Zero-energy Building
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A Zero Energy Building (ZEB), also known as a Net Zero Energy (NZE) building, is a
building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...
with net zero
energy consumption Energy consumption is the amount of energy used. Biology In the body, energy consumption is part of energy homeostasis. It derived from food energy. Energy consumption in the body is a product of the basal metabolic rate and the physical activity ...
, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to the amount of
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
created on the site or in other definitions by renewable energy sources offsite, using technology such as heat pumps, high efficiency windows and insulation, and solar panels. The goal is that these buildings contribute less overall
greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...
to the
atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
during operations than similar non-ZNE buildings. They do at times consume non-renewable energy and produce greenhouse gases, but at other times reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas production elsewhere by the same amount. The development of zero-energy buildings is encouraged by the desire to have less of an impact on the environment, and by tax breaks and savings on energy costs that make zero-energy buildings financially viable. Terminology tends to vary between countries, agencies, cities, towns and reports, so a general knowledge of this concept and its various employments is essential for a versatile understanding of clean energy and renewables. The IEA and European Union most commonly use Net Zero Energy, with "zero net" mainly used in the USA. A similar concept approved and implemented by the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and other agreeing countries is nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB), with the goal of having all new buildings in the region under nZEB standards by 2020.


Overview

Typical code-compliant buildings consume 40% of the total
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
energy in the US and European Union and are significant contributors of greenhouse gases. To combat such high energy usage, more and more buildings are starting to implement the carbon neutrality principle, which is viewed as a means to reduce
carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...
and reduce dependence on
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
s. Although zero-energy buildings remain limited, even in
developed countries A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
, they are gaining importance and popularity. Most zero-energy buildings use the
electrical grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
for
energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in ...
but some are independent of the grid and some include energy storage onsite. The buildings are called "energy-plus buildings" or in some cases "low energy houses". These buildings produce energy onsite using renewable technology like solar and wind, while reducing the overall use of energy with highly efficient lightning and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) 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 largely through the progress made in new energy and construction technologies and techniques. These include highly insulating spray-foam
insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...
, high-efficiency
solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...
s, high-efficiency
heat pumps A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing h ...
and highly insulating,
low emissivity Low emissivity (low ''e'' or low thermal emissivity) refers to a surface condition that emits low levels of radiant thermal (heat) energy. All materials absorb, reflect, and emit radiant energy according to Planck's law but here, the primary con ...
, triple and quadruple-glazed windows. These innovations have 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 buildings can be part of a
smart grid A smart grid is an electrical grid which includes a variety of operation and energy measures including: *Advanced metering infrastructure (of which smart meters are a generic name for any utility side device even if it is more capable e.g. a f ...
. Some advantages of these buildings are as follows: * Integration of renewable energy resources * Integration of
plug-in electric vehicle A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity (such as a wall socket that connects to the power grid) to store electrical power within its onboard rechargeable battery packs, which then ...
s – called
vehicle-to-grid Vehicle-to-grid (V2G), also known as Vehicle-to-home (V2H) or Vehicle-to-load (V2L) describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) sell demand response services to the grid. Demand services are either delivering electricity or by red ...
* Implementation of zero-energy concepts Although the net zero concept is applicable to a wide range of resources, water and
waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...
, energy is usually the first resource to be targeted because: *Energy, particularly electricity and heating fuel like natural gas or heating oil, is expensive. Hence reducing energy use can save the building owner money. In contrast, water and waste are inexpensive for the individual building owner. *Energy, particularly electricity and heating fuel, has a high
carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...
. Hence reducing energy use is a major way to reduce the building's carbon footprint. *There are well-established means to significantly reduce the energy use and carbon footprint of buildings. These include: adding insulation, using heat pumps instead of furnaces, using low emissivity, triple or quadruple-glazed windows and adding solar panels to the roof. *In some countries, there are government-sponsored subsidies and tax breaks for installing heat pumps, solar panels, triple or quadruple-glazed windows and insulation that greatly reduce the cost of getting to a net-zero energy building for the building owner.


