Abstract
This study aims at quantifying the extent to which natural obstacles in mountainous environments influence the simulated energy demand of different building configurations. The Alpine region of South Tyrol, Italy, is selected as a case study, and three representative buildings, with different vintage, window-to-wall ratio, and surrounding environmental conditions, are simulated, using the Sky View Factor (SVF) as main topographic metric. The findings of the study indicate that neglecting surrounding obstructions can lead to an underestimation of the heating demand up to 40 % and an overestimation of the cooling demand up to 25 % in low-SVF scenarios. Furthermore, the study shows that the orientation of obstacles exerts a significant influence, underscoring the necessity of incorporating environmental context into energy modeling.