PLANNING FOR SOLAR SMART CITIES

M. Amado 1; F. Poggi 2
1: Civil Engineering Department, Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova
de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal. ma@fct.unl.pt
2: GEOTPU - Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus
da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal. f.poggi@fct.unl.pt
ABSTRACT

In order to respond to the growing urbanization process and subsequent energy demand,
methodological approaches which implement alternative urban models are required to support
the indispensable change towards more energy efficient cities. This paper discusses the solar
energy potential of built environments and explores how urban planning can contribute to
converting existing cities into Solar Smart Cities. To support this study, a performance-based
analysis was done on an existing urban area taking into account the solar potential of roofs
and the optimization of power distribution networks across the city neighbourhood. Using
GIS and dynamic simulation software, urban morphological parameters and land use patterns
have been identified and characterized to support the urban planning process. Statistical data
of energy consumption at the neighbourhood level were used to estimate peak to off-peak
periods taking into account current uses of buildings and their duration, frequency and
temporal distribution during the day. This study shows the positive contribution that solar
energy can offer at building block level and how urban planning and energy management
supported by a solar smart grid can be important tools to reach the energy balance across a
whole city.
Keywords: Solar Smart City, photovoltaic systems, GIS, urban planning, smart grids
INTRODUCTION

What are the determining factors and parameters that would turn an existing city into a Solar
Smart City? This paper develops an approach that could be considered as a starting point for
further discussions and research contributing to the global transition to renewable energy and
more energy efficient cities.
Around 75% of global energy consumption occurs in cities and 80% of greenhouse gas
emissions that cause global warming comes from cities [1]. These trends cannot continue
along the same path and implementation of alternative urban models is required to support the
indispensable change towards more energy efficient cities.
The Kyoto Protocol objectives to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and, more recently,
the emerging constraints on energy supply have increased the importance given to energy
efficiency policies [2].
Furthermore with 40% of global energy consumption consumed in buildings [3] it is evident
that the first step has to focus on actions to improve energy performances and efficiency in
both new and existing buildings. Dealing with issues of energy security, access and demand,
the generation of renewable energy within the city boundaries constitutes a substantial
resource to be correlated with efciency and conservation measures.

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Whereas a global emergency regarding cities is their energy-consumption, several studies on

renewable energy technologies show that urban areas have an enormous solar potential both
for photovoltaic and thermal applications that at present is not exploited [4] [5] [6] [7].
In planning a solar smart city, the objective is to make the most of the solar photovoltaic
potential on suitable rooftops and improve the energy balance setting out over a smart grid.
On the other hand, urban planning can play a key role through integration and intensification,
and thus manage the production of energy through the use of the solar potential on suitable
built roof and faade areas.
In recent years this approach, which focuses on energy consumption and solar energy
potential aiming to global city energy balance, has emerged as the name of Solar Urban
Planning [8]. In this perspective, urban planning adopts the use of solar potential as a key
urban design principle to improve energy efficiency in existing urban areas and promote
Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) in new ones.
METHODOLOGY

In order to approach solar energy production and consumption at the urban scale, several
studies have been considered. By reviewing them in comparison, it is evident that urban
geometry has large impacts in both these domains.
The estimation of the solar potential on a suitable roof and faade area has to take into
account factors such as the spacing between buildings to avoid overshadowing, their
orientation and the type of roof [8] [9] [10] [11].
Likewise energy consumption is strictly related to urban form but also to other factors which
depend on user activity in buildings including its duration, frequency and temporal
distribution during the day [12] [13].
The proposed methodology is based upon a sequence of four steps which on one hand reflect
the literature review and on the other hand focus on the urban planning role in ensuring the
use of solar potential and managing the energy balance across the city.
Appling the case study method, a medium sized city localized in Portugal was selected to
illustrate the methodological structure of the research.
Step 1: Data Collection
In conducting this research, the data collection aims to select and correlate indicative data
which characterize the urban morphology and land-use patterns in the city.
Census data on population and buildings features were collected from the Information
Reference Geographical Database (BGRI) released by the National Institute of Statistics
(INE, Portugal) [14] and then combined with satellite imagery and topology across a GIS
platform.
Step 2: Division of city into sub-spatial units
In this step the determining parameters that permit the energy consumption prediction and the
solar potential estimation in the urban context are identified [8] [9] [12] [13].
According to this framework, the city was divided into Sub-Spatial Units that represent the
backbone to evaluate and manage the energy performances across the city (Table 1).
Within the sub-spatial unit, the buildings blocks were then classified in order to build
parametric elements and provide a common structure for the GIS platform to support and
facilitate the urban planning approach from the local to the whole city scale (Table 2).

