Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) using IoT and Smart Grid

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-342
Author(s):  
P. Deepak ◽  
Z. Anees Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Smart Grid ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Zero Energy

Current energy policy and climate mitigation goals require distinct reductions of the primary energy demand in the building sector. The existing building stock poses challenge since clear-cut technical and economical retrofit strategies for different types of existing buildings are still not established. The goal of the study is to identify such retrofit strategies to achieve optimal cost levels and to assess costs and benefits of nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB). Firstly building types are defined by covering single-family houses, multi-family houses, office buildings and school buildings. Secondly, a large set of generic energy efficiency measures are described, covering seven strategic fields, namely building envelope measures, heating and hot water supply technologies and fuel choice, ventilation and lighting systems, electricity and district heat mixes. This covers the usage of smart home appliances, eco-friendly building ventilation system. Thirdly, energy performance is calculated based on technical and physical characteristics and using building energy balance software. Fourthly, investment costs and life cycle costs are established based on unitary costs of building elements and building technologies. Cost-effectiveness is determined based on he net present value method which is compared to the annuity method for a couple of cases. The integration of smart grid and IoT(Internet of Things) is a new concept for conserving more.

scholarly journals Energy Demand and Supply Simultaneous Optimization to Design a Nearly Zero-Energy House

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 2261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ferrara ◽  
Federico Prunotto ◽  
Andrea Rolfo ◽  
Enrico Fabrizio
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Simultaneous Optimization ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Efficient System ◽  
Demand And Supply ◽  
Zero Energy Buildings

The effective design of nearly zero-energy buildings depends on a large set of interdependent variables, which affect both energy demand and supply. Considering them simultaneously is fundamental when searching for optimal design of nearly zero-energy buildings, as encouraged by the EU in the second recast of the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD). This paper presents the application of the new energy demand and supply simultaneous optimization (EDeSSOpt) methodology to optimize the design of a single-family house in the Italian context. Both primary energy optimization and financial optimization are carried out in the context of European regulations. Robustness of the resulting optimal solution is studied through analysis of optimum neighborhoods. The resulting cost-optimized solution relies on a moderately insulated envelope, a highly efficient system, and 34% of coverage from renewables. The energy-optimized solution requires a higher level of insulation and a higher coverage from renewables, demonstrating that there is still a gap between energy and cost optimums. Beyond the results, integrated optimization by means of EDeSSOpt is demonstrated to better minimize cost functions while improving the robustness of results.

scholarly journals Cost-efficient Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 03075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Erhorn-Kluttig ◽  
Hans Erhorn ◽  
Micha Illner
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Minimum Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Technical Solution ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Solution Sets ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Buildings

The next level of energy performance of new buildings within the European Union will be the Nearly Zero-Energy Building (NZEB). A lot of work has been spent on pilot and demonstration buildings on this and also even higher energy performance levels throughout all EU countries. However, most of the high performance buildings realised so far result in higher investment costs when compared to the current national minimum energy performance requirements. The considerably higher investment costs are one of the main barriers to the early application of the NZEB-level in Europe. The EU H2020 project CoNZEBs works on technical solution sets that result in lower investment costs for NZEBs, bringing the costs close to those of conventional new buildings. The focus is on multi-family houses. In each of the four participating countries Germany, Denmark, Italy and Slovenia a team of researchers is analysing which sets of marketready technologies at the building envelope, the services systems for heating, domestic hot water, ventilation and cooling (where required) in combination with renewable energy systems can fulfil the NZEB requirements at lower costs than those incurred by the national mainstream NZEB application. Additional efforts are being spent on the life-cycle costs and the life-cycle analysis of the solution sets, as well as on the impact of future developments of primary energy factors, energy costs and technology efficiencies.

scholarly journals Determination of the most influential and cost-optimal building characteristics on the energy performance of commercial and industrial buildings

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 03030
Author(s):  
Hilde Breesch ◽  
Barbara Wauman ◽  
Marcus Peeters
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Additional Energy ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Industrial Buildings ◽  
Thermal Bridges ◽  
Energy Simulations ◽  
The Cost

Unlike other types of buildings, commercial and industrial buildings have been so far “forgotten”. In addition, EPBD requirements are increasingly challenging for this type of buildings. This paper aims to identify the most building determinants of the energy performance of commercial and industrial buildings, focussing on the building envelope. Building energy simulations (BES) in TRNSYS are used to simulate the energy demand for heating and cooling in five building variants. The Pareto optimality approach that considers the economic and energetic objectives equally, is used to determine the cost-optimal solutions. The sensitivity analysis and cost-optimal study clearly reveal that airtightness seems to be the most important factor. Although heat recovery on a balanced mechanical ventilation system has a major impact on the energy demand for heating, this measure is not cost-optimal. The large impact of the U-value of the roof on the energy demand for heating is also reflected in the cost-optimal study. The insulation of the floor do not appear to be cost-optimal. Moreover, attention to construction detailing is important. The additional energy losses that can occur due to thermal bridges quickly reach significant values although solving the thermal bridges seems not to be cost-optimal.

