High-rise residential building with six-story solar energy

Can solar energy be used in high-rise buildings?

As urban areas become more populated and densified, it becomes more important to have low-energy high-rise buildings with minimal GHG emissions. On this account, this study evaluates the feasibility of achieving net-zero energy performance by employing solar energy in high-rise buildings in North America.

Are residential buildings a good source of energy?

Residential buildings, which are the most significant and numerous building type in cities, have a variety of energy types and enormous scope for energy savings [ 13 ]. At the same time, the flat roofs and large building façades of residential buildings offer more possibilities for developing solar energy resources.

Which building type has the highest PV power generation capacity?

From the figure, it can be seen that the neighborhood forms of AB (mixed high-rise slab and high-rise tower) and AF achieved the highest PV power generation capacity, followed by the power generation potential of type E, while case types AF, B, and C reached the lowest building energy intensity ( Figure 10 ). Figure 10.

Does building roof area increase solar power generation per unit of land?

From the comparison between the AF and A blocks, it can be found that the increase in building roof area in the AF block compared to the A block led to an increase in solar power generation per unit of land area up to 453.4%.

Are high-rise buildings energy efficient?

Many efforts have been done to design or retrofit high-rises in an energy efficient and sustainable way to decrease their significant environmental impacts. A high number of studies have been conducted on reducing the energy demand or carbon emission of High-Rise Buildings (HRB).

How much electricity does a high-rise & low-rise office building use?

Comparing the electricity use intensity and carbon emissions of 610 high-rise and low-rise office buildings in the UK, researchers found that high-rises with equal to or more than 20 stories consume electricity two and a half times greater than low-rises, and emit carbon resulting from gas and electricity consumption twice.