Abstract
Minimizing energy consumption is the effect of sustainable design technics as among many others: designing buildings with solar access and natural ventilation, using climate responsive design materials and effective insulation. Contemporary examples of zero-carbon cities: Masdar City, United Arab Emirates and Dongtan, China, confirm technical feasibility of renewable energy by implementation of solar PV and wind technologies. The ecological city - medium or high density urban settlement separated by greenspace causes the smallest possible ecological footprint on the surrounding countryside through efficient use of land and its resources, recycling used materials and converting waste to energy. This paper investigates the concept of energy sustainable cities, examines, how urban settlements might affect building energy design in eco-villages, eco-districts (e.g. Vauban, Freiburg in Germany, Bo01 Malmo in Sweden), and discuss the strategies for achieving Zero Emission Cities principles in densely populated areas. It is focused on low energy architectural design solutions which could be incorporated into urban settlements to create ecological villages, districts and cities, designed with consideration of environmental impact, required minimal inputs of energy, water, food, waste and pollution.
Highlights
According to scientific research quoted in the U.S National Science and Technology Council report [1], 60 to 70% of energy savings in buildings can be achieved through different improvements and in addition about 30 to 40% of energy can be produced by renewable sources [2]
This paper investigates the concept of energy sustainable cities, examines, how urban settlements might affect building energy design in eco-villages, eco-districts (e.g. Vauban, Freiburg in Germany, Bo01 Malmo in Sweden), and discusses the strategies for achieving Zero Carbon Cities principles in densely populated areas
Sustainable residential areas are urban units designed with consideration of minimal environmental impact, they cause the smallest possible ecological footprint through efficient use of energy, water and food resources and require minimal amount of waste and pollution
Summary
According to scientific research quoted in the U.S National Science and Technology Council report [1], 60 to 70% of energy savings in buildings can be achieved through different improvements (such as: passive heating and cooling, heat pumps, water conservation and recycling) and in addition about 30 to 40% of energy can be produced by renewable sources [2]. To achieve the significant energy savings, a simple system of urban metabolism, expressed as a linear combination of inputs (materials, energy, food and water), converted into outputs (waste: solid, liquid and gases) has to be expended to incorporate recycling technics (three R– Reclaim, Reuse and Recycle) [2, 3]. According the European Commission by 2050 it is estimated 80% cut in the EU greenhouse emission
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