福島県環境創造センター
Fukushima Environmant Creation Center

There has been a wide range of low-carbon solutions proposed to mitigate climate change. However, suchmeasures must be compatible with the local environment and living standards of residents to be broughtto fruition. Measures that adversely affect residential environments will be difficult to implement, so theimpacts of measures on the local environment must be taken into consideration during implementation.This study assessed the effects on urban heat islands of efforts to reduce CO2emissions, as one environ-mental impact associated with climate change. A simulated assessment was conducted, using an urbancanopy model coupled with a building energy model (CM-BEM), to evaluate the effects of five specificmeasures: solar shading of windows using curtains and blinds, improvement of the thermal insulationof building walls and roof surfaces, implementation of energy-saving measures related to indoor appli-ances, installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, and adjustment of preset cooling temperatures. Thestudy focused on these effects as they occur within typical urban districts of office buildings, fire-resistanthousing, and wooden housing. Results indicated that many of the energy-saving measures have slighttemperature lowering effects, but solar panel installation and improved heat insulation, both associatedwith changes in surface heat balances, tend to raise daytime temperatures to some extent. However,effects on daytime temperatures were in the range of 0.1–0.2◦C and, as such, none of the CO2reductionmeasures considered was deemed a significant factor in raising urban temperatures.