Analyzing the impact of urban morphology on solar potential for photovoltaic panels: A comparative study across various European climates

•Impact of urban morphology on solar potential evaluation.•Solar radiation conversion for residential use in four European climates.•FAR, AR, and E/S are parameters that have a correlation with solar radiation.•Accurate simulations to promote sustainability and reduce carbon emissions. The process of urbanization continuously transforms cities and therefore, their urban morphology as a need to adapt to the environmental changes. In Europe, the focus is shifted towards sustainable architecture with low energy consumption and less carbon emissions. Urban morphology and its parameters highly influence the energy consumption of buildings, but there is a study gap in understanding the interplay between them. Many European countries have implemented supplementary guidelines and regulations to promote the application of photovoltaic systems of solar panels on buildings. This research explores the impact of different urban morphologies of existing residential buildings on energy performance in four European climatic contexts, as well as the potential for the installation of solar panels in these morphologies. Five different morphologies are analyzed through simulations in urban and building scale. The results of this method highlight that I-shaped block morphology reaches the highest yearly average value of solar radiation, 360.2 kWh/m2 in Venice (14.2 %), and 297.3 kWh/m2 in Stockholm (9.4 %), while the small low rise blocks reach the highest value of 311.5 kWh/m2 in Amsterdam (10.2 %), and 314.5 kWh/m2 in Paris (22.7 %). The findings establish recommendations on energy optimization principles for decision-makers and urban planners in various urban design scenarios.