CRS4 has developed new tools to improve the estimation of the photovoltaic potential of urban areas for systems that can be installed on the roofs of public and private buildings.
This activity started with the Sardine (Decision Support System for Electricity Production Networks) project and continued with the TDM (Tessuto digitale metropolitano) project.
Based on the analysis of the covered surface, the type of construction and the exposure of the roofs of public and private buildings, CRS4 (Smart Energy Systems) has developed an algorithm to fast calculate the effective radiation on these surfaces even in the presence of partial shading.
As part of the TDM project, in particular, was conducted a study of the inhabited area of Cagliari, obtaining an estimation of the power generation potential with a resolution of one square meter, this point represent a significant improvement both in the accuracy of the calculation and in the time required for processing. The methodology is easily replicable and the software is in the public domain.
The study has been published in the latest issue of the journal "Smart Cities" (2020, 3, 873-893): A Procedure for Complete Census Estimation of Rooftop Photovoltaic Potential in Urban Areas, Pinna, A.; Massidda, L.