Solar Access Assessment in Semi-Arid Urban Context: An Application Study for Ten Urban Forms of Existing Apartment Buildings Districts in Batna City, Algeria

The building sector has become one of the largest energy consumers in developing countries and should be considered a significant target for implemented energy-saving initiatives. The use of renewable energy, especially solar energy, could significantly reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. This paper analyzes the relationship between urban morphology and solar availability under the semi-arid climate and environmental conditions of Batna city (Algeria). A Grasshopper-based automated morphology generation and simulation system for evaluating solar access has been developed. Morphological and solar analyses of ten representative residential fabrics of Banta's collective housing stock were performed to compare and identify the best configuration in terms of solar technology use. Four solar performance indicators have been assessed: (i) Building Integrated Photovoltaic Index (BIPVi), (ii) Active Solar Collector index (ASCi), (iii) Passive Solar Index for Heating (PSI_heating), and (vi) Passive Solar Index for Cooling (PSI_cooling). Findings suggest that roofs receive three times more annual solar irradiation than facades and about four times more in Summer. Moreover, Samples showing consistent building height, low volume-to-area ratio, low site coverage, low density, and detached configuration get the best results of solar performance indicators. Finally, active solar collectors appear to be the most effective solar technology in the studied context