Solar neighborhoods: the impact of urban layout on a large-scale solar strategies application

Abstract

The article addresses the challenges of evaluating energy performance in different neighborhood settings under various energy efficiency measures and proposes a methodology for selecting appropriate solar strategies on a neighborhood scale. The study selects five representative neighborhoods from various climatic zones with different building and street layouts. The proposed methodology involves a systematic three-step multi-domain workflow for implementing energy efficiency measures and solar strategies in the existing neighborhoods. The first step involves typical energy performance simulation, the second step involves energy simulation using high performance building envelope, and the third step involves the addition of solar strategies in combination with retrofitting materials to achieve net-zero status. The results of the study show that modifying the building envelope leads to a significant reduction in energy consumption, with up to 60% reduction observed. The study also finds that the optimal mix of solar strategies depends strongly on the type of neighborhood, its street layouts, and the type of buildings. The article highlights the importance of considering these factors when implementing solar strategies on a neighborhood scale to achieve energy efficiency and net-zero status. It provides urban planners with a systematic decision-making approach to evaluate and optimize neighborhoods to achieve net-zero energy status.

Solar Neighborhood Financing Mechanisms and Business Models

“…Solar neighborhoods, specifically, have a unique position in the solar energy market since they do not adhere to a single archetype, and any two solar neighborhoods can look drastically different in terms of capacity, technology, land use, and building types (Singh, 2023). A distinction of solar neighborhoods versus other solar energy developments is that a single solar neighborhood can employ the use of multiple technologies and cover a mixture land types (e.g.…”

Towards the development of legislative framework for solar neighborhoods

“…Asarpota and Nadin (2020) identified several urban components for the energy transition in modern neighborhoods including transport and accessibility, urban form and energy infrastructure. Hachem-Vermette (2022), Singh et al (2023) presented the role of solar energy in the design of sustainable high -performance neighborhoods implementing various strategies such as rooftop and facade photovoltaic (PV) panels, solar thermal (ST) collectors, and thermal storage.…”