Decision-Making Tool for Solar Neighborhood Planning
May 2024 - PDF 0.91MB

This report is a user guide for the solar neighborhood decision-making tool that offers a structured approach to selecting sustainable solar strategies for neighborhood development, catering to professionals such as architects, urban planners, energy planners, and policymakers. The tool considers various passive and active solar strategies, to enhance building performance and reduce energy consumption. The output of the tool provides recommendations for suitable solar strategies based on user inputs, helping users make informed decisions towards achieving their sustainability goals.

Strategies for the Design of New and Existing High Energy Performance Solar Neighborhoods
Solar planning strategies and concepts
May 2024 - PDF 14.51MB
Editor: Caroline Hachem-Vermette, Kuljeet Singh Grewal, and Maria Wall

This report provides a comprehensive overview of solar neighborhoods, including their definition, applications, standards, and regulations. It also outlines the methodology and tools used to develop archetype designs and analyses solar strategies at both building and neighborhood levels. The report presents selected archetypes from Canada, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland and provides a decision-making tool for solar strategies. The target audience for this report includes architects, urban planners, policymakers, and anyone interested in sustainable and energy-oriented developments.

IEA SHC Seminar
December 2022 - PDF 36.51MB
Editor: C. Hachem-Vermette, M.Wall & K. Do.

This seminar aimed to bring academic and professional knowledge, of designing sustainable communities with high life quality. In addition, it introduced and demonstrated the use of modeling tools in the design process to achieve specific performance goals, at urban and building levels.

Fall School - Planning Solar Neighborhoods: Strategies, Tools, and Perspectives
November 2022 - PDF 28.57MB
Editor: C. Hachem-Vermette, M.Wall & K. Do.

The main objective of the Fall School was to introduce and discuss various solar strategies, and methods employed to assess and evaluate these solar strategies and concepts, from various perspectives and standpoints. Selected topics of presentations and discussions encompass:

• Status of solar technologies deployment and 100% renewables,
• Life cycle of solar technologies and impact,
• Socio/economic aspects,
• PV and solar thermal collector integration in buildings,
• Simulations of neighborhoods to analyze different solar strategies,
• Overview of various strategies and applications,
• Technologies and sustainable developments - case study from industry perspective.