Optimizing zero-energy building for climate impact

The introduction of zero-energy buildings makes buildings more energy efficient and reduces the rate of carbon emissions once the building is in operation; however, there is still a lot of pollution associated with a building's
embodied carbon One way of attributing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is to measure the embedded emissions of goods that are being consumed (also referred to as "embodied emissions", "embodied carbon emissions", or "embodied carbon"). This is different from the ...
. Embodied carbon is the carbon emitted in the making and transportation of a building's materials and construction of the structure itself; it is responsible for 11% of global GHG emissions and 28% of global building sector emissions. The importance of embodied carbon will grow as it will begin to account for the greater portion of a building's carbon emissions. In some newer, energy efficient buildings, embodied carbon has risen to 47% of the building's lifetime emissions. Focusiong on embodied carbon is part of optimizing construction for climate impact and zero carbon emissions requires slightly different considerations from optimizing only for energy efficiency. A 2019 study found that between 2020 and 2030, reducing upfront carbon emissions and switching to clean or renewable energy is more important than increasing building efficiency because "building a highly energy efficient structure can actually produce more greenhouse gas than a basic code compliant one if carbon-intensive materials are used." The study stated that because "Net-zero energy codes will not significantly reduce emissions in time, policy makers and regulators must aim for true net zero carbon buildings, not net zero energy buildings." One way to reduced embodied carbon is by using low-carbon materials for construction such as straw, wood, linoleum, or cedar. For materials like concrete and steel, options to reduce embodied emissions do exist, however, these are unlikely to be available at large scale in the short-term. In conclusion, it has been determined that the optimal design point for greenhouse gas reduction appeared to be at four story multifamily buildings of low-carbon materials, such as those listed above, which could be a template for low-carbon emitting structures.


Definitions

Despite sharing the name "zero net energy", there are several definitions of what the term means in practice, with a particular difference in usage between North America and Europe. ; Zero net site energy use: In this type of ZNE, the amount of energy provided by on-site
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
sources is equal to the amount of energy used by the building. In the United States, "zero net energy building" generally refers to this type of building. ; Zero net source energy use: This ZNE generates the same amount of energy as is used, including the energy used to transport the energy to the building. This type accounts for energy losses during
electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transmi ...
and
transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...
. These ZNEs must generate more electricity than zero net site energy buildings. ; Net zero energy emissions: Outside the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, a ZEB is generally defined as one with zero net energy emissions, also known as a ''zero carbon building'' (ZCB) or ''zero emissions building'' (ZEB). Under this definition the
carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...
generated from on-site or off-site fossil fuel use are balanced by the amount of on-site
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
production. Other definitions include not only the carbon emissions generated by the building in use, but also those generated in the construction of the building and the
embodied energy Embodied energy is the sum of all the energy required to produce any goods or services, considered as if that energy was incorporated or 'embodied' in the product itself. The concept can be useful in determining the effectiveness of energy-produ ...
of the structure. Others debate whether the carbon emissions of
commuting Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regul ...
to and from the building should also be included in the calculation. Recent work in New Zealand has initiated an approach to include building user transport energy within zero energy building frameworks. ; Net zero cost: In this type of building, the cost of purchasing energy is balanced by income from sales of electricity to the grid of electricity generated on-site. Such a status depends on how a utility credits net electricity generation and the utility rate structure the building uses. ; Net off-site zero energy use: A building may be considered a ZEB if 100% of the energy it purchases comes from renewable energy sources, even if the energy is generated off the site. ; Off-the-grid:
Off-the-grid Off-the-grid or off-grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical gr ...
buildings are stand-alone ZEBs that are not connected to an off-site energy utility facility. They require distributed renewable energy generation and energy storage capability (for when the sun is not shining, wind is not blowing, etc.). An energy
autarkic Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideal or method has been embraced by a wide range of political ideologies and movements, especiall ...
house is a building concept where the balance of the own energy consumption and production can be made on an hourly or even smaller basis. Energy autarkic houses can be taken off-the-grid. ; Net Zero Energy Building: Based on scientific analysis within the joint research program "Towards Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings" a methodological framework was set up which allows different definitions, in accordance with country's political targets, specific (climate) conditions and respectively formulated requirements for indoor conditions: The overall conceptual understanding of a Net ZEB is an energy efficient, grid-connected building enabled to generate energy from renewable sources to compensate its own energy demand (see figure 1).
The wording "Net" emphasizes the energy exchange between the building and the energy infrastructure. By the building-grid interaction, the Net ZEBs becomes an active part of the renewable energy infrastructure. This connection to energy grids prevents seasonal energy storage and oversized on-site systems for energy generation from renewable sources like in energy autonomous buildings. The similarity of both concepts is a pathway of two actions: 1) reduce energy demand by means of energy efficiency measures and passive energy use; 2) generate energy from renewable sources. However, the Net ZEBs grid interaction and plans to widely increase their numbers of evoking considerations on increased flexibility in the shift of energy loads and reduced peak demands. ; Positive Energy District: Expanding some of the principles of zero-energy buildings to a city district level,
Positive Energy District A positive energy district (PED) is an urban area that produces at least as much energy on an annual basis as it consumes. The purpose of a PED is not to be an island isolated from the rest of the energy system but rather a functional and flexible ...
s (PED) are districts or other urban areas that produce at least as much energy on an annual basis as they consume. The impetus to develop whole positive energy districts instead of single buildings is based on the possibility of sharing resources, managing energy efficiently systems across many buildings and reaching economics of scale. Within this balancing procedure several aspects and explicit choices have to be determined: * The building system boundary is split into a physical boundary which determines which renewable resources are considered (e.g. in buildings footprint, on-site or even off-site) respectively how many buildings are included in the balance (single building, cluster of buildings) and a balance boundary which determines the included energy uses (e.g. heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water, lighting, appliances, IT, central services, electric vehicles, and embodied energy, etc.). It should be noticed that renewable energy supply options can be prioritized (e.g. by transportation or conversion effort, availability over the lifetime of the building or replication potential for future, etc.) and therefore create a hierarchy. It may be argued that resources within the building footprint or on-site should be given priority over off-site supply options. * The weighting system converts the physical units of different energy carriers into a uniform metric (site/final energy, source/primary energy renewable parts included or not, energy cost, equivalent carbon emissions and even energy or environmental credits) and allows their comparison and compensation among each other in one single balance (e.g. exported PV electricity can compensate for imported biomass). Politically influenced and therefore possibly asymmetrically or time-dependent conversion/weighting factors can affect the relative value of energy carriers and can influence the required energy generation capacity. * The balancing period is often assumed to be one year (suitable to cover all operation energy uses). A shorter period (monthly or seasonal) could also be considered as well as a balance over the entire life cycle (including embodied energy, which could also be annualized and counted in addition to operational energy uses). * The energy balance can be done in two balance types: 1) Balance of delivered/imported and exported energy (monitoring phase as self-consumption of energy generated on-site can be included); 2) Balance between (weighted) energy demand and (weighted) energy generation (for design phase as normal end users temporal consumption patterns -e.g. for lighting, appliances, etc.- are lacking). Alternatively, a balance based on monthly net values in which only residuals per month are summed up to an annual balance is imaginable. This can be seen either as a load/generation balance or as a special case of import/export balance where a "virtual monthly self-consumption" is assumed (see figure 2 and compare).Sartori, Igor; Napolitano, Assunta; Voss, Karsten (2012): Net Zero Energy Buildings: A Consistent Definition Framework. In: Energy and Buildings (48), pages 220–232 * Besides the energy balance, the Net ZEBs can be characterized by their ability to match the building's load by its energy generation (load matching) or to work beneficially with respect to the needs of the local grid infrastructure (grind interaction). Both can be expressed by suitable indicators which are intended as assessment tools only.


