter this value, so close attention is needed. imum daily dry-bulb temperature exceeds the 5% monthly design
dry-bulb temperature.
Precipitation. • Mean daily dry- and wet-bulb temperature ranges coincident with
• Average precipitation, mm. This parameter is used to calculate the 5% monthly design wet-bulb temperature. This is the differ-
climate zones for Standard 169, and is of interest in some green ence between daily maximum and minimum dry- or wet-bulb
building technologies (e.g., vegetative roofs, stormwater harvest- temperatures, respectively, averaged over all days where the max-
ing). imum daily wet-bulb temperature exceeds the 5% monthly design
• Standard deviation of precipitation, mm. This parameter indicates wet-bulb temperature.
the variability of precipitation at the site.
Clear-Sky Solar Irradiance. Clear-sky irradiance parameters
• Minimum and maximum precipitation, mm. These parameters
are useful in calculating solar-related air conditioning loads for any
give extremes of precipitation and are useful for green building
time of any day of the year. Parameters are provided for the 21st day
technologies and stormwater management.
of each month. The 21st of the month is usually a convenient day for
Monthly Design Dry-Bulb, Wet-Bulb, and Mean Coincident solar calculations because June 21 and December 21 represent the
Temperatures. solstices (longest and shortest days) and March 21 and September
21 are close to the equinox (days and nights have the same length).
These values are derived from the same analysis that results in
Parameters listed in the tables are
the annual design conditions. The monthly summaries are useful
when seasonal variations in solar geometry and intensity, building • Clear-sky optical depths for beam and diffuse irradiances, which
or facility occupancy, or building use patterns require consider- are used to calculate beam and diffuse irradiance as explained in
ation. In particular, these values can be used when determining the section on Calculating Clear-Sky Solar Radiation.
air-conditioning loads during periods of maximum solar radiation. • Clear-sky beam normal and diffuse horizontal irradiances at solar
The values listed in the tables include noon. These two values can be calculated from the clear-sky opti-
• Dry-bulb temperature corresponding to 0.4, 2.0, 5.0, and 10.0% cal depths but are listed here for convenience.
cumulative frequency of occurrence for indicated month, °C; All-Sky Solar Radiation. All-sky solar radiation parameters are
mean coincident wet-bulb temperature, °C. useful for evaluating the potential of solar technologies (e.g., solar
• Wet-bulb temperature corresponding to 0.4, 2.0, 5.0, and 10.0% heating, photovoltaics), which are valuable in the design of net-zero
cumulative frequency of occurrence for indicated month, °C; energy buildings. Parameters listed in the tables are
mean coincident dry-bulb temperature, °C.
• Monthly average daily global radiation on a horizontal surface.
For a 30-day month, the 0.4, 2.0, 5.0 and 10.0% values of occur- This is a traditional way to characterize the solar resource at a site.
rence represent the value that occurs or is exceeded for a total of 3,
• Standard deviation of monthly average daily radiation on a hori-
14, 36, or 72 h, respectively, per month on average over the period
zontal surface. This parameter gives an idea of the year-to-year
of record. Monthly percentile values of dry- or wet-bulb tempera-
variability of the solar resource at the site.
ture may be higher or lower than the annual design conditions cor-
responding to the same nominal percentile, depending on the
month and the seasonal distribution of the parameter at that loca- Historical Trends
tion. Generally, for the hottest or most humid months of the year, Trends for annual average dry-bulb temperature, 99% dry-bulb
the monthly percentile value exceeds the design condition for the and dew-point temperatures, 1% dry-bulb, dew-point and wet-bulb
same element corresponding to the same nominal percentile. For temperatures, and heating and cooling degree-days (bases 10 and
example, Table 1 shows that the annual 0.4% design dry-bulb tem- 18.3°C) are provided. Trends are expressed in degrees Celsius per
perature at the example city is 34.4°C; the 0.4% monthly dry-bulb decade for temperatures, and in °C-day per decade for degree-days.
temperature exceeds 34.4°C for June, July, and August, with values The “Station only” row provides trends calculated with data from
of 34.7, 36.4, and 36.3°C, respectively. Fifth and tenth percentiles the station alone. It shows the rate (expressed per decade) at which
are also provided to give a greater range in the frequency of occur- climatic design conditions have changed. For example, a value of
rence, in particular providing less extreme options to select for –0.20 in the 1% WB column indicates that yearly 1% wet-bulb tem-
design calculations. peratures have typically decreased at a rate of 0.20°C per decade
A general, very approximate rule of thumb is that the n% annual over the period of record used for the calculation.
cooling design condition is roughly equivalent to the 5n% monthly The rate of change is tested against the null hypothesis (zero
cooling condition for the hottest month; that is, the 0.4% annual trend) based on a two-sided test at the 95% level (p 0.05). That is,
design dry-bulb temperature is roughly equivalent to the 2% a small p indicates that a zero trend is possible but very unlikely.
monthly design dry-bulb temperature for the hottest month; the 1% When trends are considered statistically insignificant, or when there
14.4 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

Table 1 Design Conditions for Example City (see Table 1A for Nomenclature)
Climatic Design Information 14.5

Table 1A Nomenclature for Tables of Climatic Design changes, equipment replacement or error (e.g., sensor “drift”),
Conditions nearby topographic modifications (trees, buildings), and, finally,
larger scale (local, synoptic, global) changes in climate. Past trends
CDDn Cooling degree-days base n°C, °C-day
are not necessarily indicators of future trends, and the trends
CDHn Cooling degree-hours base n°C, °C-hour reported here are based on a shorter period of record than used for
DB Dry-bulb temperature, °C climate change research, which generally consider periods of 30 to
DBAvg Average daily dry-bulb temperature, °C over 100 years. The section on Effects of Climate Change later in
DBSD Standard deviation of average daily dry-bulb this chapter gives further consideration to this topic, while Chapter
temperature, °C
36 of this volume provides an overview of climate science together
DP Dew-point temperature, °C with a discussion of climate change mitigation and adaption.
Ebn,noon Clear-sky beam normal irradiances at solar noon,
W/m2
Data Sources
Edh,noon Clear-sky diffuse horizontal irradiance at solar noon,
W/m2 The following primary sources of observational data sets were
Elev Elevation, m used in calculating design values:
Enth Enthalpy, kJ/kg base 0°C and 101.325 kPa pressure
HDDn Heating degree-days base , n°C, °C-day
• Most stations were sourced through the Integrated Surface Data-
base (ISD) from NOAA (www.ncdc.noaa.gov) (Smith et al. 2011)
HR Humidity ratio, gmoisture/kgdry air
for the years 1982-2019.
Lat Latitude, °N
Long Longitude, °E • For most Canadian stations, meteorological data were obtained
MCDB Mean coincident dry-bulb temperature, °C
directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada (climate
MCDBR Mean coincident dry-bulb temperature range, °C
.weather.gc.ca) for the years 1982-2019. A few stations with inad-
equate data were sourced from the ISD.
MCWB Mean coincident wet-bulb temperature, °C
MCWBR Mean coincident wet-bulb temperature range, °C In most cases, the period used in the calculations spanned 26
MCWS Mean coincident wind speed, m/s years (1994 to 2019). This choice of period is a compromise
MDBR Mean dry-bulb temperature range, °C between trying to derive design conditions from the longest pos-
PCWD Prevailing coincident wind direction, ° sible period, and using the most recent data to capture climatic or
(0 = North; 90 = East) land-use trends from the past two decades. The actual number of
Period Years used to calculate the design conditions years used in the calculations for a given station depends on the
PrecAvg Average precipitation, mm amount of missing data, and, as discussed in the next section, may
PrecMax Maximum precipitation, mm be as little as 8 years. The first and last years of the period used to
PrecMin Minimum precipitation, mm calculate design conditions are listed in the top section of the
PrecStd Standard deviation of precipitation, mm tables of climatic design conditions, as shown in Table 1 for the
RadAvg Monthly mean daily all-sky radiation, kWh/(m2 ·day) example city. For a limited number of stations, periods extending
RadStd Standard deviation of monthly mean daily radiation, as far back as 1982 to 2019 were used instead of 1994 to 2019
kWh/m2 ·day because that time frame lacked the necessary data.
StdP Standard pressure at station elevation, kPa Precipitation data were derived from a number of sources,
taub Clear-sky optical depth for beam irradiance including station observational data from the Global Historical Cli-
taud Clear-sky optical depth for diffuse irradiance matology Network, version 2 (GHCN 2015), as well as gridded data
Time Zone Hours ahead or behind UTC, and time zone code from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre, Full Data
WB Wet-bulb temperature, °C Monthly Product Version 2018 (GPCC 2018; resolution is
WBAN Weather Bureau Army Navy number 0.25°×0.25°, 0.5°×0.5°, and 1.0°×1.0°), and the Global Precipita-
WMO# Station identifier from the World Meteorological tion Climate Project, Version 2.3 Combined Precipitation Data Set
Organization (GPCP 2020; resolution is 2.5°×2.5°). These sources are based on
WS Wind speed, m/s different periods: 1960 to 2019 for GHCN, 1990 to 2016 for GPCC
WSAvg Monthly average wind speed, m/s and 1990 to 2019 for GPCP.
WSF Weather and shielding factor, 1/h Clear-sky solar irradiance parameters listed in the tables consti-
Note: Numbers (1) to (47) and letters (a) to (p) are row and column references tute a simple parameterization of the more sophisticated REST2
to quickly point to an element in the table. For example, the 5% design wet- broadband clear-sky radiation model (Gueymard 2008; Gueymard
bulb temperature for July can be found in row (31), column (k).
and Thevenard 2009; Thevenard 2009). The REST2 model requires
detailed knowledge of various atmospheric constituents, such as
is insufficient data (a minimum of 15 unique years) to perform the aerosols, water vapor, or ozone. To extend applicability of the model
trend analysis, the trend values simply appear as N/A. to the whole world, multiple data sets, mainly derived from space
Trends are often hard to detect for individual stations. Grouping observations and reanalysis models, were used to obtain these
stations together may provide a stronger signal and make it easier to inputs. These sources of data have not changed since the 2017 edi-
identify a significant trend. The “Regional” trend evaluates data tion, so there should be few changes in site-specific coefficients.
from all stations within 200 km of the station of interest and may Water vapor, ozone, and ground albedo data are derived from the
provide better confidence for some trends. Note that depending on National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Modern-
station density, there may be upwards of 100 neighbors or few if any Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version
stations. For those stations with no neighbors the regional trend data 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis dataset (Molod et al. 2015), corrected for
will appear as N/A. elevation in the case of water vapor (Gueymard and Thevenard
How to use the trend estimates is left to individual practitioners, 2009). The period of data is uniform, from 2000 to 2014. An excep-
as there is at this stage no accepted method of designing for future tion is nitrogen dioxide, for which a database from Ozone Monitor-
climate. The trends reported here, or indeed the lack thereof, reflect ing Instrument (OMI) satellite observations (aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/
only what has occurred over the period of record utilized for the sta- omi.html) is used over the period 2005 to 2014. Pressure is esti-
tion. A significant trend can result from undocumented location mated from station’s elevation.
14.6 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

