Methodology

Figure 1: A diagram outlining of the methodology used in the project

The project followed the methodology outlined in Figure 1 which is described in more detail below:

Literature Review

• Research existing communities that are attempting to become carbon neutral
  • Analyse their approach and results
  • Identify deficiencies or successes that can be learnt from

Data Collection and Verification

• Carry out a study of the community to identify
  • The population and number of households
  • The type of households and buildings in the area
  • Industrial and commercial buildings in the area
• Calculate:
  • Energy consumption in the community
  • CO₂ emissions from the community
  • Verify the data with different sources

Development and Modelling - Reducing and offsetting emissions

• Identify priority areas of investigation which are likely to make the largest impact on emissions
• Identify potential methods to reduce the emissions of the chosen areas
• Carry out in-depth investigations into each system
• Use computer modelling programs to estimate CO₂ savings from the system where appropriate

Analysis

• Analyse the results of each system comparing the estimated:
• Total CO₂ savings of each system
• Embodied energy of each system
• Economics of each system using a standard loan system for each system

Case Study Outcome

• Draw conclusions about the potential total CO₂ savings for the community
• Identify any other areas of further investigation that could provide additional savings
• Calculate the area of trees required to offset the remaining emissions of the community

Wider Application

• Identify key lessons learnt
• Identify the systems which can have the largest impact on emissions for an urban community
• Identify the most cost effective methods of reducing emissions
• Make recommendations for how the approach can be applied to other urban communities