Design Preliminaries

The success of energy saving in urban planning process and development could be measured in terms of the extent to which it helps minimize the cost of meeting the social and economic needs of urban areas, where cost includes the environmental externalities of urban energy consumption. Energy integrated urban planning, sitting and building regulations contribute directly to this objective by reducing energy demand. Energy demand (usage and potential) and local energy planning concepts influence the urban planning process and land-use planning system (see Table 2.1).

18 Table 2. 1. Energy demand of different urban functions

(Source: Owens 1986)

The Figure 2.2 lists land-use and design variables that can significantly affect community energy efficiency. The Objective of the lists is to identify and describe these potential efficiency gains for urban planning participants and to help them select the best combination of efficiency strategies for their local circumstances.

There is strong relationship between energy and urban planning concepts (Land-use, built form, transportation and urban form-infrastructure systems) (Table 2.2).

WATER SUPPLY;

Figure 2. 2. Typical energy use in urban context (Source: Means 2004)

Influence of Land-use on Energy Demand

Planning Variables Energy Link Effect on Energy Demand Shape of urban

Boundaries Travel Requirements Energy use variation of up to 20%

Shapes and sizes of land-use designations

Travel Requirements (especially trip length and frequency)

Variation of up to 150%

Mix of activities Travel Requirements

(especially trip length) Variation of up to 130%

Density/clustering of trip ends Transit feasibility Energy savings of up to 20%

Site layout "orientation" design Solar use feasibility Energy saving of up to 20%

Sitting "landscaping" exterior

materials Microclimate improvements

Energy saving of at least 5%

more in exposed areas

Table 2. 2. The tools of energy integrated planning system (Source: Adapted from Sadownik and Jaccard 2001, Owens 1985) Area Strategies

Land-use planning

- Land-use planning control resulting in more coordinated development.

- A tendency towards mixed land-use and the maintenance of dispersed business centers.

- A tendency towards maintaining a relatively high density, but not to the detriment of local environmental quality.

Transportation management

- A greater emphasis on public transportation development.

- The facilitation of bicycle and pedestrian transportation.

- The development of transportation management strategies to discourage automobile growth.

- The development of employer sponsored commuting services and other high occupancy vehicle travel.

Urban and building design

- Building to maximize the shape coefficient.

- Ensuring that buildings are built so that they can be easily and economically for neighborhood

- Heating and/or cooling.

- Sitting (in relation to microclimate), orientation 8 of buildings or groups of buildings), layout, density

- Open space necessity

- Urban areas to be served by a CHP systems

- Size, shape communication networks of settlement.

Energy supply and delivery systems

- The replacement of decentralized and uncontrolled coal combustion in individual apartment blocks and houses.

- Encouraging the interaction of industrial energy provision with residential uses.

- A faster introduction of new fuels and technologies (such as neighborhood cooling, waste heat).

- Increased gas penetration for cooking and heating.

Land-use planning

The arrangement of land-use directly affects energy consumption primarily in the transport and space heating sectors (Owens 1986). The arrangement of land-uses and the form of the built environment affect intrinsic energy needs: low density urban sprawl generates a greater need to travel than a more compact pattern of mixed land-use where the physical separation of activities is small. Urban structures also influence the efficiency with which energy needs can be met; for example CHP, are most viable with higher densities and mixed land-uses. Combined heat and power provides a clear example of an energy technology which is not equally viable in all forms of urban development. The implications for urban development arise mainly from the need to lay heat distribution networks in urban scale schemes. Density, built form and the mixed land-uses are all important variables in this context.

20 Transportation management

The pattern of urban land-uses and transport infrastructure in an area is fundamental for local transport energy demand and its environmental effects. Generally, land-use changes cause the more feasible and friendly transport mode. There are some variables in these relations; density and the degree of different mixed land-uses.

Different urban functions (business, education, health, leisure and recreation) have been rationalized into larger units to perceive economic efficiency gains.

