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In recent years, net zero or plus-energy buildings (PEB) have been widely analyzed and discussed for their benefits of increasing energy savings and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A successful transition to energy-efficient buildings must, however, develop an efficient method that examines technical, economic, environmental and social criteria. In this paper, a method for design optimization based on spatial analysis combined with multi-criteria decision-making was proposed for achieving plus-energy buildings in Algeria. To apply the proposed method, a single family residential building was chosen. First, the annual energy consumption of the building at 40 locations was evaluated and the results are then interpolated for the whole country. The best energy efficiency measures and renewable energy are then chosen using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Finally, energy balance and spatial analysis were carried out based on the geographical information system. The results showed the energy plus target was achieved in large parts of the country using a high-performance envelope, more efficient appliances and solar energy (solar photovoltaic and thermal). In addition, the southern provinces, mainly Adrar, Tindouf, Bechar, Ouargla, and Illizi, have identified the most suitable areas for setting up new buildings with an energy-plus target. In addition, applying the method will reduce the overall energy demand by 43 % and reduce GHG emissions in the country by around 23 % by 2030. Therefore, the method will have a significant impact on sustainability locally and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experience developed in the northern European countries led, in the last decades, to standard and shared procedures for the design and construction of passive houses and similar high performance buildings. These approaches are specifically developed for cold climates, therefore cannot be directly applied to the Mediterranean climate, where substantially different climatic conditions must be challenged. The design and early monitoring of a customized zero energy house, located in Sicily, is proposed as an exemplary case study for the future generation of high performance and nearly-zero energy buildings in the Mediterranean area. The key role played by the control of heat gains, and the correct use of thermal mass is highlighted, showing similarities and differences with passive houses built in the North Europe. The measurements of energy and environmental performance of the building show the effectiveness of the response of the adopted design approach to the specific climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experience developed in the northern European countries led, in the last decades, to standard and shared procedures for the design and construction of passive houses and similar high performance buildings. These approaches are specifically developed for cold climates, therefore cannot be directly applied to the Mediterranean climate, where substantially different climatic conditions must be challenged. The design and early monitoring of a customized zero energy house, located in Sicily, is proposed as an exemplary case study for the future generation of high performance and nearly-zero energy buildings in the Mediterranean area. The key role played by the control of heat gains, and the correct use of thermal mass is highlighted, showing similarities and differences with passive houses built in the North Europe. The measurements of energy and environmental performance of the building show the effectiveness of the response of the adopted design approach to the specific climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel framework for assessing the zero energy potential of buildings is proposed. • Four scenarios of solar energy utilization are designed. • Spatial differences in the zero energy potential of buildings are revealed. • More than half of the building operational energy use in Shanghai can be reduced. Zero energy buildings are considered as a viable way to reduce energy use and CO 2 emissions in the building sector. This study proposes a high-resolution assessment framework by combining top-down and bottom-up approaches to evaluate the zero energy potential of buildings with photovoltaic systems at the city level. We selected Shanghai as a case study to validate the practicality and feasibility of the proposed framework. Four energy scenarios were further designed based on the location of the installed solar photovoltaic panels (i.e., building roofs and facades) and the window-to-wall ratio. The results show that most buildings in Shanghai's central area show a high potential for zero energy consumption. However, buildings located in Shanghai's suburbs have difficulty in achieving zero energy if only solar photovoltaic systems are used. In summary, the substitution rate (i.e., the ratio of the coal equivalent of solar energy potential to building energy consumption) for the four scenarios ranges from 25.74% to 53.13%. This indicates that the application of solar energy received by buildings can reduce more than half of Shanghai's building energy consumption during the operation phase. The proposed framework may assist policymakers in developing better energy conservation strategies and improving solar energy utilization in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study starts with the analysis of the current situation of both the existing buildings and the energy sector in Egypt, analyzing the energy consumption patterns and the inefficiencies leading to these patterns, then defining the nZEB concept to familiarize the reader with its different aspects. The empirical part of the study utilizes simulation to validate the proposed guideline by applying it on an already existing residential building. The detailed steps of converting an already existing residential building to an nZEB is the final outcome of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ideal orientation of PV panels is a widely debated topic. However, the relevant decrease in photovoltaic (PV) system costs and their consequent rapid spread are moving the attention from the achievement of the maximum areal electricity generation to a PV generation profile in agreement with building energy needs. In fact, national subsidies are going to promote electricity self–consumption in PV systems, in order to avoid imbalances in the grid, already relevant at the present market status, i.e. with a still low share of PV in national yearly electricity generation. For all of these reasons, in the next years PV systems will not be designed just to generate the amount of electricity as high as possible, but even to limit electricity exportation from the building perspective. Thus, orientations and PV configurations with lower electricity generation might be preferred, if they allow the user to achieve a higher degree of electricity self-consumption. Of course, in the achievement of this aim, the PV systems will be supported by electrochemical storages as well. This paper shows the analysis of various configurations of PV systems supported by electrochemical storages, aiming at the increase of electricity self-consumption, considering two Italian climates: Venice, in the northeast (Latitude: 45° 26’ N), and Trapani, in southern Italy (Latitude: 38° 01’ N). As regards the detailed simulation of the PV system, the analysis took advantage of program Ener_Lux, while the building energy system was simulated via EnergyPlus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased use of renewable energy sources in buildings has resulted in the development of Zero Energy Buildings(ZEB). To assess the gaps for ZEB system integration and performance optimization,this paper summarizes a study undertaken to reveal potential challenges