Smart cooling systems for the urban environment. Using renewable technologies to face the urban climate change

Urban heat island and global warming increase the urban ambient temperature. Increased temperatures have a tremendous effect on the energy demand for cooling, with a great impact on peak and total electricity demand. Renewable technologies in the urban environment have been widely regarded as an increasingly important solution to deal with the climate change challenges and energy security. Significant effort is performed in the integration of photovoltaic panels (PV) and micro turbines in the urban context showing a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions. At the same time attention is drawn to an often-overlooked aspect regarding renewable energy technologies, in that despite having low operating costs their overall benefits are often not well understood and consequently are often evaluated as being less profitable than fossil fuel alternatives, even though they are future proof about energy cost. The aim of the present paper is to describe the role of renewable energy technologies and zero carbon technologies in covering the future increased energy demand for cooling. The integration of photovoltaics in the urban environment through PV facades, pavements, and shading devices are discussed. The role of Information and Computer Technology and smart grids in the efficient management of renewables in urban scale is discussed. The role of smart metering, users ‘integration and demand response capabilities for future zero energy urban neighborhoods is revealed