Cost-Optimal Net Zero Energy Communities (original) (raw)
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The impact of density and scale on the life cycle cost of net zero energy communities
Computing in construction, 2019
It is widely agreed that expanding the Net Zero Energy concept to a community scale brings multiple advantages in terms of design flexibility, cost reduction, clean energy and resource management. However, it is less clear what the scale or the density of the community should be to utilize these advantages in the best possible way. The objective of this work is to study how the Life Cycle Costs of new Net Zero Energy communities are affected by changes in their density and scale. To achieve this objective, a model was developed for identifying the optimal configuration of energy technologies for each specific scale and density. The analysis takes into consideration the local climate and the types of buildings in the community. The results of the implementation of the model show that both urban density and scale have a direct impact on the costs of NZE communities, but in ways that depend on the local climate.
Economic Investigation of Community-Scale Versus Building Scale Net-Zero Energy
2009
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Methodology for energy and economic modeling of net zero energy communities
2015
Net zero energy (NZE) communities are becoming pivotal to the energy vision of developers. Communities that produce as much energy as they consume provide many benefits, such as reducing life-cycle costs and better resilience to grid outages. If deployed using smart-grid technology, NZE communities can act as a grid node and aid in balancing electrical demand. However, identifying cost-effective pathways to NZE requires detailed energy and economic models. Information required to build such models is not typically available at the early master-planning stages, where the largest energy and economic saving opportunities exist. Methodologies that expedite and streamline energy and economic modeling could facilitate early decision making. This paper describes a reproducible methodology that aids modelers in identifying energy and economic savings opportunities in the early community design stages. As additional information becomes available, models can quickly be recreated and evaluated...
A simplified framework to assess the feasibility of zero-energy at the neighbourhood/community scale
Energy and Buildings, 2014
Zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) are attracting increasing interest internationally in policies aiming at a more sustainably built environment, the scientific literature and practical applications. Although "zero energy" can be considered at different scales (e.g., community, city), the most common approach adopts only the perspective of the individual building. Moreover, the feasibility of this objective is not really addressed, especially as far as the retrofitting of the existing building stock is concerned. Therefore, this paper aims first to investigate the opportunity to extend the "zero-energy building" concept to the neighbourhood scale by taking into account two main challenges: (1) the impact of urban form on energy needs and the on-site production of renewable energy and (2) the impact of location on transportation energy consumption. It proposes a simplified framework and a calculation method that is then applied to two representative case studies (one urban neighbourhood and one rural neighbourhood) to investigate the feasibility of zero-energy in existing neighbourhoods. The main parameters that act upon the energy balance are identified. The potential of "energy mutualisation" at the neighbourhood scale is highlighted. This paper thereby shows the potentialities of an integrated approach linking transportation and building energy consumptions.
This paper considers the implications of increasing urban density and the ability to meet the UK Government's zero carbon homes and building targets through onsite low and zero carbon (LZC) energy technologies. A definition of what sources of energy should be considered as 'onsite incident resources' is offered. Then, the available onsite incident energy yield is assessed and compared against the annual energy demand for a range of urban densities. A mixed-use development site, typical of the Southeast UK is used to assess the availability of onsite incident energy against which the urban densities energy demands are compared. This illustrates the likely carrying capacity of the site. The outcome of the study indicates that, given the projected energy demand, meeting onsite annual energy requirements sustainably is achievable even at high urban densities (e.g ; however, the demand may be greater than the yield in a given month, and less likely at an hourly or instantaneous scale. In addition, the work indicates that sharing infrastructure allows for energy to be better balanced to serve the urban form, particularly in heating systems. The paper also considers the impact that designing urban environments for optimal onsite energy yield may have on urban design.
Building Scale vs. Community Scale Net-Zero Energy Performance
Many government and industry organizations are focusing building energy-efficiency goals around producing individual net-zero buildings (nZEBs), using photovoltaic (PV) technology to provide on-site renewable energy after substantially improving the energy efficiency of the buildings themselves. Seeking net-zero energy (NZE) at the community scale instead introduces the possibility of using a wider range of renewable energy technologies, such as solar-thermal electricity generation, solar-assisted heating/cooling systems, and wind energy, economically. This paper reports results of a study comparing NZE communities to communities consisting of individual nZEBs. Five scenarios are examined: 1) base case a community of nZEBs with roof mounted PV systems; 2) NZE communities served by wind turbines on leased land; 3) NZE communities served by wind turbines on owned land; 4) communities served by solar-thermal electric generation; and 5) communities served by photovoltaic farms. All buil...
