Liutao CHEN

Liutao CHEN

A post-doctoral researcher at HKUST

Publications

PVIGR series: Experimental insights into PV rooftops and urban heat

Published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Building and Environment, 2025

Intro: While large-scale photovoltaic (PV) roofs are key to sustainable cities, their impacts on urban heat islands (UHI) remains debated due to a lack of experimental validation. To resolve this, our team conducted a field experiment monitoring multiple 200 m² rooftop configurations in subtropical Hong Kong—comparing bare roofs, PV roofs, and PV-integrated green roofs (PVIGRs). This study provides the first real-world evidence of their thermal trade-offs. The work has been reported in PV Magazine.

GeoBEM Series: Geospatial computing for Urban-scale building energy solutions

Published in Sustainable Cities and Society, Building and Environment, 2025

Intro: Cities drive global energy demand and emissions, yet urban-scale building energy modeling (UBEM) remains constrained by fragmented geospatial integration. Our GeoBEM framework bridges this gap by unifying GIS, automation, and physics-based simulations to enable high-resolution energy modeling across cities. We are currently leveraging this platform to test various building materials, retrofitting strategies, and green finance applications, with multiple exciting studies underway - stay tuned for forthcoming findings!

BIPV window series: Modeling microclimate and energy impacts in urban canyons

Published in Renewable Energy, Building and Environment, Energy and Buildings, 2023

Intro: Building-integrated photovoltaic technology (BIPV) has been proven as an effective way to increase renewable energy and achieve low carbon in the urban environment. Due to the lack of modelling tools, the impact of BIPV window in the street canyon has not yet been well understood. In this series, we conducted three studies to explore the BIPV window impact on canyon air temperature and energy performance in different urban settings in cities. Get the poster for further information.

PhD thesis: Enhancing Building Energy Modelling in Urban Climate Simulation

Published in Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2023

Intro: Building energy consumption constitutes 40% of global energy usage and closely correlates with the outdoor microclimate, so it is crucial to delve into the indoor-outdoor interaction mechanism. Firstly, by considering building energy usage as a primary driver within this mechanism, we aim to explore its impact on the urban thermal environment. Secondly, we investigate the influence of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) windows, a renewable energy technology that interfaces with indoor and outdoor environments. Our research will examine the effects of BIPV windows on building energy consumption, urban climate, and the dynamics of indoor-outdoor interaction.

Extremes events series

Published in Atmospheric Research, Urban Climate, 2019

Intro: This series marked the beginning of my research journey as an undergraduate student, where I focused on studying the patterns of climate extremes and their connection to urbanization. I aimed to understand how human activities impact the distribution of climate extremes over time and space. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my co-authors, particularly my supervisors and teammates, for their unwavering support and invaluable guidance throughout this research journey.