Aerosol turbidity data (in the form of separate evaluations of Some stations in the ISD data set also provide data that were not
aerosol optical depth and Ångström exponent) received special recorded at the beginning of the hour. When data at the exact hour
attention, because they are the primary inputs that affect the accu- were missing, they were replaced by data up to 0.5 h before or after,
racy of direct and diffuse irradiance predictions under clear skies. when available.
Spaceborne retrievals of aerosol optical depth at various wave- Finally, psychrometric quantities such as wet-bulb temperature
lengths from NASA’s Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer or enthalpy are not contained in the weather data sets. They were
(MISR; www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov) and two Moderate Resolution calculated from dry-bulb temperature, dew-point temperature, and
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS; modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov) station pressure using the psychrometric equations in Chapter 1.
instruments were used between 2000 and 2014 and compared to ref- Measures were taken to ensure that the number and distribution of
erence data from a large number of ground-based sites, mostly from missing data, both by month and by hour of the day, did not introduce
the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET; aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov), significant biases into the analysis. Annual cumulative frequency
after appropriate scale-height corrections to remove artifacts from distributions were constructed from the relative frequency distribu-
the effect of elevation (Gueymard and Thevenard 2009). Regional tions compiled for each month. Each individual month’s data were
corrections of the satellite data were devised to remove as much bias included if they met the following screening criteria for complete-
as possible, compared to the reference ground-based data. To fill ness and unbiased distribution of missing data after data filling:
missing data or correct biased satellite observations, modeled aero-
sol datasets were used, including 10 years (2003 to 2012) of simu- • The number of hourly dry-bulb temperature values for the month,
lated monthly-average aerosol optical depth from the Monitoring after filling by interpolation, had to be at least 85% of the total
Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC) reanalysis model hours for the month.
(Eskes et al. 2015; Inness et al. 2013) and 13 years (2002 to 2014) • The difference between the number of day and nighttime dry-bulb
of MERRA-2 reanalysis data (Molod et al. 2015). Results from the temperature observations had to be less than 60.
REST2 model (Gueymard 2008) were then fitted to the simple two- Although the nominal period of record selected for this analysis
parameter model described in this chapter. The fits enable a concise was 26 years (1994 to 2019 for most stations), some variation and
formulation requiring tabulation, on a monthly basis, of only two gaps in observed data meant that some months’ data were unusable
parameters per station, referred to here as the clear-sky beam and because of incompleteness. Some months were also eliminated
diffuse optical depths. Details about the fitting procedure can be during additional quality control checks. A station’s dry-bulb tem-
found in Thevenard and Gueymard (2013). perature design conditions were calculated only if there were data
Global horizontal irradiance at the surface, and its standard devi- from at least 8 months that met the quality control and screening cri-
ation, were calculated from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant teria from the period analyzed for each month of the year. For exam-
Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) data- ple, there had to be 8 months each of January, February, March, etc.
set (ceres.larc.nasa.gov). From the available 1°×1° dataset, a bilinear for which data met the completeness screening criteria. These crite-
interpolation, without altitude adjustment, was made given the sta- ria were ascertained from results of RP-1171 (Hubbard et al. 2004)
tion latitude and longitude for the period 2000 to 2018. and were the same as used in calculating the design conditions in the
Calculation of Design Conditions 2001 to 2017 editions of the ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals.
Dew-point temperature, wet-bulb temperature, and enthalpy
Values of ambient dry-bulb, dew-point, and wet-bulb temperature design conditions were calculated for a given month only if the num-
and wind speed corresponding to the various annual percentiles repre- ber of dew-point, wet-bulb, or enthalpy values was greater than 85%
sent the value that is exceeded on average by the indicated percentage of the minimum number of dry-bulb temperature values defined pre-
of the total number of hours in a year (8760). The 0.4, 1.0, 2.0, and viously; wind speed and direction conditions were calculated for a
5.0% values are exceeded on average 35, 88, 175, and 438 h per year, given month only if the number of values was greater than 28.3%
respectively, for the period analyzed. The design values occur more (i.e., one-third of 85%) the minimum number of dry-bulb tempera-
frequently than the corresponding nominal percentile in some years ture values. For example, a month of January was included in calcu-
and less frequently in others. The 99.0 and 99.6% (cold-season) values lations if the number of dry-bulb temperature values exceeded 85%
are defined in the same way but are usually viewed as the values for of 744 h, or 633 h. The month was included in calculation of dew-
which the corresponding weather element is less than the design con- point temperature design conditions only if dew-point temperature
dition for 88 and 35 h, respectively. was present for at least 85% of 633 h, or 538 h. The month was
Simple design conditions were obtained by binning hourly data included in calculation of wind speed design conditions only if wind
into frequency tables, then deriving from the binned data the design speed was present for at least 28.3% of 633 h, or 179 h.
condition having the probability of being exceeded a certain per-
Annual dry-bulb temperature extremes were calculated only for
centage of the time. Mean coincident values were obtained by
years that were 85% complete. At least 8 annual extremes were
double-binning the hourly data into joint frequency matrices, then
required to calculate the mean and standard deviation of extreme
calculating the mean coincident value corresponding to the simple
annual dry-bulb temperatures.
design condition.
Coincident temperature ranges were also obtained by double- Daily minimum and maximum temperatures were calculated
binning daily temperature ranges (daily maximum minus mini- only for complete days; so were daily temperature ranges and mean
mum) versus maximum daily temperature. The mean coincident coincident temperature ranges.
daily range was then calculated by averaging all bins above the sim- The weather and shielding factor is calculated using the entire
ple design condition of interest. period of record by first calculating the hourly weather-induced
The weather data sets used for the calculations often contain infiltration for a baseline building as per Chapter 16 and then con-
missing values (either isolated records, or because some stations verting this time series into a single effective infiltration dimension-
report data only every third hour). Gaps up to 6 h were filled by lin- less number using the methodology of Turner et al. (2012).
ear interpolation to provide as complete a time series as possible. Trends were calculated only for stations having at least 15 dis-
Dry-bulb temperature, dew-point temperature, station pressure, and tinct full years of data.
humidity ratio were interpolated. However, wind speed and direc- Details about quality checks and other steps taken during data
tion were not interpolated because of their more stochastic and processing to ensure results as free from error as possible are
unpredictable nature. detailed in Roth (2017, 2021).
Climatic Design Information 14.7

Differences from Previously Published Design and minimum thermometers. This results in the true daily tempera-
Conditions ture range generally about 1 K greater than that calculated from
• Climatic design conditions in this chapter are generally similar to hourly data. The mean daily dry-bulb temperature range is used in
those in previous editions, because similar if not identical analysis cooling load calculations.
procedures were used. There are some differences, however, The 0.4, 1.0, and 2.0% dry-bulb temperatures and mean coin-
owing to a more recent period of analysis (generally 1994-2019 cident wet-bulb temperatures often represent conditions on hot,
versus 1990-2014 for the 2017 edition). For example, when com- mostly sunny days. These are often used in sizing cooling equip-
pared to the 2017 edition, 99.6% heating dry-bulb temperatures ment such as chillers or air-conditioning units.
have increased by 0.12 K on average, and 0.4% cooling dry-bulb Design conditions based on wet-bulb temperature represent ex-
temperatures have increased by 0.14 K on average. Similar trends tremes of the total sensible plus latent heat of outdoor air. This in-
are observed for other design temperatures. The root mean square formation is useful for design of cooling towers, evaporative
differences are 0.49 K for the 99.6% heating dry-bulb values and coolers, and outdoor-air ventilation systems.
0.32 K for 0.4% cooling dry-bulb. The increases noted here are The mean wind speed and direction coincident with the 0.4%
generally consistent with the discussion in the section on Effects design dry-bulb temperature is used for estimating peak loads
of Climate Change. accounting for infiltration.
• Further details concerning differences between design conditions Design conditions based on dew-point temperatures are directly
in the 2017, 2013, 2009, 2005, and 2001 editions are described re- related to extremes of humidity ratio, which represent peak moisture
spectively in Roth (2016), Thevenard and Gueymard (2013), Thev- loads from the weather. Extreme dew-point conditions may occur on
enard (2009), and Thevenard et al. (2005). Differences between the days with moderate dry-bulb temperatures, resulting in high relative
1993 and previous editions are described in Colliver et al. (2000). humidity. These values are especially useful for humidity control
applications, such as desiccant cooling and dehumidification, cooling-
Applicability and Characteristics of Design Conditions based dehumidification, and outdoor-air ventilation systems. The
values are also used as a check point when analyzing the behavior of
Climatic design values in this chapter represent different psy- cooling systems at part-load conditions, particularly when such sys-
chrometric conditions. Design data based on dry-bulb temperature tems are used for humidity control as a secondary function. Humidity
represent peak occurrences of the sensible component of ambient
ratio values are calculated from the corresponding dew-point tempera-
outdoor conditions. Design values based on wet-bulb temperature ture and the standard pressure at the location’s elevation.
are related to the enthalpy of the outdoor air. Conditions based on
Annual enthalpy design conditions give the annual enthalpy for
dew point relate to the peaks of the humidity ratio. The designer,
the cooling season; this is used for calculating cooling loads caused
engineer, or other user must decide which set(s) of conditions and
by infiltration and/or ventilation into buildings. Enthalpy rep-
probability of occurrence apply to the design situation under con-
resents the total heat content of air (the sum of its sensible and latent
sideration. Additional sources of information on frequency and
energies). Cooling loads can be calculated knowing the conditions
duration of extremes of temperature and humidity are provided in
of both the outdoor ambient and the building’s interior air.
the section on Other Sources of Climatic Information. Further infor-
The extreme maximum wet-bulb temperature provides the high-
mation is available from Harriman et al. (1999). This section dis-
est wet-bulb temperature observed over the entire period of analysis
cusses the intended use of design conditions in the order they appear
and is the most extreme condition observed during the data record
in Table 1.
for evaporative processes such as cooling towers. For most locations,
Annual Heating, Humidification, and Ventilation Design the extreme maximum wet-bulb value is significantly higher than the
Conditions. The month with the lowest mean dry-bulb temperature 0.4% wet-bulb (discussed previously) and should be used only for
is used, for example, to determine the time of year where the max- design of critical applications where an occasional short-duration
imum heating load occurs. capacity shortfall is not acceptable.
The 99.6 and 99.0% design conditions are often used in sizing Extreme Annual Design Conditions. Extreme annual design
heating equipment. wind speeds are used in designing smoke management systems.
The humidification dew-point and mean coincident dry-bulb tem- The mean and standard deviation of the extreme annual maxi-
peratures and humidity ratio provide information for cold-season mum and minimum dry-bulb temperatures are used to calculate the
humidification applications. probability of occurrence of very extreme conditions. These can be
Wind design data provide information for estimating peak loads required for design of equipment to ensure continuous operation and
accounting for infiltration: extreme wind speeds for the coldest serviceability regardless of whether the heating or cooling loads are
month, with the mean coincident dry-bulb temperature; and mean being met. These values were calculated from extremes of hourly
wind speed and direction coincident to the 99.6% design dry-bulb temperature observations. The true maximum and minimum tem-
temperature. peratures for any day generally occur between hourly readings.
The weather and shielding factor (WSF) is used in ASHRAE Thus, the mean maximum and minimum temperatures calculated in
Standard 62.2-2019 to calculate the effective annual average infil- this way are generally about 0.5 K less extreme than the mean daily
tration rate, in order to determine ventilation rates in buildings. extreme temperatures observed with maximum and minimum ther-
Annual Cooling, Dehumidification, and Enthalpy Design Con- mometers.
ditions. The month with the highest mean dry-bulb temperature is The 5-, 10-, 20- and 50-year return periods for maximum and
used, for example, to determine the time of year where the maximum minimum extreme dry-bulb temperature are also listed in the table.
sensible cooling load occurs, not taking into account solar loads. Return period (or recurrence interval) is defined as the reciprocal of
The mean daily dry-bulb temperature range for the hottest month the annual probability of occurrence. For instance, the 50-year
is the mean difference between the daily maximum and minimum return period maximum dry-bulb temperature has a probability of
temperatures during the hottest month and is calculated from the occurring or being exceeded of 2.0% (i.e., 1/50) each year. This sta-
extremes of the hourly temperature observations. The true maxi- tistic does not indicate how often the condition will occur in terms
mum and minimum temperatures for any day generally occur of the number of hours each year (as in the design conditions based
between hourly readings. Thus, the mean maximum and minimum on percentiles) but describes the probability of the condition occur-
temperatures calculated in this way are about 0.5 K less extreme ring at all in any year. The following method can be used to estimate
than the mean daily extreme temperatures observed with maximum the return period (recurrence interval) of extreme temperatures:
14.8 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