Net-zero energy cities: A hub for decentralized energy for better environment
International Journal of Energy Research, 2012
ABSTRACT Net‐zero buildings have a variety of definitions according to their boundary selection. Because these definitions are based only on the quantity of the electrical power exchange with the grid in a given period of time, those boundaries do not make much difference, because exergy and energy of electricity are close to each other. When thermal energy is exchanged between buildings and the district, the second law of thermodynamics becomes a key issue. This study discusses the importance of exergy in evaluating and rating district energy (DE) systems towards a greener status and proposes a circular exergy model that may carry the net‐zero concept to net‐zero energy and net‐zero exergy cities. This paper presents an optimum DE system design tool based on compound CO2 emissions metrication algorithm. Sample results indicate that net‐zero energy building concepts may indeed be elevated to a city level if both energy and exergy are simultaneously taken into account in a circular exergy format. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Challenges of nearly zero energy in urban areas. From performance to cost - Case study
2013
The thesis discusses the concept of Nearly Zero Energy Building,standard introduced by the Directive 2010/31/EU to fight GHG emission within EU, and its extended application from buildings to urban areas.It starts with an overview of the main challenges of its extended application to then quantify through a case study the benefits that the economy of scale, due to bulky purchase, can trigger in term of feasibility of the investment
Energy master planning for net-zero emission communities: State of the art and research challenges
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2021
Aiming to achieve net-zero operational greenhouse gas emissions at the community level is a valuable endeavour because of synergies and efficiency gains through mixed energy uses, the economy of scale, and a broader range of technological options. Nevertheless, there are several challenges in the planning and design process of the energy infrastructure towards this goal for whole communities. The preponderance of the zero emission concepts at community scale, including unclear definitions of key terms, the availability of supporting tools, and the energy planning approaches could affect the design and decision-making process of stakeholders. In this paper, the state of the art and the state of practice of energy master planning of net-zero emission communities are critically reviewed in order to identify the key research challenges and opportunities to enhance decision-making and hasten their wider adoption. Energy master planning approaches, tools, technologies and decision-making indicators used towards net-zero emission targets are evaluated in selected case studies worldwide. The analysis and research findings show an inconsistency in the scope, definition and approaches in energy master planning of net-zero emission communities. In addition, energy resilience and social metrics and criteria are rarely included in the energy master planning of net-zero emission communities. A conceptual energy master planning framework is proposed that can support performance-based decision-making in the design and planning of net-zero emission communities. A more integrated energy master planning approach and tools, as well as more comprehensive and multi-dimensional assessment metrics, are required for improved and effective decisionmaking.
Zero Energy Concept at Neighborhood level: A case study analysis
Solar Energy Advances, 2021
The concept of zero energy has emerged as the flagship for the achievement of energy conservation and CO 2 emissions reduction in the built environment. The implementation of the concept beyond single buildings offers the potential of expanding the scale of zero energy performance while overcoming the limitations of single buildings related to building use, size, on-site renewable energy availability and cost. Literature to date has discussed the zero energy concept at neighborhood scale mostly by looking at theoretical and simulated cases, including both existing and new developments. All types of energy use can be considered for achieving a zero energy balance at neighborhood scale or only the building related component. Often research focuses on Renewable Energy sizing and management for achieving the balance. The present paper analyses the real data obtained from the first year of monitoring of a pilot Zero Energy Neighborhood. A comprehensive monitoring schema, with a Web-GIS monitoring platform at its core, has been developed for the measurement and verification campaign. Performance analysis has shown that the pilot neighborhood has achieved the targets set for the net regulated consumption, renewable energy production, and cost. When considering the total consumption and PV production of the neighborhood, the first five months of monitoring starting from the beginning of summer, it has achieved a positive balance. Overall, the neighborhood has achieved a positive energy balance on a yearly basis for its regulated energy needs.