Assessing solar energy accessibility at high latitudes: A systematic review of urban spatial domains, metrics, and parameters

Formolli, Matteo; Kleiven, Tommy; Lobaccaro, Gabriele

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2023.113231

Cited by 23 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In high-latitude climates, the literature review revealed that urban studies in European cities have mainly concentrated on PV building integration and their effect on building energy performance or indoor environments. Outdoor effects have been less studied, especially in high-latitude climates, with a significant research gap in the studies on solar accessibility for the built environment and in agreement with the recent research of Formolli et al in 2023 [135]. Solar 2023, 3…”

Section: The Effect Of Bipv On the Built And Urban Environment Of Europesupporting

confidence: 55%

Integrating Solar Energy and Nature-Based Solutions for Climate-Neutral Urban Environments

Liu

Σκάνδαλος

Braslina

et al. 2023

Solar

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study focuses on achieving climate neutrality in European cities by integrating solar energy technologies and nature-based solutions. Through an examination of current practices, emerging trends, and case examples, the study explores the benefits, challenges, and prospects associated with this integration in urban contexts. A pioneering approach is presented to assess the urban heat and climate change mitigation benefits of combining building-integrated photovoltaics and nature-based solutions within the European context. The results highlight the synergistic relationship between nature-based components and solar conversion technology, identifying effective combinations for different climatic zones. In Southern Europe, strategies such as rooftop photovoltaics on cool roofs, photovoltaic shadings, green walls, and urban trees have demonstrated effectiveness in warmer regions. Conversely, mid- and high-latitude European cities have seen positive impacts through the integration of rooftop photovoltaics and photovoltaic facades with green roofs and green spaces. As solar cell conversion efficiency improves, the environmental impact of photovoltaics is expected to decrease, facilitating their integration into urban environments. The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating water bodies, cool pavements, spaces with high sky-view factors, and effective planning in urban design to maximize resilience benefits. Additionally, the study highlights the significance of prioritizing mitigation actions in low-income regions and engaging citizens in the development of social photovoltaics-positive energy houses, resilient neighbourhoods, and green spaces. By adopting these recommendations, European cities can create climate-neutral urban environments that prioritize clean energy, nature-based solutions, and the overall wellbeing of residents. The findings underscore the need for a multidisciplinary approach combining technological innovation, urban planning strategies, and policy frameworks to effectively achieve climate neutrality.

show abstract

Section: The Effect Of Bipv On the Built And Urban Environment Of Europesupporting

confidence: 55%

Integrating Solar Energy and Nature-Based Solutions for Climate-Neutral Urban Environments

Liu

Σκάνδαλος

Braslina

et al. 2023

Solar

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The suggested indicators for solar access evaluation include view skyline factor, solar vector fraction, average sun hours factor, and radiation distribution factor. Formolli et al (Formolli, Kleiven and Lobaccaro, 2023) proposed solar envelope volume, buildable floor area, number of units, building distance, building layout, and building morphology, as well as solar technologies potential to evaluate solar access. The objective functions and design options studied regarding these factors varied.…”

Section: Concepts and Models For Evaluating Solar Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The objective functions and design options studied regarding these factors varied. For example, some works seeking to maximize the sum of minimum direct sunlight hours at the 1 st floor, while others aimed to minimize deviation from compliance with national daylight standards (Formolli et al, 2023).…”

Section: Concepts and Models For Evaluating Solar Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for the Design of New and Existing High Energy Performance Solar Neighborhoods

Hachem-Vermette,

Singh Grewal,

Desthieux

et al. 2024

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This report provides a comprehensive overview of solar neighborhoods, including their definition, applications, standards, and regulations. It also outlines the methodology and tools used to develop archetype designs and analyses solar strategies at both building and neighborhood levels. The report presents selected archetypes from Canada, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland and provides a decision-making tool for solar strategies. The target audience for this report includes architects, urban planners, policymakers, and anyone interested in sustainable and energy-oriented developments.

show abstract

“…Therefore, a structured matrix for data collection is needed that will help energy modelers to setup neighborhood-scale energy models. Also recently, a review article by 28 presented studies on solar energy accessibility in built environment at high latitude locations (such as Canada). The article reported that urban building envelope-based numerical studies to identify solar exploitation is the most researched topic ignoring outdoor and indoor urban spatial domains, since there is lack of multi-domain studies in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The paper also presents a novel approach for urban planners and energy modelers to extract data from existing neighborhoods including geometric information, that is employed to analyze energy efficiency measures, and quantify the effect of implementing solar strategies/energy. Addressing the lack of multiple urban spatial domains studies in the existing literature 28 , the proposed workflow considers various urban spatial domains simultaneously such as envelope (evaluating solar access and active energy potential), outdoor (to identify outdoor surfaces for solar installations), and indoor (impact of weather and solar access on indoor energy consumption upon retrofitting). The paper also presents a simple decision-making technique that assists in determining the best strategies for specific neighborhoods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Singh,

Hachem-Vermette,

D’Almeida

2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Assessing solar energy accessibility at high latitudes: A systematic review of urban spatial domains, metrics, and parameters

Cited by 23 publications

References 52 publications

Integrating Solar Energy and Nature-Based Solutions for Climate-Neutral Urban Environments

Integrating Solar Energy and Nature-Based Solutions for Climate-Neutral Urban Environments

Strategies for the Design of New and Existing High Energy Performance Solar Neighborhoods

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About