Urban energy mapping through the implementation on complex networks

Climate change is one of the major challenges facing with the human health and the environment. According to the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC, cities are key players in tackling climate change being responsible for a significant percentage of the level of energy-related CO(2)emissions.From this viewpoint, it is desirable that cities are planned through energy models able to achieve the efficiency in the use of sources and able to minimize GHG emissions. Hence, considering the modern cities as complex systems, the high variability of the energy demand is taken into account evaluating the dynamic evolution of the energy flows. Thus, this paper presents the development, evaluation and application of a. flexible mathematical procedure able to characterize the energy profile of an urban area and its dynamic evolution through the implementation of the network theory. The obtained results allow proper scenario analysis for the definition of energy planning strategies focused on the promotion and installation of cogeneration systems and in favor of renewable sources. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.