Mapping of Energy Consumption for Cooling – Assessment of the Cooling Demand Potential for the City of Riga

Considering the global increase in mean air temperature and society’s demand for a comfortable indoor microclimate, cooling solutions in buildings will play an essential role in achieving global climate goals. Researchers estimate that global energy consumption will be significantly affected by the energy required for cooling. Assessment of cooling demand potential is an essential step to further analyse cooling options for buildings in certain areas. Within the framework of this study, mapping of energy consumption for cooling in the city of Riga (Latvia) is carried out. Mapping allows to assess the demand in a spatial perspective, identifying areas with a denser energy demand indicator, and, accordingly, a higher potential for implementation of district cooling and this method can be used in other countries and cities as well. Energy consumption for cooling at the building level was calculated and visualized using cadastral data and building energy certificate data. The results show that the potential energy consumption for cooling in the city of Riga can reach up to 397 GWh per year and the largest proportion of energy consumption for cooling is predicted in the category of multi – apartment buildings (up to 155 GWh per year), highlighting the need to pay particular attention how cooling demand is addressed in residential building sector. Results can be further used to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of the district cooling implementation in parts of the city.