Abstract. In order to contribute to high living standards, climate mitigation and energy supply security, future urban energy systems require a holistic approach. In particular an intelligent integration of thermal networks is necessary. This paper will briefly present the "smart city" concept and introduce an associated definition for smart thermal networks defined on three levels: 1. the interaction with urban planning processes and the interface to the overall urban energy system, 2. the adaptation of the temperature level and 3. supply and demand-side management strategies.
Current practice of energy efficient neighbourhoods shows that building energy performance ratings are commonly used to characterise the energy performance of the neighbourhood itself. The main inconvenient of this practice is that this indicator usually does not consider the energy efficiency of the neighbourhood energy infrastructure and does not allow for comparisons between neighbourhoods with different characteristics (urban form etc.). In the context of the new neighbourhood developments in CONCERTO, a set of more suitable indicators was developed. The paper presents the calculation methodology for these indicators and their application to chosen CONCERTO neighbourhoods. Given the relative small number of neighbourhoods considered, it is not yet possible to propose benchmarks for energy efficient communities in different European countries. The next step in this direction would be to apply this assessment framework to a statistically relevant number of neighbourhoods in Europe.
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