Weather files morphed to a future year
In a project, C4B morphs the site-specific weather file to a target year between 2025 and 2100 under SSP1-1.9, SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 or SSP5-8.5. The changes in temperature, humidity and solar radiation come from the World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal's CMIP6 multi-model median, applied mainly with the morphing method of Eames et al. (2024).
When a search completes, four scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5) are prepared automatically for the building's default mid-life year, 27 years ahead; changing the project's completion year or lifespan re-runs them.
Present and future, on the same charts
The future weather files feed present-versus-future overlays on temperature, UTCI outdoor comfort, the wind rose, cloud cover, PV potential and the energy balance. The climate trend (the latest 30 years, extended back to 1941 in projects) adds projections to 2030, 2050, 2070 and 2090, and the climate zone timeline shows the zone at completion, mid-life and end of life.
Downloading future EPW files
Projects on the Essential and Teams plans can generate and view future climate scenarios. Downloading the future EPW weather files is part of the Technical and Enterprise plans.
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Frequently asked questions
What is weather file morphing?
A method that shifts and stretches the hourly values of an existing weather file by the changes a climate model projects for a future period, so the file keeps a realistic hourly pattern but reflects the future climate.
Which climate scenarios are available?
The five main CMIP6 shared socioeconomic pathways: SSP1-1.9, SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5, for target years from 2025 to 2100.
Can I use the future weather files in EnergyPlus-based tools?
The downloads are standard EPW files, the format used by EnergyPlus and the many tools built on it. Downloads are available on the Technical and Enterprise plans.
Learn the concepts
EPW weather files
What is inside an EPW weather file, where the data comes from, and how to open, check and use one on a project.
Typical meteorological year (TMY)
How typical meteorological years are selected, how TMY, TMYx and ISO 15927-4 reference years differ, and when to use actual or extreme years instead.
Köppen climate classification
What each letter of a Köppen-Geiger code means, how the thresholds work, where to find reliable maps and how climate zones are shifting.
Future weather files and morphing
How morphing combines an observed weather year with climate model projections, how the methods differ and what future weather files can and cannot tell you.
SSP climate scenarios
What the five main SSP scenarios mean, how much warming each implies over a building's life and how to choose scenarios for design.
Climate-responsive design
The principles of climate-responsive design, and the strategies that suit hot-dry, hot-humid, temperate and cold climates, grounded in building science sources.
Related features
Köppen climate zone
Köppen-Geiger and ASHRAE 169 climate zones for any site, with a Köppen-Geiger map from 1901 to 2100 under five climate scenarios.
Site-specific weather data
A typical-year weather file compiled from reanalysis at the project's coordinates, alongside the nearest station.
Preliminary energy analysis
An hourly preliminary energy balance and orientation and aspect-ratio optimization for early design.