Investigating the impact of city form on energy consumption in residential sector (A case Study City of Hamedan)

Abstract The rapid growth of urbanization and the consequent increase in the population of cities has had various impacts in different perspectives. One of the consequences has been a 20% rise in energy consumption and demand in cities over the last three decades. According to statistics released by the International Energy Agency, Iran is the ninth energy-producing country and the tenth-most energy-consuming country in the world. Thus, the average energy consumption per square meter in Iran is 2.6 times the average consumption in industrial countries, which in some cities of the country, this figure is about 4 times. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of city form and structure on energy consumption pattern in Hamadan. The methodology of the research is based on descriptive- analytical approaches and the data was collected by conducting a field work to complete the questionnaires. Three different forms of neighborhoods were selected with the help of urban managers and field surveys from the city of Hamadan to answer the research questions. The distribution of samples was also determined by percentage method according to different neighborhoods, which included 388 residential units in the selected neighborhoods. Seven variables and three main indices of density, connectivity and mixed use in GIS were used to determine city neighborhood form. Then, the relationship between the research variables (urban and building form characteristics as independent variables and household gas and electricity consumption data as dependent variables) was investigated using SPSS software. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between city form and energy consumption. Compact urban forms, with an average energy consumption of 13422298/66 kJ, are the most efficient form of energy consumption. In contrast, scattered forms with the average energy consumption of 18,289,848/10 kJ are the most inefficient urban forms.