Local Climate

The site is situated at the coordinates of 55°85’N 4°25’W. Glasgow is typically milder in temperature than most of Scotland, influenced by the Gulf stream. It possesses an Oceanic/Marine climate, typical of West coasts of higher middle latitudes of continents. This results in cool summers and cool (but not too cold) winters, with a narrow annual temperature range, with few extremes of temperature.

For the collection of the local climate data, we have used data collected from Glasgow Airport Weather station, situated at the coordinates of 55°87’N 4°43’W. The station is located 11km West of the site.

The data has been read using the ASHRAE Standard 55 and Current Handbook of Fundamentals Model. The Clothing Level has been set to a value of 1 and Metabolic Activity, to a value of 1.1. The PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) has been used to measure comfort.

Temperature: Viewing the DBT at 50% humidity, we find that the local temperature falls well below the comfort levels required as calculated by the PMV. Only in the warmest days in the summer months will the temperature be regarded as comfortable. Therefore a mechanical heating system will be required to assist in the heating of the building. A passive design is also paramount to reducing running costs due to the harsh climate.

Sky Cover: The annual sky cover of just under 80% confirms the marine climate of the Glasgow region. Even in the summer months, there is very little variation, resulting in cooler summers. This must be remembered when designing for the use of light. The site will sit under a consistant layer of cloud cover 80% of the year.

Glasgow Airport weather station location

Illumination: The direct normal illumination for Glasgow ranges between 8 000 lux - 28 000 lux. An average reading of 15 000 lux. This ranges from overcast daylight to light from blue sky. It will be key to get sufficient light into the building due to the weak overcast daylight, as a result of the excessive cloud cover. Wind Velocity: The wind velocity averages between 3 - 9m/s. There is no real variation from this apart from the month of January, where the wind is slightly stronger at over 10m/s. Reading the Beaufort scale, this is classed as a light breeze, going up to a fresh breeze. The recorded high of 31m/s in the month of January equates to a Violant storm. Other highs recorded at around 18m/s equate to a gale. When designing for wind, we must design to account for these extremes.

Shading: The chart above illustrates that shading design is not really required due to the extreme cloud cover that exists. There are small periods of the year (72 hours) where shading may heat up the space, however if we look at the low annual temperature range, this sunlight will be welcome into the building. However, calculations will be required for design against glare.

Psychometric Chart: This chart shows that mechanical heating would provide comfort for 66% of the time throughout the year for internal spaces. Internal heat gains: 23%. Solar heat gains account for 10%(25% of daytime). Wind Protection accounts for 6%. The climate is classed as comfortable for only 2% of the time. We must use solar heating where possible to gain heat.