Tn = M + IFs (1) N +
CDD =   Ti – Tbase  (3)
where i=1
Tn = n-year return period value of extreme dry-bulb temperature to be
estimated, years
Degree-days are used in energy estimating methods, and to clas-
M = mean of annual extreme maximum or minimum dry-bulb sify stations into climate zones for ASHRAE Standard 169.
temperatures, °C Degree-hours are calculated in a similar way but using hourly
s = standard deviation of annual extreme maximum or minimum temperatures instead of daily temperatures. They are also used in
dry-bulb temperatures, K energy estimating methods. However, their higher temporal resolu-
I = 1 if maximum dry-bulb temperatures are being considered tion does not necessarily translate to better correlation with building
= –1 if minimum dry-bulb temperatures are being considered loads because of building thermal lag.
6  Monthly Design Dry-Bulb and Mean Coincident Wet-Bulb
– --------   + ln ln  ------------  
n
F= , where  is Euler’s number or
   n – 1 Temperatures. These values provide design conditions for processes

0.5772... driven by dry-bulb air temperature. In particular, air-conditioning
cooling loads are generally based on dry-bulb design conditions
For example, the 50-year return period extreme maximum dry-bulb (plus clear-sky solar irradiance).
temperature estimated for the example city is 41.2°C (according to Monthly Design Wet-Bulb and Mean Coincident Dry-Bulb
Table 1, M = 35.9°C, s = 2.0, and n = 50; I = 1). Similarly, the 50- Temperatures. Wet-bulb design conditions are of use in analysis of
year return period extreme minimum dry-bulb temperature for the evaporative coolers, cooling towers, and other equipment involving
example city is –16.1°C [M = –9.5°C, s = 2.6, and n = 50; I = –1]. evaporative transfer. Note also that air wet-bulb temperature and
The n-year return periods can be obtained for most stations using enthalpy are closely related, so applications with large ventilation
ASHRAE’s Weather Data Viewer, which is discussed in the section flow rates may have maximum cooling requirements under high
on Other Sources of Climatic Information. wet-bulb conditions.
Similarly, this section lists the parameters required to calculate Mean Daily Temperature Range. Mean daily range values are
the 5-, 10-, 20- and 50-year return periods for maximum and mini- computed using all days of the month, as opposed to coincident val-
mum extreme wet-bulb temperature. The maximum conditions in ues that derive from design days. Mean daily range values have been
particular may be useful in determining very extreme wet-bulb tem- published in previous Handbook editions and are included for com-
peratures during which evaporative systems may have to operate. pleteness. Coincident daily range values should be used for gener-
Also, wet-bulb temperatures exceeding 35°C are known to impede ating design-day profiles.
the ability of humans to effectively shed heat through sweat evapo- Clear-Sky Solar Irradiance. Clear-sky solar irradiance data are
ration. used in load calculation methods. Beam normal irradiance refers to
Calculation of the n-year return period is based on assumptions solar radiation emanating directly from the solar disk and measured
that annual maxima and minima are distributed according to the perpendicularly to the rays of the sun. Diffuse horizontal irradi-
Gumbel (Type 1 Extreme Value) distribution and are fitted with the ance refers to solar radiation emanating from the sky dome, sun
method of moments (Lowery and Nash 1970). The uncertainty or excluded, and measured on a horizontal surface. Because the beam
standard error using this method increases with standard deviation, and diffuse irradiances vary during the course of the day, current
value of return period, and decreasing length of the period of record. load calculation methods require their estimation at various times,
It can be significant. For instance, the standard error in the 50-year which can be done with the method described in the section on Cal-
return period maximum dry-bulb temperature estimated at a loca- culating Clear-Sky Solar Radiation. The method uses the clear-sky
tion with a 12-year period of record can be 3 K or more. Thus, the optical depths b and d , listed in Table 1 as taub and taud, respec-
uncertainties of return period values estimated in this way are tively, as inputs. Clear-sky beam normal and diffuse horizontal irra-
greater for stations with fewer years of data than for stations with the diances at solar noon are also listed in Table 1 for convenience.
complete period of record from 1994 to 2019. All-Sky Solar Radiation. All-sky solar radiation data are used
Temperatures, Degree-Days, and Degree-Hours. Monthly in the design of solar energy systems (either thermal or photovol-
average temperatures and standard deviation of daily average tem- taic). Monthly average daily radiation on the horizontal refers to
peratures are calculated using the averages of the minimum and max- average amount of solar radiation received on a horizontal surface
imum temperatures for each complete day within the period during the course of a day, for the month under consideration. The
analyzed. They are used to estimate heating and cooling degree-days standard deviation of monthly average daily radiation on the
to any base, as explained in the section on Estimation of Degree- horizontal is the standard deviation of the previous monthly quan-
Days. tity, calculated over the period of analysis used for the Handbook,
Heating and cooling degree-days (base 10 or 18.3°C) are calcu- and is an indicator of the year-to-year variability of solar radiation.
lated as the sum of the differences between daily average tempera-
tures (calculated as the average of the daily minimum and maximum
2. CALCULATING CLEAR-SKY SOLAR
temperatures) and the base temperature. For example, the number of
RADIATION
heating degree-days (HDD) in the month is calculated as
Knowledge of clear-sky solar radiation at various times of year
N + and day is required by several calculation methods for heat gains in
HDD =   T base – T i  (2)
HVAC loads and solar energy applications. The tables of climatic
i=1
design conditions include the parameters required to calculate clear-
where N is the number of days in the month, Tbase is the reference sky beam and diffuse solar irradiances using the equations in the fol-
temperature to which the degree-days are calculated, and T i is the lowing section. The section on Transposition to Receiving Surfaces
mean daily temperature calculated by adding the maximum and of Various Orientations explains how to use these values to calculate
minimum temperatures for the day, then dividing by 2. The + super- clear-sky solar radiation incident on arbitrary surfaces.
script indicates that only positive values of the bracketed quantity Note that in all equations in this section, angles are expressed
are taken into account in the sum. Similarly, monthly cooling in degrees. This includes the arguments appearing in trigonometric
degree-days (CDD) are calculated as functions.
Climatic Design Information 14.9

Table 2 Approximate Astronomical Data for 21st Day of Each Month

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Day of year 21 52 80 111 141 172 202 233 264 294 325 355
Eo, W/m2 1410 1397 1378 1354 1334 1323 1324 1336 1357 1380 1400 1411
Equation of time (ET), min –10.6 –14.0 –7.9 1.2 3.7 –1.3 –6.4 –3.6 6.9 15.5 13.8 2.2
Declination , degrees –20.1 –11.2 –0.4 11.6 20.1 23.4 20.4 11.8 –0.2 –11.8 –20.4 –23.4

Table 3 Time Zones in United States and Canada AST = LST + ET/60 + (LON – LSM)/15 (7)
Local Standard where
TZ Meridian Longitude AST =
apparent solar time, decimal hours
Time Zone Name (Hours ± UTC) (°E)
LST =
local standard time, decimal hours
Newfoundland standard time –3.5 –52.5 ET =
equation of time in minutes, from Table 2 or Equation (5)
Atlantic standard time –4 –60 LSM =
longitude of local standard time meridian, °E of Greenwich
Eastern standard time –5 –75 (negative in western hemisphere)
Central standard time –6 –90 LON = longitude of site, °E of Greenwich
Mountain standard time –7 –105
Pacific standard time –8 –120
Most standard meridians are found every 15° from 0° at Green-
Alaska standard time –9 –135 wich, U.K., with a few exceptions, such as the province of New-
Hawaii-Aleutian standard time –10 –150 foundland in Canada. Standard meridian longitude is related to time
zone as follows:
Solar Constant and Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation LSM = 15TZ (8)
The solar constant Esc is defined as the intensity of solar radia- where TZ is the time zone, expressed in hours ahead or behind coor-
tion on a surface normal to the sun’s rays, just beyond the earth’s dinated universal time (UTC). TZ is listed for each station in both
atmosphere, at the average earth-sun distance. One frequently used the PDF version of this chapter (available from technologyportal
value is that proposed by the World Meteorological Organization in ashrae.org) and the Handbook Online version. Table 3 lists time
1981, Esc = 1367 W/m2 (Iqbal 1983). zones and standard time meridians for the United States and Can-
Because the earth’s orbit is slightly elliptical, the extraterrestrial ada.
radiant flux Eo varies throughout the year, reaching a maximum of If daylight saving time (DST) is to be used, rather than local
1412 W/m2 near the beginning of January, when the earth is closest standard time, an additional correction has to be performed. In most
to the sun (aphelion) and a minimum of 1322 W/m2 near the begin- locales, local standard time can be obtained from daylight savings
ning of July, when the earth is farthest from the sun (perihelion). time by subtracting one hour:
Extraterrestrial solar irradiance incident on a surface normal to the
sun’s ray can be approximated with the following equation: LST = DST – 1 (9)
where DST is in decimal hours.
 n – 3 
Eo = Esc  1 + 0.033 cos 360 ----------------  (4) Declination
 365 
Because the earth’s equatorial plane is tilted at an angle of 23.45°
where n is the day of year (1 for January 1, 32 for February 1, etc.) to the orbital plane, the solar declination  (the angle between the
and the argument inside the cosine is in degrees. Table 2 tabulates earth/sun line and the equatorial plane) varies throughout the year,
values of Eo for the 21st day of each month. as shown in Figure 2. This variation causes the changing seasons
with their unequal periods of daylight and darkness. Declination can
Equation of Time and Solar Time be obtained from astronomical or nautical almanacs; however, for
The earth’s orbital velocity also varies throughout the year, so most engineering applications, the following equation provides suf-
apparent solar time (AST), as determined by a solar time sundial, ficient accuracy:
varies somewhat from the mean time kept by a clock running at a
uniform rate. This variation is called the equation of time (ET) and
is approximated by the following formula (Iqbal 1983):
ET = 2.2918[0.0075 + 0.1868 cos() – 3.2077 sin()
– 1.4615 cos(2) – 4.089 sin(2)] (5)
with ET expressed in minutes and
n – 1-
 = 360° ----------- (6)
365
Table 2 tabulates the values of ET for the 21st day of each month.
The conversion between local standard time and solar time
involves two steps: the equation of time is added to the local stan-
dard time, and then a longitude correction is added. This longitude
correction is four minutes of time per degree difference between the
local (site) longitude and the longitude of the local standard
meridian (LSM) for that time zone; hence, AST is related to the
local standard time (LST) as follows: Fig. 2 Motion of Earth around Sun
14.10 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

Solution: From Table 1, the example city is at latitude L = 33.64°N.

n + 284
 = 23.45 sin 360 ------------------  (10) From Table 2 or Equation (10), declination  = 20.44°.
 365  Solar altitude is given by Equation (13):
where  is in degrees and the argument inside the sine is also in  = 90 – |33.64 – 20.44| = 76.80°
degrees. Table 2 provides for the 21st day of each month. At solar noon, the sun is due south, so the azimuth angle  is simply 0°.

