Efficiency Optimization of a Real Settlement

Abstract

The topic of "Smart City" gradually becomes more important, especially because of the growing world's population. Considering this situation, experts recognize the potential values of cities with long-term sustainability. For buildings, the establishment of an energy certificate is mandatory, with considerations of the building environment, locality, infrastructure provision and other issues that have not been taken into account. In this study, using a real community in Vorarlberg, Austria, various factors were investigated and their impacts were analyzed. The "Energy Certification of Communities" software, co-developed and provided by the Lower Austrian Land Government, Department of Spatial Planning and Regional Policy, was used for the calculations and analyses. The focus of this program is not only on the quality of the location but is more on the utilizations of various areas. Essentially, concerns of this development were mainly costs in Euro per living unit and year; it means the more built in an area the less the cost. The last part concerns the effects of developments on the CO2 emission, which is affected by traffic emission. First, the present situation was calculated, including the following factors: . Indicators; . Partial areas; . Development; . Quality of open spaces; . Connectivity and transportation; . Locations and buildings. Considering these factors, different variants could be worked out. Initially, the existing green spaces would be partially removed to reduce the developmental costs. Another factor is to build a central school or shopping center. In this case, the individual transportation routes would be shorter and the CO2 emissions would decrease. Other variants were also investigated and evaluated. Results show that we can achieve a lot, but more than two efficiency levels cannot be reached. An energy-efficient use of resources can be achieved in all cases.