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Influence of urban morphological factors on building energy consumption combined with photovoltaic potential: A case study of residential blocks in central China

  • Research Article
  • Architecture and Human Behavior
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Abstract

Studies on urban energy have been growing in interest, and past research has mostly been focused on studies of urban solar potential or urban building energy consumption independently. However, holistic research on the combination of urban building energy consumption and solar potential at the urban block-scale is required in order to minimize energy use and maximize solar power generation simultaneously. The aim of this study is to comprehensively evaluate the impact of urban morphological factors on photovoltaic (PV) potential and building energy consumption. Firstly, 58 residential blocks were classified into 6 categories by k-means clustering. Secondly, 3 energy performance factors, which include the energy use intensity (EUI), the energy use intensity combined with PV potential (EUI-PV), and photovoltaic substitution rate (PSR) were calculated for these blocks. The study found that the EUI of the Small Length & High Height blocks was the lowest at around 30 kWh/(m2·y), while the EUI-PV of the Small Length & Low Height blocks was the lowest at around 4.45 kWh/(m2·y), and their PSR was the highest at 87%. Regression modelling was carried out, and the study concluded that the EUI of residential blocks was mainly affected by shape factor, building density and floor area ratio, while EUI-PV and PSR were mainly affected by height and sky view factor. In this study, the results and developed methodology are helpful to provide recommendations and strategies for sustainable planning of residential blocks in central China.

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Abbreviations

BD:

building density

E p :

annual power generation of PV panels (kWh)

EUI:

energy use intensity (kWh/(m2·y))

EUI-PV:

energy use intensity combined with PV potential (kWh/(m2·y))

FAR:

floor area ratio (%)

H :

average height of blocks (m)

H/W :

building height-to-width ratio (%)

L :

average length of blocks (m)

O :

orientation of blocks (°)

PSR:

photovoltaic substitution rate (%)

PV:

photovoltaic

S B :

total floor area (m2)

SEPI :

solar energy potential intensity (kWh/(m2·y))

SF:

shape factor

SVF:

sky view factor

W :

average width of blocks (m)

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the program for HUST Academic Frontier Youth Team (No. 2019QYTD10), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2019kfyXKJC029) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51678261; No. 51978296).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

    Shen Xu, Mengcheng Sang, Mengju Xie, Feng Xiong & Xingwei Xiang

  2. Hubei New Urbanization Engineering and Technology Research Center, Wuhan, China

    Shen Xu

  3. Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, China

    Thushini Mendis

Authors
  1. Shen Xu
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  2. Mengcheng Sang
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  3. Mengju Xie
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  4. Feng Xiong
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  5. Thushini Mendis
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  6. Xingwei Xiang
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Contributions

Shen Xu: contributed significantly to methodology and manuscript writing. Mengcheng Sang: performed the data analyses and wrote the manuscript. Mengju Xie: contributed to guidance and technical framework of the manuscript. Feng Xiong: contributed to the conception and technical framework of the study. Thushini Mendis: contributed to revision of the manuscript. Xingwei Xiang: performed the data collection. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mengju Xie or Feng Xiong.

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Xu, S., Sang, M., Xie, M. et al. Influence of urban morphological factors on building energy consumption combined with photovoltaic potential: A case study of residential blocks in central China. Build. Simul. 16, 1777–1792 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-023-1014-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-023-1014-4

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