A multi-domain scoring framework for solar accessibility at the neighborhood scale

Source abstract

The concept of solar neighborhoods as communities that prioritize sunlight for energy production and thermal and visual comfort has emerged as a solution toward energy and emission targets, while also contributing to more livable urban environment. Building on this premise, the present study introduces a novel multi-domain scoring framework to evaluate solar accessibility at the neighborhood scale and demonstrates practical examples of its applications. The framework converts early-stage solar metrics into 12 performance indicators across the often-disconnected urban spatial domains of outdoor, envelope, and indoor. A set of acceptability thresholds, derived either through site-specific statistical analyses or from established literature, are applied to develop a comparable, six-classes scoring framework. A weighting mechanism is also developed to allow flexibility according to different urban planning priorities and objectives. The framework was applied on 44 neighborhoods in the city of Trondheim (Norway). Results indicate generally favorable solar conditions, especially for the indoor domain. The envelope domain presents the greatest variability, while the outdoor domain seldom exceeds moderate performance levels. Further analyses showed that density indicators (i.e., building coverage and envelope-to-plot ratio) explain nearly 80% of the observed variation in solar accessibility across neighborhoods. The proposed framework has the potential to support municipalities and urban stakeholders as a decision-making tool to shape comfort- and energy-related policies and strategies. Potential applications include: (i) evaluating the impact of future or alternative urban design scenarios on solar accessibility, (ii) supporting local governance in planning processes, and (iii) estimating energy production potential at both neighborhood and city scale.