Sun Position Example 2. Perform the same calculation as in Example 1, but for 3:00 PM
The sun’s position in the sky is conveniently expressed in terms eastern daylight saving time.
of the solar altitude above the horizontal and the solar azimuth mea- Solution: Compared to Example 1, a few extra steps are required to
sured from the south (Figure 3). The solar altitude angle  is defined calculate AST. From Table 1, for the example city, LON = 84.43°W =
as the angle between the horizontal plane and a line emanating from – 84.43°E and TZ = – 5.00. Also, from Table 2 or Equation (5), ET =
the sun. Its value ranges from 0° when the sun is on the horizon, to –6.4 min. Then, from Equation (8):
90° if the sun is directly overhead. Negative values correspond to LSM = 15(–5.00) = –75°
night times. The solar azimuth angle  is defined as angular dis-
Because 3 PM daylight saving time is 2 PM standard time, or hour
placement from south of the projection, on the horizontal plane, of
14, Equation (7) leads to
the earth/sun line. By convention, it is counted positive for after-
noon hours and negative for morning hours. AST = 14 – 6.4/60 + [(–84.43) – (–75)]/15 = 13.27 h
Solar altitude and azimuth angles, in turn, depend on the local Then, from Equation (11):
latitude L (N, negative in the southern hemisphere); the solar dec-
lination , which is a function of the date [see Table 2 or Equation H = 15(13.27 – 12) = 18.97°
(10)]; and the hour angle H, defined as the angular displacement of Solar altitude is given by Equation (12), using the same latitude and
the sun east or west of the local meridian caused by the rotation of declination as in Example 1:
the earth, and expressed in degrees as sin  = cos(33.64°) cos(20.44°) cos(18.97°)
H = 15(AST – 12) (11) + sin(33.64°) sin(20.44°) = 0.931
Therefore,  = 68.62°.
where AST is the apparent solar time [Equation (7)]. H is zero at Solar azimuth is obtained through Equations (14) and (15):
solar noon, positive in the afternoon, and negative in the morning.
Equation (12) relates the solar altitude angle  to L, , and H: sin  = sin(18.97°) cos(20.44°)/cos(68.62°) = 0.836
cos = [cos(18.97°) cos(20.44°) sin (33.64°)
sin  = cos L cos  cos H + sin L sin  (12) – sin(20.44°) cos(33.64°)]/cos(68.62°) = 0.549
Note that at solar noon, H = 0 and the sun reaches its maximum Therefore,  = 56.69°.
altitude in the sky:
Air Mass
max = 90° – |L – | (13) The relative air mass m is the ratio of the mass of atmosphere in
The azimuth angle  is uniquely determined by its sine and the actual earth/sun path to the mass that would exist if the sun were
cosine, given in Equations (14) and (15): directly overhead. Air mass is solely a function of solar altitude 
and is obtained from (Kasten and Young 1989)
sin  = sin H cos /cos  (14)
m = 1/[sin  + 0.50572(6.07995 + )–1.6364] (16)
cos  = (cos H cos  sin L – sin  cos L)/cos  (15)
where  is expressed in degrees.
Example 1. Calculate the position of the sun in the example city of Table 1 Clear-Sky Solar Radiation
for July 21 at noon solar time.
Solar radiation on a clear day is defined by its beam (direct) and
diffuse components. The direct component represents the part of
solar radiation emanating directly from the solar disc, whereas the
diffuse component accounts for radiation emanating from the rest of
the sky. These two components are calculated as
Eb = Eo exp[–b mab] (17)

Ed = Eo exp[–d mad] (18)

where
Eb = beam normal irradiance (measured perpendicularly to rays of
the sun)
Ed = diffuse horizontal irradiance (measured on horizontal surface)
Eo = extraterrestrial normal irradiance [Equation (4) or Table 2]
m = air mass [Equation (16)]
b and d = beam and diffuse optical depths (b and d are more correctly
termed pseudo-optical depths, because optical depth refers to
an air mass coefficient without exponentiation; “optical depth”
is used here for convenience.)
ab and ad = beam and diffuse air mass exponents
Values of b and d are location-specific and vary during the
Fig. 3 Solar Angles for Vertical and Horizontal Surfaces year. They embody the dependence of clear-sky solar radiation on
Climatic Design Information 14.11

local conditions, such as elevation, precipitable water, aerosols, Table 4 Surface Orientations and Azimuths,
ozone, and surface reflectance. Their average values were deter- Measured from South
mined through ASHRAE research project RP-1847 (Roth 2021),
Orientation N NE E SE S SW W NW
and are tabulated for the 21st day of each month for all the locations
in the tables of climatic design conditions. Values for other days of Surface azimuth  180° –135° –90° –45° 0 45° 90° 135°
the year should be found by interpolation.
Air mass exponents ab and ad are correlated to b and d through Solar Angles Related to Receiving Surfaces
the following empirical relationships:
The orientation of a receiving surface is best characterized by its
ab = 1.454 – 0.406 b – 0.268 d + 0.021 bd (19) tilt angle and its azimuth, shown in Figure 3. The tilt angle  (also
called slope) is the angle between the surface and the horizontal
ad = 0.507 + 0.205 b – 0.080 d – 0.190 bd (20) plane. Its value lies between 0 and 180°. Most often, slopes are
between 0° (horizontal) and 90° (vertical). Values above 90° corre-
Equations (17) to (20) describe a simple parameterization of a spond to surfaces facing the ground. The surface azimuth  is
sophisticated broadband radiation model and provide accurate pre- defined as the displacement from south of the projection, on the hor-
dictions of Eb and Ed , even at sites where the atmosphere is very izontal plane, of the normal to the surface. Surfaces that face west
hazy or humid most of the time. have a positive surface azimuth; those that face east have a negative
surface azimuth. Surface azimuths for common orientations are
Example 3. Calculate clear-sky beam and diffuse solar irradiance in the summarized in Table 4. Note that, in this chapter, surface azimuth is
example city of Table 1 for July 21 at noon solar time. Note that Table 1 defined as relative to south in both the northern and southern hemi-
already lists clear-sky beam and diffuse solar irradiance for solar noon. spheres. Other presentations and software use relative-to-north or
Calculations are shown here to illustrate the application of the method. relative-to-equator; care is required.
Solution: From Example 1, at solar noon on July 21 in the example The surface-solar azimuth angle  is defined as the angular dif-
city, solar altitude is  = 76.80°. From Equation (16): ference between the solar azimuth  and the surface azimuth :
m = 1/[sin(76.80°) + 0.50572(6.07995 + 76.80)–1.6364] = 1.027 =– (21)
From Table 1, the beam and diffuse optical depths for the example Values of  greater than 90° or less than –90° indicate that the sur-
city in July are b = 0.515 and d = 2.066. From Table 2 or Equation face is in the shade.
(4), normal extraterrestrial irradiance on July 21 is Eo = 1324 W/m2.
Then, from Equations (19) and (20) Finally, the angle between the line normal to the irradiated sur-
face and the earth-sun line is called the angle of incidence . It is
ab = 1.454 – 0.406 × 0.515 – 0.268 × 2.066 + 0.021 × 0.515 × 2.066 important in fenestration, load calculations, and solar technology
= 0.714 because it affects the intensity of the direct component of solar radi-
ad = 0.507 + 0.205 × 0.515 – 0.080 × 2.066 – 0.190 × 0.515 × 2.066 ation striking the surface and the surface’s ability to absorb, trans-
= 0.245 mit, or reflect the sun’s rays. Its value is given by

and from Equations (17) and (18), cos  = cos  cos  sin  + sin  cos  (22)
Eb = 1324 exp(–0.515 × 1.0270.714) = 784 W/m2 Note that for vertical surfaces ( = 90°) Equation (22) simplifies to
Ed = 1324 exp(–2.066 × 1.0270.245) = 166 W/m2 cos  = cos  cos  (23)
These are the values listed for “Ebn at Noon” and “Edh at Noon” in
whereas for horizontal surfaces ( = 0°) it simplifies to
Table 1.
 = 90 –  (24)
Example 4. Perform the same calculation as in Example 3, but for 3 PM
eastern daylight saving time.
Example 5. For the example city of Table 1 on July 21 at 3 PM eastern day-
Solution: This is the same calculation as in the solution of Example 3, light saving time, find the angle of incidence at a vertical widow facing
but using the solar altitude  = 68.62° calculated in Example 2 (ab and 60° west of south.
ad are unchanged from Example 3):
Solution: The azimuth of the receiving surface is  = +60°. According
m = 1/[sin(68.62°) + 0.50572(6.07995 + 68.62)–1.6364] = 1.073 to Example 2, the solar azimuth angle is  = 56.69°. Then, Equation
(21) gives the surface-solar azimuth angle as
Eb = 1324 exp(–0.515 × 1.0730.714) = 770 W/m2
 = 56.69° – 60° = –3.31°
Ed = 1324 exp(–2.066 × 1.0730.245) = 162 W/m2 Still from Example 2, the solar altitude angle is  = 68.62°. Equation
(23) leads to
3. TRANSPOSITION TO RECEIVING SURFACES
OF VARIOUS ORIENTATIONS cos  = cos(68.62°) cos(–3.31°) = 0.364

Calculations developed in the previous section are chiefly con- Therefore,  = 68.66°.
cerned with estimating clear-sky solar irradiance either normal to
the rays of the sun (for the direct beam component) or on a horizon- Example 6. For the same conditions as in Example 5, find the angle of
incidence at a skylight tilted at 30° and facing 60° west of south.
tal surface (for the diffuse component). However, in many circum-
stances, calculation of clear-sky solar irradiance is required on Solution: The azimuth of the receiving surface is still  = +60°, but its
surfaces of arbitrary orientations. Receiving surfaces can be vertical slope is  = 30°. Other angles are unchanged from Example 5. Equa-
(e.g., walls and windows) or tilted (e.g., skylights or active solar tion (22) now applies:
devices). This section describes transposition models that enable cos  = cos(68.62°) cos(–3.31°) sin(30°) + sin(68.62°) cos(30°) = 0.988
calculating solar irradiance on any surface, knowing beam normal
and diffuse horizontal irradiance. which leads to  = 8.74°.
14.12 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

