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Advanced Technology - What Is A Net Zero Building Rasetch (2015 6 9)

A zero-net energy building, also known as a net-zero energy building, is a building that produces as much renewable energy as it consumes on an annual basis. These buildings do not increase greenhouse gas emissions because they consume non-renewable energy at some times but reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas production elsewhere by an equal amount. Most zero-net energy buildings get half or more of their energy from the grid and return the same amount at other times. These buildings help reduce carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels through on-site renewable energy generation and energy efficiency technologies.

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75 views2 pages

Advanced Technology - What Is A Net Zero Building Rasetch (2015 6 9)

A zero-net energy building, also known as a net-zero energy building, is a building that produces as much renewable energy as it consumes on an annual basis. These buildings do not increase greenhouse gas emissions because they consume non-renewable energy at some times but reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas production elsewhere by an equal amount. Most zero-net energy buildings get half or more of their energy from the grid and return the same amount at other times. These buildings help reduce carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels through on-site renewable energy generation and energy efficiency technologies.

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What is a net zero building?

A zero-energy building, also known as a zero net energy (ZNE) building, netzero energy building (NZEB), or net zero building, is a building with zero net
energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building
on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created
on the site. These buildings consequently do not increase the amount of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They do at times consume nonrenewable energy and produce greenhouse gases, but at other times reduce
energy consumption and greenhouse gas production elsewhere by the same
amount.
Most zero net energy buildings get half or more of their energy from the grid,
and return the same amount at other times. Buildings that produce a surplus of
energy over the year may be called "energy-plus buildings" and buildings that
consume slightly more energy than they produce are called "near-zero energy
buildings" or "ultra-low energy houses".
Traditional buildings consume 40% of the total fossil fuel energy in the US and
European Union and are significant contributors of greenhouse gases. The zero
net energy consumption principle is viewed as a means to reduce carbon
emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels and although zero-energy
buildings remain uncommon even in developed countries, they are gaining
importance and popularity.
Most zero-energy buildings use the electrical grid for energy storage but some
are independent of grid. Energy is usually harvested on-site through a
combination of energy producing technologies like solar and wind, while
reducing the overall use of energy with highly efficient HVAC and lighting
technologies. The zero-energy goal is becoming more practical as the costs of
alternative energy technologies decrease and the costs of traditional fossil
fuels increase.
The development of modern zero-energy buildings became possible not only
through the progress made in new energy and construction technologies and
techniques, but it has also been significantly improved by academic research,
which collects precise energy performance data on traditional and
experimental buildings and provides performance parameters for advanced
computer models to predict the efficacy of engineering designs. Zero Energy
Building is considered as a part of smart grid. Some advantages of these
buildings are as follow:
Integration of renewable energy resources
Integration of plug-in electric vehicles
Implementation of zero-energy concepts
The zero-energy concept allows for a wide range of approaches due to the
many options for producing and conserving energy combined with the many
ways of measuring energy (relating to cost, energy, or carbon emissions).
Advantages:

Isolation for building owners from future energy price increases


Increased comfort due to more-uniform interior temperatures (this can be
demonstrated with comparative isotherm maps)
Reduced requirement for energy austerity
Reduced total cost of ownership due to improved energy efficiency
Reduced total net monthly cost of living
Improved reliability photovoltaic systems have 25-year warranties and
seldom fail during weather problems the 1982 photovoltaic systems on
the Walt Disney World EPCOT Energy Pavilion are still working fine today,
after going through three recent hurricanes
Extra cost is minimized for new construction compared to an afterthought
retrofit
Higher resale value as potential owners demand more ZEBs than
available supply
The value of a ZEB building relative to similar conventional building
should increase every time energy costs increase
Future legislative restrictions, and carbon emission taxes/penalties may
force expensive retrofits to inefficient buildings

Disadvantages:

Initial costs can be higher effort required to understand, apply, and


qualify for ZEB subsidies
Very few designers or builders have the necessary skills or experience to
build ZEBs
Possible declines in future utility company renewable energy costs may
lessen the value of capital invested in energy efficiency
New photovoltaic solar cells equipment technology price has been falling
at roughly 17% per year It will lessen the value of capital invested in a
solar electric generating system Current subsidies will be phased out as
photovoltaic mass production lowers future price
Challenge to recover higher initial costs on resale of building, but new
energy rating systems are being introduced gradually.
While the individual house may use an average of net zero energy over a
year, it may demand energy at the time when peak demand for the grid
occurs. In such a case, the capacity of the grid must still provide
electricity to all loads. Therefore, a ZEB may not reduce the required
power plant capacity.
Without an optimised thermal envelope the embodied energy, heating
and cooling energy and resource usage is higher than needed. ZEB by
definition do not mandate a minimum heating and cooling performance
level thus allowing oversized renewable energy systems to fill the energy
gap.
Solar energy capture using the house envelope only works in locations
unobstructed from the South. The solar energy capture cannot be
optimized in South (for northern hemisphere, or North for southern
Hemisphere) facing shade or wooded surroundings.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-energy_building)

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