ENVI-met is a comprehensive three-dimensional, non-hydrostatic model designed to simulate surface–plant–air interactions at the microscale. While applicable to various contexts, it is widely used in urban environments to evaluate the impact of green infrastructure and climate-sensitive urban design strategies.
The model operates at a horizontal resolution typically ranging from 1 to 10 meters, with simulation periods commonly between 24 and 48 hours and time steps of 1 to 5 seconds. This fine resolution enables detailed analysis of interactions between buildings, vegetation, and surface materials.
ENVI-met simulates a wide range of environmental processes, including:
Radiation modeling: Calculation of shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes, accounting for shading, reflection, and re-radiation from both built and vegetated surfaces. High-resolution modeling includes multiple reflections in complex urban settings and radiation diffusion through vegetation canopies.
Vegetation–air exchange: Full simulation of plant-atmosphere interactions, including transpiration, evaporation, and sensible heat fluxes. The model incorporates detailed plant physiological parameters such as photosynthesis rates.
Surface and wall thermodynamics: Dynamic calculation of surface and wall temperatures for all façade and roof components, supporting up to three material layers and seven computation nodes per element.
Green infrastructure support: Modeling of wall and roof greening systems, including substrate layers and associated thermal and moisture dynamics.
Soil–plant interactions: Simulation of water and heat transfer within the soil, including plant water uptake and root-level processes.
3D vegetation modeling: Realistic three-dimensional representation of plant structures, integrated with dynamic water balance modeling for individual species.
Air quality modeling: Dispersion and deposition of gases and particles, including inert and reactive gases (e.g., NO–NO₂–O₃ cycles) as well as particulate matter, with support for sedimentation and surface/leaf deposition.
Biometeorological indices: Integrated tools (via BioMet) for calculating indices such as Mean Radiant Temperature, PMV/PPD, PET, and UTCI.