Calculation of Clear-Sky Solar Irradiance Incident Table 5 Albedo of Foreground Surfaces

on Receiving Surface Foreground Surface Albedo
The total clear-sky irradiance Et reaching the receiving surface is Water (near normal incidences) 0.07
the sum of three components: the beam component Et,b originating
Coniferous forest (winter) 0.07
from the solar disc; the diffuse component Et,d, originating from the
Asphalt, new 0.05
sky dome; and the ground-reflected component Et,r originating
from the ground in front of the receiving surface. Thus, weathered 0.10
Bituminous and gravel roof 0.13
Et = Et,b + Et,d + Et,r (25) Dry bare ground 0.2
Weathered concrete 0.2 to 0.3
Only a simple method for computing all the factors on the right Green grass 0.26
side of Equation (25) is presented here. More elaborate methods, Dry grassland 0.2 to 0.3
particularly with regard to the calculating the diffuse component, Desert sand 0.4
can be found in Gueymard (1987) and Perez et al. (1990).
Light building surfaces 0.6
Beam Component. The beam component is obtained from a
straightforward geometric relationship: Snow-covered surfaces:
Typical city center 0.2
Et,b = Eb cos  (26) Typical urban site 0.4
where  is the angle of incidence defined in Equation (22). This rela- Typical rural site 0.5
tionship is valid only when cos  > 0 and the sun is not shaded (e.g., Isolated rural site 0.7
by an adjacent building); otherwise, Et,b = 0. Source: Adapted from Thevenard and Haddad (2006).
Diffuse Component. The diffuse component is more difficult to
estimate because of the anisotropic nature of diffuse radiation: some to be 0.2. The extraterrestrial irradiance, from Example 4, is Eo = 1324
parts of the sky, such as the circumsolar disc or the horizon, tend to W/m2. Substituting these values into Equations (26) to (30) leads to
be brighter than the rest of the sky, which makes the development of Et,b = 770 cos(68.66°) = 280 W/m2
a simplified model challenging. The model developed by Hay and
Davies (1980) has been shown to work well, at least for   90°, AI = 770 / 1324 = 0.582
while being simple enough. It introduces an anisotropy index AI
given by: Rb = cos(68.66)/sin(68.62) = 0.391

AI = Eb/Eo (27) Et,d = 162 × (0.582×0.391 + (1–0.582) × (1+cos(90°))/2) = 71 W/m2

Et,r = [770 sin (68.62°) + 162] × 0.2 × [1–cos(90°)] / 2 = 88 W/m2

where Eb is the beam normal irradiance and Eo is the normal extra-
terrestrial irradiance (Equation [4], or Table 2). Assuming no signif-
Example 8. Find the direct, diffuse and ground-reflected components of
icant shading of the sky, the diffuse irradiance on the surface is clear-sky solar irradiance on the skylight in Example 6.
Et,d = Ed{AI × Rb + (1 – AI)(1 + cos  (28) Solution: This example uses the same values as Example 7, except that
the surface slope is  = 30° and the angle of incidence, calculated in
where Rb is given by Example 6, is  = 8.74°. The anisotropy index AI is unchanged. The
irradiance components on the surface are then calculated from Equa-
tions (26), (28), (29) and (30):
Rb = cos  / sin  (29)
Et,b = 770 cos(8.74°) = 761 W/m2
with  the angle of incidence and  the elevation of the sun. Rb
should be set to zero whenever the sun is below the horizon ( < 0) Rb = cos(8.74°)/sin(68.62°) = 1.061
or the incidence angle  exceeds 90° (that is, the sun is behind the
surface). Et,d = 162 × (0.582×1.061 + (1–0.582) × (1+cos(30°))/2) = 163 W/m2
Ground-Reflected Component. Assuming an infinite fore-
Et,r = [770 sin(68.62°) + 162] × 0.2 × (1–cos(30°))/2) = 12 W/m2
ground and no shading that could affect the incident radiation on it,
the ground-reflected irradiance for surfaces of all orientations is
given by 4. GENERATING DESIGN-DAY DATA
This section provides procedures for generating 24 h temperature
– cos -
Et,r = (Eb sin  + Ed)g 1-------------------- (30) data sequences suitable as input to many HVAC analysis methods,
2 including the radiant time series (RTS) cooling load calculation pro-
where g is the ground albedo (or hemispherical reflectance), often cedure described in Chapter 18.
taken to be 0.2 for a typical mixture of ground surfaces. Table 5 pro- Temperatures. Table 6 gives a normalized daily temperature
vides estimates of g for other surfaces, including cases when snow profile in fractions of daily temperature range. Recent research proj-
is present. ects RP-1363 (Hedrick 2009) and RP-1453 (Thevenard 2009) have
shown that this profile is representative of both dry-bulb and wet-
Example 7. Find the direct, diffuse, and ground-reflected components of bulb temperature variation on typical design days. To calculate
clear-sky solar irradiance on the window in Example 5. hourly temperatures, subtract the Table 6 fraction of the dry- or
Solution: The clear-sky beam normal irradiance Eb and diffuse hori-
wet-bulb daily range from the dry- or wet-bulb design temperature
zontal irradiance Ed were calculated in Example 4 as Eb = 770 W/m2 (limiting by saturation in the case of the wet-bulb). This procedure
and Ed = 162 W/m2, respectively. Example 2 provided the solar altitude is applicable to annual or monthly data and is shown in Example 9.
as  = 68.62°, and Example 5 provided the angle of incidence as  = Table 7 specifies the input values to be used for generating several
68.66°. The surface slope is  = 90°, and the ground albedo is assumed design-day types.
Climatic Design Information 14.13

Because daily temperature variation is driven by heat from the  –Z 2 

1
sun, the profile in Table 6 is, strictly speaking, specified in terms of f (Z) = ------------ exp  ---------  (33)
solar time. Typical HVAC calculations (e.g., hourly cooling loads) 2  2 
are performed in local time, reflecting building operation schedules.
Z
The difference between local and solar time can easily be 1 or 2 h,
depending on site longitude and whether daylight saving time is in F(Z) =  f  z dz
–
(34)
effect. This difference can be included by accessing the temperature
profile using apparent solar time (AST) calculated with Equation Both f and F are readily available as built-in functions in many
(7), as shown in Example 9. scientific calculators or spreadsheet programs, so their manual cal-
Additional Moist-Air Properties. Once hourly dry-bulb and culation is rarely warranted.
wet-bulb temperatures are known, additional moist air properties Cooling degree days CDDb to base Tb are calculated by the same
(e.g., dew-point temperature, humidity ratio, enthalpy) can be de- equation:
rived using the psychrometric chart, equations in Chapter 1, or psy- CDDb = Nsd [ZbF(Zb) + f (Zb)] (35)
chrometric software.
except that Zb is now expressed as
Example 9. Deriving Hourly Design-Day Temperatures. Calculate hourly
temperatures for the example city of Table 1 for a July dry-bulb design T – Tb
day using the 5% design conditions. Zb = ---------------- (36)
sd
Solution: From Table 1, the July 5% dry-bulb design conditions for the
Alternative Equations. The following formulas from ISO Stan-
example city are DB = 33.1°C and MCWB = 23.5°C. Daily range val-
ues are MCDBR = 11.2°C and MCWBR = 3.4°C. Daylight saving time dard 15927-6 give results very similar to Equations (32) and (36)
is in effect for the example city in July. Apparent solar time (AST) for but are somewhat simpler:
hour 1 local daylight saving time (LDT) is –0.73. The nearest hour to
the AST is 23, yielding a Table 6 profile value of 0.75. Then tdb,1 = N  Tb – T 
HDDb = ------------------------------------------------------------------- (37)
–0.75 × = 24.7°C. Similarly, twb,1 = 23.5 – 0.75 × 3.4 = 21.0°C. 1 – exp  – 2  T b – T   s d 
With psychrometric formulas, derive tdp,1 = 19.3°C. Table 8 shows
results of this procedure for all 24 h.
N  T – Tb 
CDDb = ------------------------------------------------------------------- (38)
5. ESTIMATION OF DEGREE-DAYS 1 – exp  – 2  T – T b   s d 

Monthly Degree-Days When T = T b , the right-hand side of these equations become

Ns d  2 .
The tables of climatic design conditions in this chapter list heat-
ing and cooling degree-days (bases 10 and 18.3°C). Although 10 Annual Degree-Days
and 18.3°C represent the most commonly used bases for the calcu- Annual degree-days are simply the sum of monthly degree days
lation of degree-days, calculation to other bases may be necessary. over the twelve months of the year.
With that goal in mind, the tables also provide two parameters
(monthly average temperature T , and standard deviation of daily Example 10. Calculate heating and cooling degree-days (base 15°C) for
average temperature sd) that enable estimation of degree-days to any the example city of Table 1 for the month of October.
base with reasonable accuracy. Solution: For October in the example city, Table 1 provides T =
The calculation method was established by Schoenau and Kehrig 17.5°C and sd = 3.93°C. For heating degree-days, Equation (32) pro-
(1990). Heating degree days HDDb to base Tb are expressed as vides Zb = (15 – 17.5)/3.93 = –0.636. From a scientific calculator or a
spreadsheet program f (Zb) = 0.326, and F(Zb) = 0.262. Equation (31)
HDDb = Nsd [ZbF(Zb) + f (Zb)] (31) then gives

where N is the number of days in the month and Zb is the difference Table 6 Fraction of Daily Temperature Range
between monthly average temperature T and base temperature Tb ,
normalized by the standard deviation of the daily average tempera- Time, h Fraction Time, h Fraction Time, h Fraction
ture sd : 1 0.88 9 0.55 17 0.14
2 0.92 10 0.38 18 0.24
Tb – T 3 0.95 11 0.23 19 0.39
Zb = ---------------- (32) 4 0.98 12 0.13 20 0.50
sd
5 1.00 13 0.05 21 0.59
Function f is the normal (Gaussian) probability density function 6 0.98 14 0.00 22 0.68
with mean 0 and standard deviation 1, and function F is the equiv- 7 0.91 15 0.00 23 0.75
alent cumulative normal probability function: 8 0.74 16 0.06 24 0.82

Table 7 Input Sources for Design-Day Generation

Design Day Type Design Conditions Daily Ranges Limits
Dry-bulb
Annual 0.4, 1, or 2% annual cooling DB/MCWB Hottest month 5% DB MCDBR/MCWBR Hourly wet-bulb temp. = min(dry-bulb
Monthly 0.4, 2, 5, or 10% DB/MCWB for month 5% DB MCDBR/MCWBR for month temp., wet-bulb temp.)

