Steadman, P; Hamilton, I and Evans, S (2014) Energy and urban built form: An empirical and statistical approach. Building Research & Information, 42(1), pp. 17-31. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
The geometrical forms of buildings have important effects on their use of energy.These relationships are explored at the scale of the entire non-domestic building stock of London. A three-dimensional digital model of the city is used to make a series of geometrical measures: building volume, exposed surface area (walls plus roof) and plan depth. These are compared with figures for the consumption of gas and electricity published by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The comparisons are made at different levels of spatial aggregation, from boroughs to census districts. Strong correlations are demonstrated between exposed surface area and both gas and electricity use. The analysis also provides some evidence of a sharp increase in electricity use in districts with buildings whose depth in plan exceeds 14 m (in which air-conditioning and permanent artificial lighting are typically required). A multiple regression model is used to measure the contribution of these effects to total energy use, as compared with floor area, activities and number of employees.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building form; building geometry; building stock; electricity use; energy demand; exposed surface area; gas use; non-domestic; plan depth |
| Index terms: | evidence, London, climate change, built form, roof, consumption, energy use, geometry, energy demand, multiple regression model, non-domestic building, building stock |
| Subjects: | Geography, urban form and morphology, design practice, statistical analysis, asset management, climate science, consumer economics, mathematical modelling, evaluation and assessment methods, construction type, energy systems |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Design Practice, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Construction Technology, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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