scholarly journals Case Study of Thermal Diagnostics of Single-Family House in Temperate Climate

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 4549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Specjał ◽  
Aleksandra Lipczyńska ◽  
Maria Hurnik ◽  
Małgorzata Król ◽  
Agnieszka Palmowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Family House

Reduction of the primary energy consumption is a crucial challenge for the building sector due to economic and environmental issues. Substantial savings could be achieved within the household. In this paper, we investigate the energy performance of a single-family house located in the temperate climate. The assessment is based on the comprehensive thermal diagnostic of the building performed on-site and via computational analyses. The on-site measurements included diagnostics of the building envelope, heat source, heating and domestic hot water system, ventilation system, and indoor environmental quality. Analyses confirmed that the studied building, which was built in 2008, meets the legislation requirements for the primary energy usage at that time and nowadays. However, results show discrepancies between energy performance obtained through on-site measurements and computational methods following regulations. Partially, discrepancies are a result of differences on normative values and how the building is operated in practice. It is also showed how important the role in the assessment of energy consumption through measurements is played by the measurement period.

scholarly journals Cost and Energy Reduction of a New nZEB Wooden Building

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3570
Author(s):  
Endrik Arumägi ◽  
Targo Kalamees
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
Energy Levels ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
The Cost

The current study demonstrates the possibilities of reducing energy use and construction costs and provides evidence that wooden nearly-zero-energy buildings (nZEB) are technically possible at affordable construction costs by using novel design processes and procurement models that enable scalable and modular production. The energy efficiency solutions were derived by increasing/decreasing the insulation value of the building envelope in successive steps. Financial calculations were based on the investment needed to achieve the nearly-zero-energy levels. Overall, many opportunities exist to decrease the cost and energy use compared to the current (pre-nZEB) practice because the net present value can change up to 150 €/m² on the same energy performance indicator (EPI) level. The EPI in the cost-even range was reached by combining a ground-source heat pump (between 115 and 128 kWh/(m2·a)) and efficient district heating (between 106 and 124 kWh/(m2·a)). As energy efficiency decreases, improving energy efficiency becomes more expensive by insulation measures. Throughout the EPI range the most cost efficient was investment in the improvement of the thermal transmittance of windows (3–13 €/(kWh/(m2·a))) while investments in other building envelope parts were less effective (4–80 €/(kWh/(m2·a))). If these were possible to install, photovoltaic (PV) panels installed to the roof would be the cheapest solution to improve the energy performance. Integrated project delivery procurement (design and construction together) and the use of prefabricated wooden structures reduced the constructing cost by half (from ~2700 €/net m2 to 1390 €/net m2) and helped to keep the budget within limits.

scholarly journals Redefining cost-optimal nZEB levels for new residential buildings

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 03035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raimo Simson ◽  
Endrik Arumägi ◽  
Kalle Kuusk ◽  
Jarek Kurnitski
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Apartment Building ◽  
Detached House

In the member states of the European Union (EU), nearly-Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) are becoming mandatory building practice in 2021. It is stated, that nZEB should be cost-optimal and the energy performance levels should be re-defined after every five years. We conducted cost-optimality analyses for two detached houses, one terraced house and one apartment building in Estonia. The analysis consisted on actual construction cost data collection based on bids of variable solutions for building envelope, air tightness, windows, heat supply systems and local renewable energy production options. For energy performance analysis we used dynamic simulation software IDA-ICE. To assess cost-effectiveness, we used Net Present Value (NPV) calculations with the assessment period of 30 years. The results for cost-optimal energy performance level for detached house with heated space of ~100 m2 was 79 kWh/(m2 a), for the larger house (~200 m2) 87 kWh/(m2 a), for terraced house with heated space of ~600 m2 71 kWh/(m2 a) and for the apartment building 103 kWh/(m2 a) of primary energy including all energy use with domestic appliances. Thus, the decrease in cost-optimal level in a five-year period was ~60% for the detached house and ~40% for the apartment building, corresponding to a shift in two EPC classes.

