Liutao CHEN

Liutao CHEN

A post-doctoral researcher at University of Washington

Publications

BIPV window series: Modeling microclimate and energy impacts in urban

Published in Nexus, Renewable Energy, Building and Environment, Energy and Buildings, 2026

Intro: Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) offer an effective way to expand urban renewables and cut carbon. Due to the lack of modelling tools, the microclimate impact of BIPV windows in street canyons has not been well understood. This series comprises four studies that progress from model development and validation, through sensitivity analysis and parametric experiments, to a city-scale assessment of climate–energy feedbacks.

PVIGR series: Experimental insights into PV rooftops and urban heat

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

Intro:
While large-scale rooftop photovoltaics (PV) are central to low-carbon urban transitions, their local thermal impacts remain poorly understood due to limited experimental evidence. To address this gap, our team conducted a large-scale field experiment on multiple 200 m² rooftops in subtropical Hong Kong, comparing bare roofs, PV roofs, and PV-integrated green roofs (PVIGRs). Together, these three studies tell a broader story: rooftop PV is not thermally neutral; PVIGR can serve as a climate-adaptive design strategy, but its benefits depend strongly on system configuration; and the value of rooftop PV should be assessed not only by electricity generation, but also by its implications for building cooling demand and heat resilience. This work has been featured in PV Magazine. An overview of the PVIGR studies is available here: PVIGR_Slides (PDF)

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

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

Intro: Cities account for a large share of global energy use and emissions, yet urban-scale building energy modeling (UBEM) is still limited by data gaps and nonstandard geospatial workflows. Our GeoBEM framework bridges this gap by unifying GIS integration, automated data pipelines, and physics-based simulations to enable high-resolution energy modeling across cities. We are leveraging this platform to evaluate various building materials, retrofit strategies, and green finance applications, with multiple exciting studies underway - stay tuned for forthcoming findings!

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.