The Solar Potential Of Minor Centres In Abruzzo, Italy: Method For Solar Map Of Building Surfaces

Minimizing energy consumption, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting the use of renewable energy sources are indeed top priorities, to be pursued mainly through several interventions in the building sector, which makes up for about 40% of total emissions of CO₂. As concerns the existing buildings, a significant energy gain can be reached both by controlling the consumptions and by rethinking the building envelope as a solar surface with the integration of solar systems, thus optimizing the active parts. Indeed, if on one hand the priority is to reduce fuel consumption through a lesser and more efficient and effective use of energy, on the other it is equally important to increase the energy production from renewable energy sources, specifically from solar energy. It is therefore necessary to understand since the pre-design stage the solar potential of existing buildings and to evaluate the limits and advantages of a possible photovoltaic (PV) integration in the building envelope surfaces. This potential, also useful as an indicator of the PV power output, is usually estimated by combining in a simplified way the analysis of the incident solar radiation and the building geometry as main inputs; this method, however, does not take into account other important contextual factors (typological constraints at urban/building level, construction types/barriers, shadings from objects, etc.), which are essential to define the real PV potential. In this framework, the main purpose of this contribution is to define a methodological approach for mapping the solar potential of existing building surfaces in historical areas, by calculating the numeric value of reference weighting indicators which, deducted from the theoretical solar potential, will provide as output a contextual “realistic” PV potential value, calculated based on a numerical optimization, useful as reference for a local mapping at district or municipal level.