Solar potential of urban forms of a cold semi-arid city in Algeria in the present and future climate

Abstract

Realizing the potential of renewable energies in existing and new urban areas can reduce the fossil energy consumption of cities and the corresponding greenhouse emissions. In this paper, four different urban forms in the city of Constantine, a cold semi-arid city in Algeria, are analysed. Using the Citysim model, calibrated against local electricity and gas demand, and weather data taken from Meteonorm7.0, for both present and future climates, the study shows a significant difference between the energy demands of the urban forms due to their typo-morphological indicators. It is also shown that a small area of photovoltaics on rooftops can supply building demand, highlighting the favorable solar potential for the location. Future climate projections, for 2050, within the lifetime of many buildings, are expected to lead to higher energy demand, particularly in the summer. The increase in photovoltaic capacity to address that higher demand will open the opportunity to replace a significant fraction of gas usage with solar-powered heat pumps in the heating season.