Department of the Environment and the Department of Transport in England (1993), published a report which included reductions in travel demand, the use of more emissions- efficient modes of travel and changes in the emissions for efficiency of transport processes. Then they adapted these result to urban planning major departments which were the focusing of development in urban areas, the maintenance and revitalization of existing neighborhood, town and city centers and constrains on the development of small settlements and the extension of villages within the commuter belt (RTPI 1996). This separation shows the usage areas of the energy input in urban sectors in planning process.

Urban and building design

The other important concept is a design which includes both urban scale planning and building scale for energy efficiency and energy consumptions.

Appropriate measures are the concern of urban land-use planning at the neighborhood scale and of building regulations; the important requirements is that both work together to achieve a common objective. Energy consumption in the building sector is characterized by a dynamic evolution. Though needs and consumption rates are very different in the various areas of the planet, energy consumption parameters are mainly determined by living standards, economic growth rates, actual energy prices, technologic developments, whether conditions and increased population.

In a building or housing perspective, a whole-of-life approach is required to obtain a balance between environmental impacts due to the contributions of the construction of a building and those due to its operation (Tucker 1996). Within the housing industry, sources of carbon dioxide are mainly due to energy usage. Energy is consumed both in the daily operation of the house and in the manufacture and supply of materials used in the construction and maintenance of the house.

In past theoretical and practical experience, the built form exerted a periodic influence on energy requirements for space heating. So the built form is the very

important input for energy efficiency like terraced housing or low rise flats. Integrated energy-efficient building design also needs to incorporate passive solar design (PSD).

The built form and the design of the windows, walls, roofs conservatories and atria, and landscape opportunities are the major input for PSD. In this perspective, optimum use of solar gain and microclimatic conditions to minimize the usage concepts are the most urgent things. Passive solar design principles relate with building regulations (technical and theoretical) and planning (micro-scale energy consumption in urban structure and more conventional standards of thermal insulation) (RTPI 1996, OECD 1995).

The relationship between energy conservation and efficiency and urban design is planned at four different urban scales; regional, sub-regional, individual settlements and neighborhood. Environmental, climatologically and topographical data collections are used at each scales. Especially, urban patterns form and size in regional scale;

settlements size, shape and communicative network in sub-regional scale;

Communicative network within settlement in individual settlement and land-use relatives in neighborhood scales, relations are research in urban design concept (Owens 1995, Peker 1998).

In OECD study of Urban Energy Planning (1995), energy consumption and urban development concepts are thought together in CHP perspective. CHP system is a good example of more efficiency in all forms of urban development. Heat distribution networks are important for urban development in urban scale. Having the power to require and particular user to be connected to the heating network is important too.

Thus, built form, density and the mixed urban land-uses are main data in this context. In an ideal world, CHP system which should be relatively dense, useful all scale, serve the urban environment.

Energy supply and delivery systems

Urban infrastructure systems which include water and electricity systems, fuel, heat and power systems are the other tools of urban land-use planning process. Mainly, energy efficiency concept is an important as economical and environmental perspectives of urban settlements. The benefits of more efficient energy use are reflected directly in the local urban scale overall expenditures and are a direct motivation for cost effective improvements. The most obvious focuses for local governments are those facilities and operations that are under their direct control, and a great deal has been written by independent researchers. These areas include: facilities, water supply, waste water

22 According to Means (2004), drinking water delivery and treatment are large energy users; energy is required throughout the diversion, pumping, transmission, treatment, and disposal process. Drinking water and wastewater systems account for about 4% of the nation’s electricity demand. Water systems comprise approximately 56% of a city’s total energy use and the cost of pumping constitutes the largest portion of a water system’s energy demand which is affected by population growth, degradation of source watersheds, declining availability of fresh water supplies, and greater pressure for energy-intensive advanced treatments. The balance (32%) of a city’s electricity consumption is for other capital infrastructure, such as streetlights and traffic lights which comprise up to 67% of that amount and traffic safety and cost savings are key motivations for traffic light improvements (Lynch and Kahn 2000).

2.1.1.2. Models of Energy Integrated Urban “Land-use” Planning