Possibilities of PV Maximization for Achieving Positive Energy Districts with Respect to Building Density

Positive Energy Neighborhoods (PEN) and Positive Energy Districts (PED) can act as lighthouses within a city transformation: They are concepts to showcase best practice in energy transition measures. System boundaries of a PED-assessments are approached from spatial, temporal, and functional perspectives [1]: 1. Spatial means an actual physical boundary of included energy services and supplies. 2. Temporal system boundaries can be interpreted as the balancing period and are typically set to one operational year. 3. Functional system boundaries are used to identify specific energy functions, uses, or demands to be included or excluded according to function, rather than spatial proximity. PEDs offer the possibility to include all energy services and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into their balance. This allows for different technologies and measures affecting different sectors, such as Photovoltaic (PV) maximization, Photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) installation, switching from natural gas to heat pumps, or mobility sharing services, to be assessed together and compared in their relative effectiveness and priority for any given district. This conference contribution aims to exemplify the contribution of PV to a positive energy balance based on the available data and calculated installation potential of Amsterdam within the Simply Positive project. It further describes the density context factor included in the energy balance calculation, aiming at offsetting practical capacity limitation due to different building densities throughout a country for a harmonized target setting and verification.