Wet-bulb
Annual 0.4, 1, or 2% annual cooling WB/MCDB Hottest month 5% WB MCDBR/MCWBR Hourly dry-bulb temp. = max(dry-bulb
Monthly 0.4, 2, 5, or 10% WB/MCDB for month 5% WB MCDBR/MCWBR for month temp., wet-bulb temp.)
14.14 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

Table 8 Derived Hourly Temperatures for Example City for Table 9 Locations Representing Various Climate Types
July for 5% Design Conditions, °C Cold Snow Forest Dry Warm Rainy Tropical Rainy
Hour (LDT) tdb twb tdp Hour (LDT) tdb twb tdp Portland, ME Amarillo, TX Huntsville, AL Key West, FL
1 24.7 21.0 19.3 13 30.5 22.7 19.4 Grand Island, NE Bakersfield, CA Wilmington, NC West Palm
Minot, ND Sacramento, CA Portland, OR Beach, FL
2 23.9 20.7 19.3 14 31.6 23.1 19.5
Indianapolis, IN Phoenix, AZ Quillayute, WA
3 23.2 20.5 19.3 15 32.5 23.3 19.5
4 22.8 20.4 19.3 16 33.1 23.5 19.5
5 22.5 20.3 19.3 17 33.1 23.5 19.5 climatologists in the United States, see wcdirectory.ametsoc.org/certified
6 22.1 20.2 19.3 18 32.4 23.3 19.5 -consulting-meteorologists; in Canada, consult cmos.ca/client/roster/
7 21.9 20.1 19.3 19 31.5 23.0 19.5 clientRosterView.html?clientRosterId=190.
8 22.1 20.2 19.3 20 30.4 22.7 19.4 Depending on a site’s specific geographic location and setting
9 22.9 20.4 19.3 21 28.7 22.2 19.4 (e.g., proximity to large body of water or hills), the data in this chap-
10 24.8 21.0 19.3 22 27.5 21.8 19.3 ter for the nearest weather station may not be representative of the
11 26.9 21.6 19.3 23 26.5 21.5 19.3 actual climate experienced at the project site. In these instances, it
12 28.8 22.2 19.4 24 25.5 21.2 19.3 may be beneficial to obtain climate data using procedures developed
LDT = Local daylight saving time.
by ASHRAE research project RP-1561 (Qiu et al. 2016). The meth-
odologies provide a protocol for using state-of-the-art mesoscale
HDD15 = 31 × 3.93(–0.636 × 0.262 + 0.326) = 19.4°C-day modeling techniques to derive meteorological conditions specific to
the study area. The research project included the methodology based
For cooling degree-days, Zb = 0.636. Note that f(–Zb) = f (Zb) and on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model designed to
F(–Zb) = 1 – F(Zb), hence develop site-specific climate data where standard weather stations
f (Zb) = 0.326 and F(Zb) = 0.738
are unavailable or not representative of site conditions. The method-
ology was evaluated by using observations in various geographic
and regions, including coastal, mountain valley, mountain plateau, and
major cities. A simplified procedure was developed; it is freely avail-
CDD15 = 31 × 3.93(0.636 × 0.737 + 0.326) = 96.9°C-day able at klimaat.github.io/emspy/.
For most stations, the monthly degree-days calculated with this meth- The underlying data also depend on the method of observation.
od are within 5°C-day of the observed values. During the 1990s, most data gathering in the United States and Can-
ada was converted to automated systems designated either an auto-
6. REPRESENTATIVENESS OF DATA AND mated surface observation system (ASOS) or an automated weather
SOURCES OF UNCERTAINTY observing system (AWOS). This change improved completeness
and consistency of available data. However, changes have resulted
Representativeness of Data from the inherent differences in type of instrumentation, instrumen-
The climatic design information in this chapter was obtained by tation location, and processing procedures between the prior manual
direct analysis of observations from the indicated locations. Design systems and ASOS. These effects were investigated in ASHRAE re-
values reflect an estimate of the cumulative frequency of occurrence search project RP-1226 (Belcher and DeGaetano 2004). Compari-
of the weather conditions at the recording station, either for single or son of one-year ASOS and manual records revealed some biases in
jointly occurring elements, for several years into the future. Several dry-bulb temperature, dew-point temperature, and wind speed.
sources of uncertainty affect the accuracy of using the design con- These biases are judged to be negligible for HVAC engineering pur-
ditions to represent other locations or periods. poses; the tabulated design conditions in this chapter were derived
The most important of these factors is spatial representativeness. from mixed automated and manual data as available. Changes in the
Most of the observed data for which design conditions were calcu- location of the observing instruments often have a larger effect than
lated were collected from airport observing sites, the majority of changes in instrumentation.
which are flat, grassy, open areas, away from buildings and trees or Weather conditions vary from year to year and, to some extent,
other local influences. Temperatures recorded in these areas may be from decade to decade because of the inherent variability of
significantly different from built-up areas where the design condi- climate. Similarly, values representing design conditions vary
tions are being applied. For example, the maximum urban heat depending on the period of record used in the analysis. Thus,
island intensity may be 10 K or more (Oke 1987), although intraur- because of short-term climatic variability, there is always some
ban variability is typically quite large. Urban microclimate is uncertainty in using design conditions from one period to repre-
affected by the three-dimensional density of building construction, sent another period. Typically, values of design dry-bulb tempera-
usually represented by the ratio of building height to street width (H/ ture vary less than 1 K from decade to decade, but larger variations
W); by type and extent of plant cover; and by anthropogenic heat can occur. Differing periods used in the analysis can lead to dif-
emissions from buildings and vehicles. Significant variations can ferences in design conditions between nearby locations at similar
also occur with changes in local elevation, even if elevations differ elevations. Design conditions may show trends in areas of increas-
by a few hundred metres, or in the vicinity of large bodies of water. ing urbanization or other regions experiencing extensive changes
It should be emphasized that such variations are not constant in to land use. Longer-term climatic change brought by human or
time: intraurban differences in temperature and humidity fluctuate natural causes may also introduce trends into design conditions.
not only in predictable diurnal patterns, but also in response to This is discussed further in the section on Effects of Climate
changes in synoptic conditions and wind direction. Urban heat Change.
islands, for example, are typically prominent on clear nights with Wind speed and direction are very sensitive to local exposure
little or no wind, and are weaker or nonexistent in windy conditions features such as terrain and surface cover. The original wind data
and during daytime. Therefore, judgment must always be used in used to calculate the wind speed and direction design conditions in
assessing the representativeness of the design conditions. Consult Table 1 are often representative of a flat, open exposure, such as at
an applied climatologist regarding estimating design conditions for airports. Wind engineering methods, as described in Chapter 24, can
locations not listed in this chapter. For online references to applied be used to account for exposure differences between airport and
Climatic Design Information 14.15

building sites. This is a complex procedure, best undertaken by an worldwide with suitably complete data from 1977 to 2006, selected
experienced applied climatologist or wind engineer with knowledge design conditions were compared between the period 1977-1986
of the exposure of the observing and building sites and surrounding and 1997-2006. The results, averaged over all locations, are as fol-
regions. lows:
Uncertainty from Variation in Length of Record • The 99.6% annual dry-bulb temperature increased 1.52 K
ASHRAE research project RP-1171 (Hubbard et al. 2004) inves- • The 0.4% annual dry-bulb increased 0.79 K
tigated the uncertainty associated with the climatic design condi- • Annual dew point increased by 0.55 K
tions in the 2001 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals. The main • Heating degree-days (base 18.3°C) decreased by 237°C-days
objectives were to determine how many years are needed to calcu- • Cooling degree-days (base 10°C) increased by 136°C-days
late reliable design values and to look at the frequency and duration Although these results are consistent with general warming of
of episodes exceeding the design values. the world climate system, there are other effects that undoubtedly
Design temperatures in the 1997 and 2001 editions were calcu- contribute, such as increased urbanization around many of the
lated for locations for which there were at least 8 years of sufficient observing sites (airports, typically). There was no attempt in the
data; the criterion for using 8 years was based on unpublished work analysis to determine the reasons for the changes.
by TC 4.2. RP-1171 analyzed data records from 14 U.S. locations A more recent study by Roth (2016), using stations used in the
(Table 9) representing four different climate types. The dry-bulb tem- 2017 edition of this chapter, looked at trends for yearly average dry-
peratures corresponding to the five annual percentile design tempera- bulb temperature and other quantities over the 1990 to 2014 period
tures (99.6, 99, 0.4, 1, and 2%) from the 33-year period 1961-1993 using statistical methods. The study showed that statistically signif-
(period used for the 2001 edition’s U.S. stations) were calculated for icant increases in average dry-bulb temperature can be detected in
each location. The temperatures corresponding to the same percen- only 24% of stations on an individual basis. However, trends
tiles for each contiguous subperiod ranging from 1 to 33 years in become more apparent when stations are evaluated in groups. Sta-
length was calculated, and the standard deviation of the differences tions were grouped in 5°×5° cells covering the globe. Of these
between the resulting design temperature from each subperiod and cells, 38% showed an increase in average dry-bulb temperature,
the entire 33-year period was calculated. For instance, for a 10-year and 2% showed a decrease; 22% showed an increase in average
period, the dry-bulb values corresponding to each of the 23 subperi- dew-point temperature and 11% a decrease; finally, 26% showed
ods 1961-1970, 1962-1971, … 1984-1993 were calculated and the an increase in average wet-bulb temperature, and 6% showed a
standard deviation of differences with the dry-bulb value for the same decrease. Geographically, increases in average dry-bulb tempera-
percentile from the 33-year period calculated. The standard deviation ture were most visible throughout Europe, in China and southeast
values represent a measure of uncertainty of the design temperatures Asia, the eastern United States, southern South America, and
relative to the design temperature for the entire period of record. southern Australia, and are typically in the range of 0.2 to 0.6 K per
The results for the five annual percentiles are summarized in Fig- decade. Northern locations exhibited higher positive trends (above
ures 4A to 4E, each of which shows how the uncertainty (the aver- 1 K per decade). Dew-point temperature increases were most visi-
age standard deviation for each of the locations in each climate type) ble in eastern Europe, Atlantic Canada, and Indonesia, whereas
varies with length of period. decreases were experienced in the southern United States, South
To the degree that the differences used to calculate the standard devi- America, Mongolia, and southern China.
ations are distributed normally, the short-period design temperatures Regardless of the reasons for increases, the general approach of
can be expected to lie within one standard deviation of the long-term developing design conditions based on analysis of the recent record
design temperature 68% of the time. For example, from Figure 4A, the (26 years, in this case) was specifically adopted for updating the val-
uncertainty for the cold snow forest for a 1-year period is 3.6 K. This ues in this chapter as a balance between accounting for long-term
can be interpreted that the probability is 68% that the difference in a trends and the sampling variation caused by year-to-year variation.
99.6% dry-bulb in any given year will be within 3.6 K of the long-term Although this does not necessarily provide the optimum predictive
99.6% dry-bulb. Similarly, there is a 68% probability that the 99.6% value for representing conditions over the next one or two decades,
dry-bulb from any 10-year period will be within 1 K of the long-term it at least has the effect of incorporating changes in climate and local
value for a location of the cold snow forest climate type. conditions as they occur, as updates are conducted regularly using
The uncertainty for the cold season is higher than for the warm recent data. Meteorological services worldwide are considering the
season. For example, the uncertainty for the 99.6% dry-bulb for a many aspects of this complex issue in the calculation of climate
10-year period ranges from 0.6 to 1.0 K for the five climate types, “normals” (averages, extremes, and other statistical summary infor-
whereas the uncertainty for the 0.4% dry-bulb for a 10-year period mation of climate elements typically calculated for a 30-year period
ranges from 0.4 to 0.6 K. at the end of each decade). Livezey et al. (2007) and WMO (2007)
A variety of other general characteristics of uncertainty are evi- provide detailed analyses and recommendations in this regard.
dent from an inspection of Figure 4. For example, the highest uncer- Extrapolating design conditions to the next few decades based on
tainty of any climate type for a 10-year period is 1.1 K for the cold observed trends should only be done with attention to the particular
snow forest 99% dry-bulb case. The smallest uncertainty is 0.2 K for climate element and the regional and temporal characteristics of
the tropical rainy 1% and 2% dry-bulb cases. observed trends (Livezey et al. 2007).
Based on these results, it was concluded that using a minimum of
8 years of data would provide reliable (within ±1 K) climatic design Episodes Exceeding the
calculations for most stations. Design Dry-Bulb Temperature
Design temperatures based on annual percentiles indicate how
Effects of Climate Change many hours each year on average the specific conditions will be ex-
The evidence is unequivocal that the climate system is warming ceeded, but do not provide any information on the length or fre-
globally (IPCC 2015). The most frequently observed effects relate quency of such episodes. As reported by Hubbard et al. (2004), each
to increases in average, and to some degree, extreme temperatures. episode and its duration for the locations in Table 9 during which the
This is partly shown by the results of an analysis of design con- 2001 design conditions represented by the 99.6, 99, 0.4, 1, and 2%
ditions conducted as part of calculating the values for the 2009 dry-bulb temperatures were exceeded (i.e., were more extreme) was
edition of this chapter (Thevenard 2009). For 1274 observing sites tabulated and their frequency of occurrence analyzed. The measure
14.16 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

