Profitability of smart energy measures within the framework of the smart city concept

Procjenjuje se da danas više od 70 % stanovnika Europske unije živi u urbanim područjima – gradovima i gradskim predgrađima. Gradovi su pokretači napretka i razvoja, ali i odgovorni za značajan dio štetnih emisija. Stoga upravo oni predstavljaju veliki potencijal za primjenu koncepta energetske održivosti koji uključuje smanjenje potrošnje energije te povećanje energetske učinkovitosti što rezultira smanjenjem štetnih emisija. Pametni gradovi primjer su održivog gospodarskog i energetskog razvoja urbanog područja. Energetske pametne mjere između ostalog uključuju prometna rješenja, pametnu rasvjetu, centralizirane toplinske i rashladne sustave te integraciju obnovljivih izvora energije. U okviru rada nabrojane su pametne mjere iz područja energetike te dani primjeri pametnih gradova na području Europske unije i Republike Hrvatske. Zatim je, za pet odabranih pametnih mjera – pametno parkiranje, pametna rasvjeta, integracija centraliziranog toplinskog i rashladnog sustava s dizalicama topline i solarnim kolektorima, integracija električnih vozila te integracija PV modula provedena tehno-ekonomska analiza za Grad Zagreb. Analiza je provedena u računalnom programu EnergyPLAN, a rezultati su uspoređeni s referentnim modelom na temelju pet odabranih parametara. Simulacija je pokazala kako svaka od mjera smanjuje štetne emisije CO₂, najviše integracija električnih vozila – čak 8,26 %. Što se tiče financijskih ušteda, tu prednjači instaliranje PV modula s povratom investicije od 1,258 godina. S druge strane, sustav pametnog parkiranja ima velike investicijske troškove, a jedva vidljive uštede. Idealan scenarij bila bi provedba svih mjera istovremeno čime bi se ostvarilo smanjenje emisija od 9,13 % te smanjila ukupna godišnja cijena sustava za 869 milijuna eura.It is estimated that today more than 70 % of European population lives in urban areas – cities and city suburbs. Cities are initiators of development, but, at the same time, the ones responsible for a significant part of harmful emissions. Therefore, cities represent great potential for implementation of the concept of energy sustainability, which includes reduction of energy consumption and increase of energy efficiency resulting in the reduction of harmful emissions. Smart cities are examples of both economical and energetical sustainable development of urban areas. Smart measures in energetics include, among other things, traffic solutions, smart lighting, district heating and cooling systems and integration of renewable energy sources. Within the framework of the paper smart measures in the field of energetics are listed and examples of smart communities, both in EU and Republic of Croatia are given. For five chosen measures – smart parking technology, smart lighting, district heating and cooling system with solar collectors and heat pumps, integration of PV modules and integration of electric vehicles, technical and economic analysis for the City of Zagreb was conducted. Analysis was conducted in computer program EnergyPLAN and the results were compared with the reference model based on five chosen parameters. Simulation has shown that each of the implemented measures reduces the emission of CO₂, most notably integration of electric vehicles with a reduction of 8,26 %. From the economic standpoint, integration of PV modules has been proven the best with return of investment period of 1,258 years. On the other hand, the smart parking system is characterized by great investment costs and barely visible savings. The ideal scenario would include simultaneous implementation of all measures which would result in 9,13 % reduction of CO₂ emission and 869 million € decrease of annual costs