Three ways to classify the site
- Köppen-Geiger climate class, the most widely used climate classification.
- ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 169 climate zone, used by building energy codes.
- Heating and cooling degree days, classified at an 18.3 °C base.
A climate zone that moves over time
The climate zone map has a year slider from 1901 to 2100 and covers five shared socioeconomic pathways: SSP1-1.9, SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5. A branching timeline shows the site's zone at the building's completion year, at mid-life and at end of life; it starts from a completion in two years and a 50-year life, and projects save your own years.
The Köppen-Geiger maps are computed from the Beck et al. (2023) climate data, published in Scientific Data.
See your site's climate before design begins
Pin any location and get climate, comfort and preliminary energy insight your whole team can read. Start with a 7-day free trial, or book a 30-minute demo.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Köppen-Geiger climate classification?
A system that groups the world's climates into main types (tropical, arid, temperate, cold and polar) and subtypes, based on temperature and precipitation patterns. It is a quick way to understand what kind of climate a building has to respond to.
How does C4B show future climate zones?
It uses the Beck et al. (2023) Köppen-Geiger data, which covers historical periods from 1901 and projections to 2099. C4B shows five of their seven SSP scenarios. You can move a year slider on the map, and a timeline shows the zone at key years of the building's life.
What is the ASHRAE 169 climate zone?
The climate zone defined by ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 169: a number based on heating and cooling degree days, with a moisture letter (humid, dry or marine) set from temperature and precipitation. C4B shows it for every location you search.
Learn the concepts
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.
ASHRAE 169 climate zones
How ASHRAE 169 thermal zones and moisture regimes are defined, how to find a site's zone and where the zones are used.
Heating and cooling degree days
What HDD and CDD measure, how base temperatures work, how to calculate them and how they are used in codes and energy analysis.
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.
Passive design strategies by climate
How bioclimatic charts link ventilation, thermal mass, evaporative cooling, internal gains and passive solar heating to the climates where they work.
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
Future climate scenarios
Future weather files for any year up to 2100 under five SSP scenarios, overlaid on the project's analyses.
Site climate analysis
A full climate study for any location in the world, run in the browser from a single address or map pin.
Psychrometric chart and passive design
An hourly psychrometric chart and the share of hours covered by each passive design strategy.