1 Future Urban Energy Lab for Sustainability (FUEL-S), Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering (FSDE), University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada. kgrewal@upei.ca.
2 Solar Energy and Community Design Lab, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL), University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
3 Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd West, Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada.

The article addresses the challenges of evaluating energy performance in different neighborhood settings under various energy efficiency measures and proposes a methodology for selecting appropriate solar strategies on a neighborhood scale. The study selects five representative neighborhoods from various climatic zones with different building and street layouts. The proposed methodology involves a systematic three-step multi-domain workflow for implementing energy efficiency measures and solar strategies in the existing neighborhoods. The first step involves typical energy performance simulation, the second step involves energy simulation using high performance building envelope, and the third step involves the addition of solar strategies in combination with retrofitting materials to achieve net-zero status. The results of the study show that modifying the building envelope leads to a significant reduction in energy consumption, with up to 60% reduction observed. The study also finds that the optimal mix of solar strategies depends strongly on the type of neighborhood, its street layouts, and the type of buildings. The article highlights the importance of considering these factors when implementing solar strategies on a neighborhood scale to achieve energy efficiency and net-zero status. It provides urban planners with a systematic decision-making approach to evaluate and optimize neighborhoods to achieve net-zero energy status.