Ground floor SMEs: how businesses can provide energy for residential apartments

When apartments are located above business premises or sandwiched between offices, there are fascinating benefits that can increase efficiency in urban areas, making it possible to use less energy and minimise the carbon footprint, a fundamental aspect of energy use in built-up areas.

Dispersed versus Compact cities

The 20th century presented significant challenges for urban areas, primarily due to the intense expansion required to accommodate private vehicles. This led to urban sprawl and, in certain nations, the implementation of zoning regulations that hindered the ability to reside near workplaces, creating a disconnect between living and working environments.

A sprawling city consumes between 1.5 and 5 times more energy per journey than a compact one, and in our country, in particular low-density urban sprawl has a very bad image, as it increases electricity and heat consumption and has a greater environmental impact in all aspects. Why does this happen, and how can we avoid it? The existence of a designated commercial area within the locality, alongside residential zones such as large shopping centres and Urban Development Programmes (PAUs), increases the relative distances between residences and retail locations, thereby affecting the effort required to travel between them. Furthermore, this increase in distance is often bypassed by using inefficient vehicles instead of collective public transportation.

In contrast, a compact city, where shops are located on the ground floors of residential buildings, enables most trips to be made on foot or by bicycle. These two active modes of transportation are essential and have a lower energy consumption compared to other forms of mobility.

For businesses, being available to customers in a manner that allows them to visit without relying on motor vehicles also presents billing advantages. Initiatives such as expanding sidewalk areas, implementing traffic calming measures, and promoting pedestrianisation significantly boost the revenue of local businesses.

This is logical because cars don’t shop, but people do. One study analysed what happened in Spain as a result of pedestrianisation, and businesses were delighted. The same thing has happened around the world: Groningen, New York, London, among other cities.

Using heat from offices to control the temperature in residential buildings

In addition to mobility, thermal losses have also been assessed using the heat loss factor, which measures the relationship between the surface area that can lose heat (the thermal envelope) and the surface area of the ground that heats up (TFA). The findings are consistent: low density and the absence of mixed-use result in greater losses.

In fact, mixed-use premises, such as having a shop or office under two or three residential floors, allow the residual heat generated by business activities—typically occurring from early morning until after noon—to help residents avoid the need for heating in the afternoon during winter. A similar effect happens with air-conditioning.

An increasing number of architectural firms are designing passive buildings that do not rely on mechanical systems for heating or cooling. This trend has led to the creation of impressive structures such as the Rødovre Tower (2008) by Bjarke Ingels Group, a firm renowned for its highly functional designs. The main feature of this tower is that homes are located on top of office spaces so that they receive less sunlight. Offices are high-activity spaces filled with computers and equipment that emit heat, whereas homes are designed with facades that maximise light capture.

There are also ducts within the building that move the heat around as required. Considering the complementary nature of schedules between workspaces and residences—where people are never present in both simultaneously—this type of solution is ideal for maximising energy generation.

In other words, companies are highly interested in collaborating vertically with the residential sector, as this creates energy synergies that can help reduce their bills.

Mixed use urban planning

Urban elements such as sidewalks, roadways, and street furniture are often taken for granted. However, such materials and elements typically require a significant amount of energy and resources.

One kilogramme of concrete requires 1.3 MJ (megajoules), a kilogramme of bricks: 2.3 MJ, artificial or processed stone: 5.9 MJ, steel: 35 MJ. Everything in our urban environments has been placed there at a cost that cannot be overlooked. Therefore, it is essential to maximise the use of elements such as pavements and benches, as they will always be necessary, in order to minimise the per capita and hourly energy footprint as much as possible.

The best way to do this is to encourage mixed-use urban development.

For instance, the same bench that provides a resting place for an elderly person walking to the store in the morning with their shopping trolley also serves as a dining area for an office worker who wants some fresh air, a meeting space before children are picked up from school, or a gathering place for young people later in the day.

But what has this got to do with business profits? 1. When a single infrastructure accommodates more users, the per capita tax burden required for its maintenance decreases. Taxes such as property tax and even waste collection fees are lower in densely populated areas, partly due to the overall lower energy costs of the system.

In recent decades, there has been a migration to the suburbs, yet Spanish companies have established themselves in the ground floors of buildings. Regardless of whether it has been a deliberate practice or not, companies operating within a mixed urban environment had a higher likelihood of survival, a probability that increases even further in a peaceful setting.