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A group of scientists from around the world has drawn up a list of recommendations that can help create solar neighborhoods. In a recently published study they highlight the importance of legislative frameworks and advanced computing.
An international group of scientists has developed strategies to develop and build what they call “solar neighborhoods.”
In a recently published academic paper, researchers define these neighborhoods as virtual entities that use stored data sets of monitored solar and energy variables. This includes solar energy production, solar energy gains, solar energy potential, illuminance level and sunlight exposure with specific decision-making tools. “A solar neighborhood is above all a neighborhood, therefore, an urbanized area with a single function or with a mix of human activities and in which the full and optimal use of the sun is prioritized,” the article states.
“The article aims to identify the existing barriers and challenges in solar energy planning and present the most common strategies, methods and approaches for the planning and design of solar neighborhoods through the opinions of promoters, architects, consultants, researchers, urban planners, city councils and other institutions.”
The future development of this type of neighborhood depends on improving research on several topics, the document adds. Among them, the ability to create more reliable and detailed digital twins of buildings and cities, as well as digital simulations that allow neighborhoods to be better evaluated before starting to build them.
“Many aspects are expected to be facilitated in the coming years by broader digitalization of the building environment, supported by broad application of the Internet of Things (IoT), co-simulation approaches, advanced computing and data orchestration.” real monitored,” the document states. “The combination of high-level-of-detail (LoD) models of urban surfaces and high-resolution data can pave the way for digital twin platforms to conduct real-time, multi-objective solar analysis.”
To combat this, scientists have highlighted the need to implement high LoD models for vegetation elements, street furniture and architectural features of buildings and neighborhoods. They also highlighted the need to implement the dynamic behavior of the environment - such as snow reflection - in the simulations.
The researchers advocated developing simulations for emerging surface treatments and technologies. These include electrochromic windows, retroreflective coatings and thermochromic substrates. “They have implications within complex urban phenomena, such as shadowing effects and solar reflections between buildings,” the document states.
The research group also highlights in the document the need for better aesthetic solutions to promote the social acceptance of solar neighborhoods. They also recommend the development of business models for solar neighborhoods that guarantee their long-term viability and the promotion of legal reforms that support these processes.
A legislative agenda that supports solar neighborhoods, they say in the research, must include incentives and subsidies for the adoption of solar technologies, especially passive ones. It should also include regulations that streamline the development and standardization of measurements and certificates. Additionally, the research group highlighted the need for architectural design guidelines that balance aesthetics with the implementation of solar technology and collaboration between local governments, businesses and communities.
The planning strategies were presented in the study “ Ten questions concerning planning and design strategies for solar neighborhoods ,” published in Building and Environment . As its title suggests, it addresses ten different aspects of solar neighborhood development.
The research team consists of scientists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the University of Savoy Mont Blanc, the Italian Renewable Energy Institute, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland, Concordia University, the University of Lund and the FV Institute of Australia. |