Fig. 4 Uncertainty versus Period Length for Various Dry-Bulb Temperatures, by Climate Type

of frequency is the average number of episodes per year or its recip- sponding to the 0.4, 1, and 2% design dry bulb, are about 10, 12, and
rocal, the average period between episodes. 15 h, respectively.
Cold- and warm-season results are presented in Figures 5A and Although the results in Hubbard et al. (2004) varied somewhat
5B, respectively, for Indianapolis, IN, as a representative example. among the locations analyzed, generally the longest cold-season
The duration for the 10-year period between episodes more extreme episodes last days, whereas the longest warm-season episodes were
than the 99.6% design dry bulb is 37 h, and 62 h for the 99% design always shorter than 24 h. These results were seen at almost all loca-
dry bulb. For the warm season, the 10-year period durations corre- tions, and are general for the continental United States. The only
exception was Phoenix, where the longest cold-season episodes
Climatic Design Information 14.17

were less than 24 h. This is likely the result of the southern latitude • Display frequency distribution and the cumulative frequency dis-
and dry climate, which produces a large daily temperature range, tribution functions in graphical form.
even in the cold season. • Display joint frequency functions in graphical form.
• Display the table of years and months used for the calculation.
7. OTHER SOURCES OF CLIMATIC • Display hourly binned dry-bulb temperature data.
INFORMATION • Calculate heating and cooling degree-days to any base, using the
method of Schoenau and Kehrig (1990).
Joint Frequency Tables of Psychrometric Conditions
The Engineering Weather Data CD (NCDC 1999), an update of
Design values in this chapter were developed by ASHRAE Air Force Manual 88-29, was compiled by the U.S. Air Force 14th
research project RP-1847 (Roth 2021). The frequency tables used to Weather Squadron. This CD contains several tabular and graphical
calculate the simple design conditions, and the joint frequency summaries of temperature, humidity, and wind speed information for
matrices used to calculate the coincident design conditions, are hundreds of locations in the United States and around the world. In
available in ASHRAE’s Weather Data Viewer, which is now a web- particular, it contains detailed joint frequency tables of temperature
based product (for details, see www.ashrae.org/technical-resources and humidity for each month, binned at 0.5°C and 3 h local time-of-
/bookstore/weather-data-center). The Weather Data Viewer gives day intervals. This CD is available from the National Centers for
users full access to the frequency tables and joint frequency matri- Environmental Information (NCEI): www.ncdc.noaa.gov/nespls
ces for all 9237 stations in the 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Funda- /olstore.prodspecific?prodnum=5005.
mentals via an easy-to-use web-based interface, and provides the An online system which provides access to climate summary
following capabilities: tables for worldwide locations is available from NCEI:
• Select a station by WMO number or region/country/state/name or gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/maps/ncei/summaries/global. This can be used
by proximity to a given latitude and longitude. as an aid in estimating design conditions for locations not available
• Retrieve design climatic conditions for a specified station, in SI or in the 2021 ASHRAE Handbook. Various parameters include tem-
I-P units. perature, dew point, relative humidity, sea level pressure, wind
speed/direction, and cloud cover. For helpful information regarding
• Display frequency vectors and joint frequency matrices in the usage of this GIS interface: gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/maps/ncei/help.
form of numerical tables.
Degree Days and Climate Normals
Climate normals are three-decade averages of climatological
variables, including temperature, precipitation, snowfall, snow
depth, and degree-days.
The 1981 to 2010 climate normals for over 9800 United States
locations are available online from NCEI: www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data
-access/land-based-station-data/land-based-datasets/climate-normals
/1981-2010-normals-data.
NCEI has additional online systems which provide station cli-
mate summaries of particular interest to engineering, energy, indus-
try, and agricultural applications. The Supplemental Monthly
Temperature Normals provide temperature statistics for various
time periods and definitions of “normal:” www.ncdc.noaa.gov/normals
PDFaccess/. The US Climate Atlas provides color-coded maps of
temperature and precipitation, allowing the user to select a specific
year or the long-term climatology: www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climateatlas/.
The Canadian Climate Normals (updated every 10 years; the
most recent values are for the 1981-2010 period) can be found at
climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html. This includes
temperature, precipitation, snowfall, snow depth, degree-days, and
other variables.

Typical Year Data Sets

Software used to simulate the annual energy performance of
buildings often require a one-year data set (8760 h) of “typical”
weather conditions. Many data sets in different record formats have
been developed to meet this requirement and are generically called
Typical Meteorological Years (TMYs). The data are produced
using an objective statistical algorithm to select the most typical
month from the long-term record, and represent a typical, or
"median", year with respect to weather-induced energy loads on a
building. By construction, a TMY removes all weather extremes,
and hence cannot represent design conditions.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) has devel-
oped TMYs for the USA and other locations (nsrdb.nrel.gov/). These
files contain gridded weather, solar radiation, and environmental
TMY data, and are available through a visual and dynamic interface
Fig. 5 Frequency and Duration of Episodes Exceeding Design from maps.nrel.gov/nsrdb-viewer. The solar radiation data are
Dry-Bulb Temperature for Indianapolis, IN derived from satellite observations, and the environmental data are
14.18 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

downscaled from the MERRA2 reanalysis data set derived from a data and cover North America up to 60° North, and South America
large climate forecasting model (Sengupta et al., 2018). The grid down to 20° South. The solar radiation data are derived from two
spacing for this source of data is about 4 km, and currently covers GOES satellites and the environmental data are downscaled from
North America up to 60° N, as well as a part of South America down the MERRA-2 reanalysis.
to 21° S for the period 1998 to 2018. Some parts of South East Asia Considerable information about weather and climate services
are also covered, albeit with a coarser spatial resolution and shorter and data sets is available elsewhere online. Information supplemen-
time period. Various types of TMY data are available there, as well tary to this chapter may also be posted on the ASHRAE Technical
as each historical year within that time period, with anticipated Committee 4.2 web site (tc0402.ashraetcs.org).
annual updates. A set of older TMY files, called TMY3 (Wilcox and
Marion 2008) and containing data for 1020 U.S. locations, is also Reanalysis Data Sets
available from rredc.nrel.gov/solar/old_data/nsrdb/1991-2005/tmy3/. Reanalysis data sets are comprehensive time series of meteoro-
Canadian Weather Year for Energy Calculation (CWEC) files logical data obtained through combining observational data with
for 492 Canadian locations were developed for use with the Na- numerical weather prediction models to produce synthesized snap-
tional Energy Code of Canada for Buildings, using the TMY algo- shots of the state of the atmosphere over time. Reanalysis data sets
rithm and software (climate.weather.gc.ca/prods_servs/engineering normally span several decades and some cover the entire globe.
_e.html). They typically contain a very large number of climatic variables, at
ASHRAE’s International Weather for Energy Calculations several heights, on a spatial grid with a resolution that currently
(IWEC2) data set (Huang et al. 2014) contains typical-year weather spans 20 to 100 km or more. These data sets are therefore very
data for 3012 international locations outdoor of the United States appealing as sources of engineering climatic data, particularly to
and Canada. The IWEC2s were developed through ASHRAE RP- obtain climatic time series in “data deserts” (i.e., vast areas of the
1477, which used the same source of weather data (ISD; Smith et al. world with no or few weather stations). Three particularly widely
2011) as used for the design condition tables in this chapter, but for used global reanalysis data sets are CFS from NOAA (Saha et al.
a slightly earlier time period of 12 to 25 years ending in 2009. The 2014), MERRA-2 from NASA (Gelaro et al. 2017), and ERA5 from
IWEC2 data set is available on a DVD from the ASHRAE Climate ECMWF (ECMWF, 2019). Note that these data sets are very large
Data Center at www.ashrae.org/resources--publications /book- and working with them requires substantial processing power and
store/climate-data-center#iwec; individual files and country sets are knowledge of specific tools to download and decode the highly
also available online from commercial resellers. compressed data files. Some commercial or free resources can assist
in getting the data.
Observational Data Sets ASHRAE project RP-1745 (Roth 2019) studied the use of
For detailed designs, custom analysis of the most appropriate reanalysis data sets to calculate design climatic conditions or as
long-term weather record is best. National weather services are gen- input to building simulation software. The study found that when
erally the best source of long-term observational data. The National reanalysis data are used to compute climatic design conditions such
Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), in conjunction with as those found in Table 1, the results are generally well correlated
U.S. Air Force and Navy partners in Asheville’s Federal Climate with the values calculated from actual observations. Nevertheless,
Complex (FCC), developed the global Integrated Surface Data (Lott there is evidence of both a consistent bias in many of the conditions,
2004; Smith et al. 2011) to address a pressing need for an integrated along with an unacceptable level of station-by-station deviation
global database of hourly land surface climatological data. The data- between reanalysis and observations. In particular, reanalyses were
base of over 25 000 stations contains hourly and some daily sum- found to be inadequate in regions with uneven topographic features
mary data from as early as 1900 (many stations beginning in the or near large bodies of water.
1948-1973 timeframe), is operationally updated each day with the Variables based on dry bulb temperature are typically better esti-
latest available data, and continues to be further integrated with var- mated than humidity-related variables, such as dew point or wet
ious data sets from the United States and other countries to further bulb temperature, which in turn are better estimated than wind,
expand the spatial and temporal coverage of the data. For a complete solar, or precipitation-based conditions. Also, more extreme condi-
review of ISD and access to the data and products, go to tions such as the 0.4% heating or cooling conditions are typically
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/isd or, for a GIS interface, gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/ more challenging than simple climatic averages. The project also
maps/ncei/cdo/hourly. found that reanalyses suffer from similar weaknesses when used to
Additional climatic data are available from the NCEI Global His- generate weather files suitable for input to building energy simula-
torical Climate Network (GHCN) summary of day and summary of tion software: reanalysis weather files can lead to significant biases
month datasets: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/land-based in estimated energy usage. This issue is amplified over the problem
-station-data/land-based-datasets/global-historical-climatology-net areas identified above.
work-ghcn. These datasets include data for various locations that do The general conclusion is that, although reanalysis data sets
not have data available in ISD or in this chapter. show great potential, their output cannot be used directly for either
The National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) calculating climatic design conditions, or as an input to an energy
(nsrdb.nrel.gov/; www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/land-based-station building simulation. Hence, caution should be exercised. It is
-data/land-based-datasets/solar-radiation) and Canadian Weather advised to use the services of a qualified meteorologist to “nudge”
Energy and Engineering Data Sets (CWEEDS) (climate.weather the reanalysis data set closer to reality by applying a bias correction
.gc.ca/prods_servs/engineering_e.html) provide long-term hourly based on station or regional observational data, or by adjusting ele-
data, including solar radiation values for the United States and Can- vation-induced effects at locations with rapidly-changing terrain
ada. Previous versions of the NSRDB (rredc.nrel.gov/solar/old_data based on estimates of the vertical structure of the atmosphere. (See
/nsrdb) required a modified solar radiation model because of the Chapter 6 of Roth [2019] for a brief survey of available methodol-
implementation of automated observing systems that do not report ogies and associated references.)
traditional cloud elements. The current NSRDB predictions of solar Another area where reanalysis models can prove useful is for fill-
radiation (nsrdb.nrel.gov), mentioned earlier in the section on Typi- ing gaps in observational datasets. The same nudging techniques
cal Year Data Sets, do not rely on airport-based cloud observations described above should also be used.
anymore but rather on imagery from geosynchronous satellites. Finally, a high-resolution mesoscale model (see results of RP-
These files also contain related meteorological and environmental 1561 [Qiu et al. 2016]) can be used to downscale the data. This
Climatic Design Information 14.19

