Exploring the Energy Implication of Urban Density in Residential Buildings

In the context of the Algerian energy policy, and through the review of the Algiers’ residential building stock, this paper explores the correlation between the energy consumption of gas and electricity with urban density. Based on a holistic approach of the 57 Algiers’ municipalities, the analysis is organized in two ways. Firstly, the spatial approach is conducted within a GIS implementation, carried out based on the 2013 aggregated annual energy consumption data. The cross analysis of Electricity and Gas consumption and density of population within a GIS spatial distribution approach shows effectively a strong correlation between urban density and energy consumption with a Pearson correlation of −56% and −65% of the Electricity and Gas consumption in the urban municipalities, respectively. Also, the household located in the suburban municipalities consume clearly more energy than the urban centered ones. Based on the electricity and gas consumption, density and carbon footprint we have clustered, within a PCA, the Algiers’ municipalities into three profiles: the “thrifty”, the “intermediate” and the “wasteful” profile.