As cities grow at an ever-faster pace they will have to adopt more sustainable energy solutions. Until now, planners have not taken into account how the urban climate affects a building’s energy requirements when designing energy systems for renovation and construction projects. A new planning model developed by researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is set to change this.

The model allows researchers to take into consideration the energy needs of the neighbourhood – or even an entire city – when optimizing a building’s energy system. 

“I felt it was important to be able to determine what the energy needs of all the buildings in a city would be in order to create an energy system for it,” said co-researcher Dasun Perera. “Heat, cold and wind all have an influence on energy needs, and buildings have an impact on each other, too.”

For their project, the researchers analyzed cities in two very different climates: Switzerland and Palestine. In Switzerland, the demand for heating is high, while in Palestine there is a greater need for air conditioning. 

According to co-researcher Dasaraden Mauree, the model also has to take into account the impact of climate change, especially when designing new buildings: “In a century’s time, Switzerland’s climate will be much more Mediterranean, so demand for air conditioning will rise.” 

Overall, the researchers found that it is more cost effective to optimize the energy system at the neighbourhood or community level than that of a single building. Their study has been published in the journal Applied Energy.