A comprehensive study of how urban morphological parameters impact the solar potential, energy consumption and daylight autonomy in canyons and buildings

Abstract

Over the past two decades, global greenhouse gas emissions have surged, leading to rising sea levels and climate change. Solar energy has emerged as an excellent solution to this problem. This study aims to assess daylight availability and energy consumption in urban canyons and blocks in a semi-arid climate while exploring the correlation between the heterogeneity of urban morphological parameters and key research variables. The study employed field measurements and simulations using Ladybug Tools and UMI. Data were collected from urban canyons and blocks in three areas, amounting to 1,366,982 m2. The findings indicate that areas with abundant greenery and H/W ratios exceeding 1.8 experience the most significant shading effects in urban canyons. Selecting suitable trees and placing them in strategic locations can enhance energy efficiency. Furthermore, broad urban canyons (H/W < 0.5) receive four times more solar radiation than narrow urban canyons (H/W > 1.8) with high tree density, peaking at 240 kWh/m2 during summer. In urban blocks, rooftops have the highest solar potential, with imbalances between building heights and interbuilding shading as factors that reduce solar capabilities. Tree coverage significantly affects the solar potential of facades, with some urban blocks receiving less than 5,000 kWh/m2 of solar radiation on the southern facades each month. Finally, this study examined the impact of heterogeneity within urban morphological parameters on the principal research variables. The results indicate that the heterogeneity observed in urban morphological parameters affects daylight availability and energy consumption within urban blocks.