Use Case Characteristics

In this section, we will describe the three uses cases by drawing on the data sources used as inputs of buildingmodel to illustrate the diversity of the territories considered.

Population density

Population density can be estimated at the district-level by matching census population data with administrative limit GIS data. While the three use cases correspond to similar numbers of administrative districts, they vary significantly in terms of land areas and population, as illustrated in Figure 1 and 2.

Number of districts

Use Case

Districts

Ambert-Livradois-Forez

59

Roannais

63

Saint Etienne

78
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Legal population obtained from INSEE census data

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Land area calculated from INSEE administrative boundary data

As a consequence, the population densities at the district level can differ by 4 orders of magnitude between the use cases, with the following average properties by use cases :

  • Saint Etienne is a very dense territory with an average density of 2070 inh./km²

  • “CC Ambert-Livradois-Forez” is a very sparse territory with an average density of 22 inh./km²

  • “CC Roannais” is a mix of dense and sparse territories with an average density of 140 inh./km²

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Distribution of population density by district for each use case (logarithmic scale)

Residential type

the stark differences in population densities naturally lead to contrasted shares of individual houses and apartments in the dwelling stocks with rural “Ambert-Livradois-Forez” having more than 90% of individual houses while the situation is reversed in dense urban Saint-Etienne and balanced (55% houses, 45% apartments) in mixed rural/urban “Roannais”.

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Share of dwellings for each residential type and each case

Construction periods

Construction periods of the dwellings obtained from census data show the disparities between the territories, with a majority of dwellings in Saint-Etienne built in the two periods after 1945, while more than half of the buildings in “Ambert-Livradois-Forez” were built before 1918.

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Share of dwellings in each construction year class for each case

Occupancy

The type of occupancy of the dwelling is a major factor in its energy consumption. In that respect, the “Ambert-Livradois-Forez” use case is remarkable with its 30% second home share.

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Share of dwellings for each type of occupancy and each case

Heating systems

Using the correct mix of heating systems is essential to allow fuel-by-fuel comparison of buildingmodel results with energy consumption data. Here again, the contrasts between the use cases stem from the intrinsic differences in the territories studied, with old rural individual houses in “Ambert-Livradois-Forez” equipped mostly of wood and oil boiler, while post-WW2 collective housing buildings in Saint-Etienne are equipped mostly of gas boilers.

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Share of dwellings for each heating system and each case

Energy consumption

Below in an overview of the energy consumption by fuel for the residential sector in the three use cases.

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Energy consumption by fuel