Multi-scale urban data models for early-stage suitability assessment of energy conservation measures in historic urban areas

Abstract The demand for improving the energy performance of buildings located in the historic districts of cities is as high as the current demand in other city districts. The need to reduce energy consumption and improve the comfort of inhabitants is compounded by the need to preserve an environment of heritage value. The selection of rehabilitation strategies at urban scale offers significant benefits, but makes the process long and costly. Therefore, methods or tools are necessary to establish a rapid assessment that facilitates strategic decision making and a deeper analysis of a reduced number of alternatives. This paper describes a method that supports decision making regarding the suitability of Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) in historic districts at early stages. The method considers the improvement of the energy performance of buildings as a positive impact, balanced with the negative impacts that the implementation of ECMs could produce. A CityGML-based urban model allows the automation of a multi-scale assessment for different ECMs and provides possible global energy demand reductions. This method, combined with an economic evaluation, can be used by decision makers for large-scale energy retrofitting. The applicability of the method is demonstrated through implementation in the historic city of Santiago de Compostela.