Energy performance of a solar mixed-use community

This paper explores a solar mixed-use community that combines residential and commercial buildings. The pilot location of this study is Calgary, Canada (52° N), representing northern, cold climate. Energy performance of the neighbourhood is estimated in terms of energy consumption and generation potential by means of building integrated PV systems. In addition, the analysis takes in to account the overall primary energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. EnergyPlus is employed to simulate the overall energy consumption of the neighbourhood. Investigation of different options of mechanical systems is carried out using TRNSYS. Designing and analysing energy performance of a mixed-use community as an integrated system presents an opportunity to explore sharing of energy resources and interaction with the utility grid.