Analysis of Energy Sources on Energy Indicators Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 861 ◽  
pp. 198-205
Author(s):  
Anton Pitonak ◽  
Martin Lopusniak
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Energy Class ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Total Consumption ◽  
Minimum Requirements ◽  
Global Indicator

In the members states of the European Union, portion of buildings in the total consumption of energy represents 40%, and their portion in CO2 emissions fluctuates around 35%. The European Union is trying to protect the environment by reducing energy demand and releasing CO2 emissions into the air. Energy performance is the quantity of energy, which is necessary for heating and domestic hot water production, for cooling and ventilation and for lighting. Based on results of energy performance, individual buildings are classified into energy classes A to G. A global indicator (primary energy) is the decisive factor for final evaluation of the building. The new building must meet minimum requirements for energy performance, i.e. it must be classified to energy class A1 since 2016, and to energy class A0 since 2020. The paper analyses effect of the use of different resources of heat in a family house designed according to requirements valid since 2020, and its subsequent classification into an energy class.

scholarly journals Transformation of an Office Building into a Nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB): Implications for Thermal and Visual Comfort and Energy Performance

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Ballarini ◽  
Giovanna De Luca ◽  
Argun Paragamyan ◽  
Anna Pellegrino ◽  
Vincenzo Corrado
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Visual Comfort ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Efficiency Measures

Directive 2010/31/EU promotes the refurbishment of existing buildings to change them into nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEBs). Within this framework, it is of crucial importance to guarantee the best trade-off between energy performance and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The implications of a global refurbishment scenario on thermal and visual comfort are assessed in this paper pertaining to an existing office building. The retrofit actions applied to achieve the nZEB target consist of a combination of envelope and technical building systems refurbishment measures, involving both HVAC and lighting. Energy and comfort calculations were carried out through dynamic simulation using Energy Plus and DIVA, for the thermal and visual performance assessments, respectively. The results point out that energy retrofit actions on the building envelope would lead to significant improvements in the thermal performance, regarding both energy savings (−37% of the annual primary energy for heating) and thermal comfort. However, a daylighting reduction would occur with a consequent higher electricity demand for lighting (36%). The research presents a detailed approach applicable to further analyses aimed at optimizing the energy efficiency measures in order to reduce the imbalance between visual and thermal comfort and to ensure the best performance in both domains.

scholarly journals Matching Energy Consumption and Photovoltaic Production in a Retrofitted Dwelling in Subtropical Climate without a Backup System

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 6026
Author(s):  
Sergio Gómez Melgar ◽  
Antonio Sánchez Cordero ◽  
Marta Videras Rodríguez ◽  
José Manuel Andújar Márquez
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Subtropical Climate ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Electric Circuits ◽  
Renewable Energy Production ◽  
Zero Energy Buildings

The construction sector is a great contributor to global warming both in new and existing buildings. Minimum energy buildings (MEBs) demand as little energy as possible, with an optimized architectural design, which includes passive solutions. In addition, these buildings consume as low energy as possible introducing efficient facilities. Finally, they produce renewable energy on-site to become zero energy buildings (ZEBs) or even plus zero energy buildings (+ZEB). In this paper, a deep analysis of the energy use and renewable energy production of a social dwelling was carried out based on data measurements. Unfortunately, in residential buildings, most renewable energy production occurs at a different time than energy demand. Furthermore, energy storage batteries for these facilities are expensive and require significant maintenance. The present research proposes a strategy, which involves rescheduling energy demand by changing the habits of the occupants in terms of domestic hot water (DHW) consumption, cooking, and washing. Rescheduling these three electric circuits increases the usability of the renewable energy produced on-site, reducing the misused energy from 52.84% to 25.14%, as well as decreasing electricity costs by 58.46%.

Towards Net-Zero Energy Buildings: A Case Study in Humid Subtropical Climate

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen Betharte ◽  
Hamidreza Najafi ◽  
Troy Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Subtropical Climate ◽  
Efficiency Improvement ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Energy Efficiency Improvement ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero

The growing world-wide energy demand and environmental considerations have attracted immense attention in building energy efficiency. Climate zone plays a major role in the process of decision making for energy efficiency projects. In the present paper, an office building located in Melbourne, FL is considered. The building is built in 1961 and the goal is to identify and prioritize the potential energy saving opportunities and retrofit the existing building into a Net-Zero Energy Building (NZEB). An energy assessment is performed and a baseline model is developed using eQUEST to simulate the energy performance of the building. Several possible energy efficiency improvement scenarios are considered and assessed through simulation including improving insulation on the walls and roof, replacing HVAC units and upgrade their control strategies, use of high efficiency lighting, and more. Selected energy efficiency improvement recommendations are implemented on the building model to achieve the lowest energy consumption. It is considered that photovoltaic (PV) panels will be used to supply the energy demand of the building. Simulations are also performed to determine the number of required PV panels and associated cost of the system is estimated. The results from this paper can help with the decision making regarding retrofit projects for NZEB in humid subtropical climate.

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