and opportunities for intelligent control system of ZEB, and comprehensively reviews current trends in building system performance optimization. The findings indicate a breakthrough of 3M (Micro-grid, Multi-agent, Multi-objective)system of ZEB for system integration and performance optimization and a concept of ZEB to Urban Heat Island(UHI) mitigation based on Smart Grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing building stock is a logical target to improve the level of sustainability of the built environment by energy saving measures. These measures typically entail a decrease of operational energy demand, mainly by adding building components such as insulation packages and energy generating devices. Consequently, material related environmental impact might create a collateral disproportionate burden, which is not well addressed in current assessment methods. In an attempt to evaluate this effect, two common dwelling types in the Netherlands, a terraced and a detached dwelling, have been redesigned to the level of Zero Energy Building in four scenarios, and the environmental impact of these scenarios has been assessed, expressed in embodied energy and related to the carrying capacity, expressed in embodied land (m 2 ·a). The lowest environmental impact is achieved in the scenario with an average U-value of 0.29 W/m 2 K and 35 m 2 and 75 m 2 of PV modules for the terraced and the detached dwelling, respectively. In this scenario, added embodied energy is 3.4 GJ/m 2 and embodied land is 308,777 m 2 ·a land for the terraced dwelling and 5.2 GJ/m 2 and 653,644 m 2 ·a land for the detached dwelling. This evaluation indicates that a focus on only energy efficiency improvement shows a collateral material related environmental impact which should be embedded in the complete environmental assessment of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero energy buildings have attracted more and more attention recently in the world. This research work studied the feasibility of a 12-storey plank-type building achieving zero energy. The study used Software TRNbuild to establish a 12-story residential building, as a reference building, based on DB11/891—2012(Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings of Beijing). On the one hand, the study does passive building design, including high performance envelope, air-tightness and fresh air heat recovery efficiency, to reduce heating and cooling load. On the other hand, TRNSYS was used to simulate building energy system, such as solar domestic hot water systems (SDHW), unitary air-source heat pump for space heating and cooling, and renewable electricity system-PV. Annual energy consumption of reference buildings (central heating system for heating, ASHP for cooling) is 30.33 kwh/(m 2 •a) . By contrast, that of NZEBs(ASHP for heating and cooling)is 11.1 kwh/(m 2 •a), declining by more than half. PV array production on the roof can meets its energy demand. If domestic hot water energy consumption is also included, PV array production on the roof can offer 95.8% of total electricity demand. In general, it's entirely feasible for residential buildings in Beijing to achieve nearly zero energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A critical review of the grid interaction between ZEBs and power grids. • Independence, stability and friendliness indicators are classified. • The factors affecting the accuracy of evaluation indicators are analyzed. • Optimizations in terms of building, grid and interactive platform are presented. Grid-friendly interaction is the basis for a zero-energy building to achieve its annual energy balance goals through participation in renewable power sharing with grids and is therefore the premise for the large-scale application of zero-energy buildings. How to effectively evaluate and optimize the interaction performance is the key to promoting friendly interaction between zero-energy buildings and power grids. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of grid interactions, including grid-interaction (GI) indicators for performance evaluation, the application of such indicators and optimization measures for achieving grid-friendly interactions. First, the existing GI indicators are classified into three typical types, namely, independence indicators, stability indicators and friendliness indicators, from the perspective of how to understand and address the GIs. The typical applications of such indicators at various time scales and from different data sources are summarized. Second, the optimization measures for enhancing the interaction performance between zero-energy buildings and power grids are reviewed based on the efforts from the building side and grid side and the development of interactive platforms and facilities. Finally, the limitations of current research and the direction of future work on the interaction between zero-energy buildings and power grids are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European “Smart Cities & Communities Initiative” of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) supports cities and regions in taking ambitious measures to progress by 2020 towards a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable use and production of energy. This initiative aims to pool resources to support the demonstration of energy, transport and information and communication technologies in European urban areas. In this effort, the zero energy buildings (ZEB) are expected to play a crucial role. The main objective of this paper is to present the potential contribution of the ZEB principle towards achieving smart cities in Europe. In terms of this study, the evolution of building standards towards the ZEB concept will be presented, followed by discussions regarding the provisions of a SET-Plan smart city and the ZEB definition. Additionally, past studies discussing on the role of zero energy buildings in smart energy regions will also be reviewed. The conclusions of the analysis on the potential of ZEBs in SET-Plan smart cities will provide some useful insight towards the actions required in the building assessment methodologies’ developments, in order to achieve the envisioned smart cities in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Net Zero-Energy Buildings Performance has gained more attention since the publication in 2010 of the EPBD recast [1]. Successful implementation of such an ambitious target depends on a great variety of factors. With a literature full of theoretical advice and a building industry rife with myths about the value of technologies, the present study intend to unveil an sustainable framework for sharing insights into NetZEB methodology applied in an Portuguese office building, Solar XXI, based on the authors experience in the ongoing research carried out within International Energy Agency SHC Task 40 - ECBCS Annex 52, “Towards Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings” [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The underground and semi-underground construction is a building type whose traces are lost in the past: from Cappadocia to Jordan, man has left us countless testimonials of dug cities that, today, respond more adequately to the climatic problems. It is surprising to see how a building type, which has its roots in the remote past is today able to satisfy the needs of energy saving and of architectural forms which are continuously evolving. The peculiarity of this type is the capacity to relate to the ground morphology by inserting in a “non- violent way” but adapting to the pre-existent conformity. Therefore, in a local mountainous context like Basilicata, land in southern Italy, whose building tradition is the semi-underground construction, a project experience such as that proposed in this paper can be the cue for a revitalization of the urban contest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]