Assessment of the progress towards the establishment of definitions of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEBs) in European Member States

D’Agostino, Delia

doi:10.1016/j.jobe.2015.01.002

Cited by 123 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The energy, exergy, primary energy and emissions incurred during production, transportation or decommission/recycling of the system components have not been counted. This is in line with the requirements established in the NBCF and in the regulations of most European Union member states (D'Agostino, 2015). The results presented here could thus be useful as part of life-cycle assessments that would allow one to find sustainable energy solutions which consider all the stages throughout the lifetime of the system, but such assessments are beyond the scope of this study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Energy and exergy analysis of prosumers in hybrid energy grids

Delgado

Cao

Hasan

et al. 2017

Building Research & Information

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Surplus energy can be a recurrent phenomenon in zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) with onsite generation systems, usually resulting in the export of excess electricity. Yet, converting electricity into heat and exporting it could improve the overall energy balance. This study analyses the energy and exergy performance of a Finnish nearly zero-energy building (nZEB) as a heat and electricity prosumer, and proposes alternative energy topologies to improve energy and exergy levels, primary energy demand and CO 2 emissions. The results show that increasing the installed capacity of the photovoltaic systems would lead to zero energy, exergy, emissions and a balance of primary energy. However, by instead using the surplus electricity to drive a heat pump and export heat, the currently installed capacity would lead to a net energy export of over 4000 kWh/a. Thus, energy conversion could significantly enhance the contribution from heat and electricity prosumers to smart energy grids, though not without affecting other criteria. Two management strategies arise: favouring heat export improves the net energy and CO 2 emissions reduction but lessens the net exergy, while favouring electricity export improves the net exergy and primary energy reduction. The findings highlight that energy conversion can enhance nZEB performance and its exchange with hybrid grids.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Energy and exergy analysis of prosumers in hybrid energy grids

Delgado

Cao

Hasan

et al. 2017

Building Research & Information

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Other important positive effects are the reduction of gas imports (as buildings are currently responsible for 35% of these imports) and the improvement of the indoor comfort and living conditions [11]. Besides efforts to design new buildings with low energy demand and availability of RES [3][4][5], it is essential to tackle the high energy consumption in existing buildings, characterized by an average age of about 55 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The stimulus resulting from the growth of the building sector on the entire economy, in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) and employment, is a further motivation for investing public funds in energy renovation of the EU building stock. Other important positive effects are the reduction of gas imports (as buildings are currently responsible for 35% of these imports) and the improvement of the indoor comfort and living conditions [11]. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the status of implementation of NZEBs in Europe with a focus on retrofit.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in Europe: A Focus on Retrofit in Non-Residential Buildings

2017

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Abstract:Buildings are the focus of European (EU) policies aimed at a sustainable and competitive low-carbon economy by 2020. Reducing energy consumption of existing buildings and achieving nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs) are the core of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the recast of the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD). To comply with these requirements, Member States have to adopt actions to exploit energy savings from the building sector. This paper describes the differences between deep, major and NZEB renovation and then it provides an overview of best practice policies and measures to target retrofit and investment related to non-residential buildings. Energy requirements defined by Member States for NZEB levels are reported comparing both new and existing residential and non-residential buildings. The paper shows how the attention given to refurbishment of NZEBs increased over the last decade, but the achievement of a comprehensive implementation of retrofit remains one of main challenges that Europe is facing.

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“…Within this framework, European policies are focused on decreasing energy consumption in buildings [5]. New policies have introduced technical and regulatory measures to promote a more rational use of energy over the last decade.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Envelope Design Optimization by Thermal Modelling of a Building in a Warm Climate

Baglivo

Congedo

Cataldo³

et al. 2017

Energies

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Abstract:Finding the most appropriate configuration of building components at the design stage can reduce energy consumption in new buildings. This study aims to optimize the design of the envelope of a new residential building located in a warm climate (southern Italy). The thermal behaviour of the building has been analysed to evaluate the indoor operative air temperature for several configurations. The building prototype has been modelled using the dynamic simulation software TRNSYS 17 (A transient system simulation program, University of Wisconsin, Solar Energy Laboratory, USA, 2010) using a sequential search technique. Starting from the simplest building configuration, the main evaluated components are: walls, slab-on-ground floor, roof, shading, windows and internal heat loads. For each of these components, different design options have been modelled and compared in terms of indoor thermal comfort. Comfort parameters have also been taken into account to evaluate users' satisfaction with the optimized configurations. The study of the operative air temperature demonstrates that the absence of insulating layers in the ground floor ensures a lower internal temperature in summer. The paper shows how each component impacts the thermal behaviour of the whole building. It highlights the usefulness of the envelope design optimization that is characterized by high values of heat storage capacity, enabling internal temperature fluctuations to be kept under control, especially during summer.Keywords: envelope; optimization; building; TRNSYS; operative air temperature; warm climate; comfort HIGHLIGHTS:•The envelope design of a residential building has been optimized for a warm climate.• Several envelope design options have been evaluated and compared.• Walls with a high internal areal heat capacity are preferable in a warm climate. •The absence of insulating layers on slab-on-ground floor provides lower temperature in summer.• Low emissivity glass and low solar absorbance roof reduce heat loads.

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Assessment of the progress towards the establishment of definitions of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEBs) in European Member States

Cited by 123 publications

References 15 publications

Energy and exergy analysis of prosumers in hybrid energy grids

Energy and exergy analysis of prosumers in hybrid energy grids

Towards Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in Europe: A Focus on Retrofit in Non-Residential Buildings

Envelope Design Optimization by Thermal Modelling of a Building in a Warm Climate

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