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Table 1: Sub-Spatial Unit

Table 2: Building block parameterization

Step 3: Energy Consumption Prediction
The energy consumption prediction at the urban scale is a quite complex process that depends
on various factors [13].
To date, this study presents only the electricity consumption prediction based on statistical
information for different building uses as shown in the Table 3 [14] but a considerable
approximation is evident in this kind of approach.
Average annual electricity
consumption by building use
Annual building energy
consumption at the block level
(kWh)

1398
(Residential: kWh/inhab)

100620

50
( kWh/m)

292078

73000

Table 3: Energy consumption

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According to this reflexion and using dynamic simulation software, the analysis of the
constructive and geometrical aspects of buildings and occupant behaviour is already a work in
progress to reach better results (Table 4).

3d Building model

Total building height (m)

27.3

27.2

5.2

Typical floors height (m)

2.7

2.7

Single gross floor area (m)

436

282 / 315 / 304 /493

1461

Resident Population

72

209

Total gross floor area (m)

3860

11152

1460

Total gross faade area (m)

1529

6681

1524

Volume (m)

11848

39648

7058

Percentage of surface area which

is glazed

21%

31%

2%

Table 4: Building parameterization at the building block level

Step 4: Solar Energy Production
According to related approaches to urban solar simulation, the net roof area available for a PV
installation on the building block is determined assuming some reduction factors [8] [9] [11].
To estimate the annual energy production by PV systems the following equation [15] has
been adopted:
Y = PR Me (Gr A)

(1)

PR is the Performance Ratio that considers the energy losses in the balance of system
(adopted value in (1) | PR=75);
Me is the nominal module efficiency rating at Standard Test Conditions: air mass AM 1.5,
irradiance 1 kW/m2, cell temperature 25C reported by the selected manufacturer [16]
(adopted value in (1) | Me = 13 %);
Gr is the sum of all global solar radiation values in each metric over a year (value obtained
from Ecotect simulation, see Table 5)
A is the net available roof area for PV installation (value calculated considering reduction
factors [8] [9] [11] ).

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Gross roof area of building (m)

436

1395

509

A | Net available roof area for PV

installation considering
reduction factors (m)

371

1185

432

Gr | Sum of all global solar

irradiation values over a year
(kWh/m)

1475

1449

1025

Mean annual global radiation on

available roof area (kWh)

547225

1717065

442800

Predicted annual yield for PV

systems on available roof area
(kWh)

53354

167414

43173

Annual Solar Energy Supply

53%

57%

41%

Table 5: Solar energy production at the building block level

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Will cities be able to be shaped by solar energy in the future?

The concept of a Solar Smart City is likewise an atom structure: the neighbourhoods
energetically behave as particles with positive, negative or no electrical charge and their
energy balance is managed and improved by means of the solar smart grid that keeps the
energetic performances of the whole city stable.
On this premise and as demonstrated by comparing energy consumption (Table 3) and solar
energy production on roof areas (Table 5), the annual solar energy supply appoints at positive
mean values of 50%. On the other hand, this result also shows how energy demand reduction
is an indispensable step towards energy efficiency which has to include the adoption of
measures at both the building and user behaviour level.
The construction of a GIS platform based on the proposed parametric elements allows the
automatic approach to geometric and spatial characteristics of buildings, their energy
performances and smart grid integration across all the sub-spatial units.
Following what has been described, further research will be carried out to understand how
urban planning can play an important role improving energy consumption and production
balance by means of mixed land use patterns and the utilization of smart grids, smart meters,
and intelligent buildings across the city.

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