downscaling works with a finer grid constrained to the reanalysis Iqbal, M. 1983. An introduction to solar radiation. Academic Press,
grid, and enables to better estimate the local conditions, and Toronto.
decrease the bias, by modeling physical phenomena with a higher ISO. 2007. Hygrothermal performance of buildings—Calculation and pre-
spatial and temporal resolution, for example in areas with rapidly sentation of climatic data—Part 6: Accumulated temperature differences
changing elevation. (degree days). Standard 15927-6. International Organization for Stan-
dardization, Geneva.
REFERENCES Kasten, F., and T. Young. 1989. Revised optical air mass tables and approx-
imation formula. Applied Optics 28:4735-4738.
ASHRAE members can access ASHRAE Journal articles and Lamming, S.D., and J.R. Salmon. 1996. Wind data for design of smoke con-
ASHRAE research project final reports at technologyportal.ashrae trol systems (RP-816). ASHRAE Research Project, Final Report.
.org. Articles and reports are also available for purchase by nonmem- Lamming, S.D., and J.R. Salmon. 1998. Wind data for design of smoke con-
bers in the online ASHRAE Bookstore at www.ashrae.org/bookstore. trol systems. ASHRAE Transactions 104(1A):742-751.
Belcher, B.N., and A.T. DeGaetano. 2004. Integration of ASOS weather data Livezey, R.E., K.Y. Vinnikov, M.M. Timofeyeva, R. Tinker, and H.M. Van
into building energy calculations with emphasis on model-derived solar Den Dool. 2007. Estimation and extrapolation of climate normals and
radiation (RP-1226). ASHRAE Research Project, Final Report. climatic trends. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
Colliver, D.G., R.S. Gates, T.F. Burkes, and H. Zhang. 2000. Development 46:1759-1776.
of the design climatic data for the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook—Funda- Lott, J.N. 2004. The quality control of the integrated surface hourly data-
mentals. ASHRAE Transactions 106(1). base. 84th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Seattle,
ECMWF. 2019. Operational global reanalysis: progress, future directions WA. ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/71929.pdf.
and synergies with NWP. www.ecmwf.int/en/elibrary/18765-operational Lowery, M.D., and J.E. Nash. 1970. A comparison of methods of fitting the
-global-reanalysis-progress-future-directions-and-synergies-nwp. double exponential distribution. Journal of Hydrology 10(3):259-275.
Eskes, H., et al. 2015. Validation of reactive gases and aerosols in the MACC Molod, A., L. Takacs, M. Suarez, and J. Bacmeister. 2015. Development of
global analysis and forecast system. Geoscientific Model Development the GEOS-5 atmospheric general circulation model: Evolution from
8(11):3523-3543.www.geosci-model-dev.net/8/3523/2015/gmd-8-3523 MERRA to MERRA2. Geoscientific Model Development 8:1339-1356.
-2015-discussion.html. NCDC. 1996. International station meteorological climate summary
Gelaro, R., W. McCarty, M.J. Suarez, R. Todling, A. Molod, L. Takacs, C.A. (ISMCS). National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.
Randles, et al. 2017. The modern-era retrospective analysis for research NCDC. 1999. Engineering weather data. National Climatic Data Center,
and applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). Journal of Climate 30:5419- Asheville, NC.
5454. Oke, T.R. 1987. Boundary layer climates, 2nd ed. Methuen, London.
GHCN. 2015. Global historical climatology network—Daily. National Cli- Perez, R., P. Ineichen, R. Seals, J. Michalsky, and R. Stewart. 1990. Model-
matic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ing daylight availability and irradiance components from direct and
Asheville, NC. www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ghcn-daily-description and ftp.ncdc global irradiance. Solar Energy 44(5):271-289.
.noaa.gov/pub/data/ghcn/daily/. Qiu, X., M. Roth, H. Corbett-Hains, and F. Yang. 2016. Mesoscale climate
GPCC. 2018. GPCC full data monthly product version 2018. Global Pre- modeling procedure development and performance evaluation (RP-1561).
cipitation Climatology Centre, Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach am ASHRAE Transactions 122(2).
Main, Germany. opendata.dwd.de/climate_environment/GPCC/html/ Roth, M. 2016. Updating climatic design data in the 2017 ASHRAE Hand-
fulldata-monthly_v2018_doi_download.html. book—Fundamentals. ASHRAE Research Project RP-1699, Final
GPCP. 2020. GPCP version 2.3 combined precipitation data set. GPCP Pre- Report.
cipitation data provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD, Boulder, CO, Roth, M. 2019. Evaluation of climate reanalysis data for use in ASHRAE
USA. www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/gridded/data.gpcp.html. Applications. ASHRAE Research Project RP-1745, Final Report.
Gueymard, C.A. 1987. An anisotropic solar irradiance model for tilted sur- Roth, M. 2021. Updating climatic design information for the 2021 ASHRAE
faces and its comparison with selected engineering algorithms. Solar Handbook, Standard 169, and the Handbook of Smoke Control Engineer-
Energy 38:367-386. Erratum, Solar Energy 40:175 (1988). ing. ASHRAE Research Project RP-1847, Final Report.
Gueymard, C.A. 2008. REST2: High performance solar radiation model for
Saha, S., S. Moorthi, X. Wu, J. Wang, S. Nadiga, P. Tripp, D. Behringer, et
cloudless-sky irradiance, illuminance and photosynthetically active radi-
al. 2014. The NCEP climate forecast system version 2. Journal of Cli-
ation—Validation with a benchmark dataset. Solar Energy 82:272-285.
mate 27:2185-2208.
Gueymard, C.A., and D. Thevenard. 2009. Monthly average clear-sky
Schoenau, G.J., and R.A. Kehrig. 1990. A method for calculating degree-
broadband irradiance database for worldwide solar heat gain and build-
days to any base temperature. Energy and Buildings 14:299-302.
ing cooling load calculations. Solar Energy 83:1998-2018.
Sengupta, M., Y. Xie, A. Lopez, A. Habte, G. Maclaurin, and J. Shelby.
Harriman, L.G., D.G. Colliver, and H.K. Quinn. 1999. New weather data for
2018. The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB). Renewable
energy calculations. ASHRAE Journal 41(3):31-38.
and Sustainable Energy Reviews 89:51-60.
Hay, J.E., and Davies, J.A. 1980. Calculations of the solar radiation incident
on an inclined surface. In J.E. Hay and T.K. Won, eds. Proceedings of Smith, A., N. Lott, and R. Vose. 2011. The integrated surface database:
First Canadian Solar Radiation Data Workshop 59. Ministry of Supply Recent developments and partnerships. Bulletin of the American Meteo-
and Services, Canada. rological Society 92(6):704.
Hedrick, R. 2009. Generation of hourly design-day weather data (RP-1363). Thevenard, D. 2009. Updating the ASHRAE climatic data for design and
ASHRAE Research Project, Final Report. standards (RP-1453). ASHRAE Research Project, Final Report.
Huang, Y.J., F.X. Su, D.H. Seo, and M. Krarti. 2014. Development of Thevenard, D., and C. Gueymard. 2013. Updating climatic design data in
ASHRAE IWEC2 weather files from the Integrated Surface Hourly Chapter 14 of the 2013 Handbook of Fundamentals (RP-1613).
(ISH) data base of historical weather data for 3,012 international loca- ASHRAE Research Project RP-1613, Final Report.
tions. ASHRAE Transactions 120(1):340-355. Thevenard, D., and K. Haddad. 2006. Ground reflectivity in the context of
Hubbard, K., K. Kunkel, A. DeGaetano, and K. Redmond. 2004. Sources of building energy simulation. Energy and Buildings 38(8):972-980.
uncertainty in the calculation of the design weather conditions in the Thevenard, D., J. Lundgren, and R. Humphries. 2005. Updating the climatic
ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals (RP-1171). ASHRAE Research design conditions in the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals (RP-1273).
Project, Final Report. ASHRAE Research Project, Final Report.
Inness, A., et al. 2013. The MACC reanalysis: An 8 yr data set of atmo- Turner, W.J.N, M.H. Sherman, and I.S. Walker. 2012. Infiltration as ventila-
spheric composition. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 13(8):4073- tion: Weather-induced dilution. HVAC&R Research 18(6):1122-1135.
4109. www.atmos-chem-phys.net/13/4073/2013/acp-13-4073-2013 Wilcox, S., and W. Marion. 2008. Users manual for TMY3 data sets. Tech-
-discussion.html. nical Report NREL/TP-581-43156. National Renewable Energy Labo-
IPCC. 2015. AR5 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2014. International ratory, Golden, CO. www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/43156.pdf.
Panel on Climate Change, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva. WMO. 2007. The role of climatological normals in a changing climate.
www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/. Technical Document 1377. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
14.20 2021 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals (SI)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
ASHRAE Weather Data Center. www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/ ASHRAE. 2019. Ventilation and acceptable indoor air quality in residential
bookstore/weather-data-center. buildings. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2019.
ASHRAE. 2020. Weather data for building design standards. ANSI/ Klote J.H., J.A. Milke, P.G. Turnbull, A. Kashef, M.J. Ferreira. 2012. Hand-
ASHRAE Standard 169-2020. book of smoke control engineering. ASHRAE.