The influence of urban form on the grid integration of renewable energy technologies and distributed energy systems

Standard and newly designed building blocks for complex urban sites– also designated by urban archetypes - are used in this study to quantify the influence of urban forms on their energy demand and energy systems design. An energy hub, which consists on a multi-carrier energy system involving multiple energy conversion, storage and/or network technologies, is employed to quantify the impact of the urban morphology on the energy system requirements. This study reveals that urban archetypes have a notable influence on the heating and cooling energy demands of city districts that can be characterized using form factors and floor area ratio. However, the influence on demand profiles cannot be assessed based on the aforementioned indicators. The cost of energy systems can increase up to 50% due to the impact of urban forms that are well beyond the increase of peak and/or annual energy demands. In addition, renewable energy integration to the grid as well its utilization in districts is influenced by urban forms. This makes it essential to consider energy system design as a part of the urban planning process moving even beyond building simulation.