Design and construction

The most cost-effective steps toward a reduction in a building's energy consumption usually occur during the design process.Vieira, R.
"The Energy Policy Pyramid – A Hierarchal Tool For Decision Makers".
Fifteenth Symposium on Improving Building Systems in Hot and Humid Climates, July 24–26, 2006 Orlando, Florida.
To achieve efficient energy use, zero energy design departs significantly from conventional construction practice. Successful zero energy building designers typically combine time tested
passive solar In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unli ...
, or artificial/fake conditioning, principles that work with the on-site assets. Sunlight and solar heat, prevailing breezes, and the cool of the earth below a building, can provide daylighting and stable indoor temperatures with minimum mechanical means. ZEBs are normally optimized to use passive solar heat gain and shading, combined with
thermal mass In building design, thermal mass is a property of the mass of a building that enables it to store heat and provide inertia against temperature fluctuations. It is sometimes known as the thermal flywheel effect. The thermal mass of heavy structura ...
to stabilize
diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak d ...
s throughout the day, and in most climates are superinsulated. All the technologies needed to create zero energy buildings are available
off-the-shelf Off-the-shelf may refer to: * Commercial off-the-shelf, a phrase in computing and industrial supply terminology * Government off-the-shelf * Ready-to-wear * Shelf corporation, a type of company * Off the Shelf Festival, a festival of writing and r ...
today. Sophisticated 3-D
building energy simulation Building performance simulation (BPS) is the replication of aspects of building performance using a computer-based, mathematical model created on the basis of fundamental physical principles and sound engineering practice. The objective of buildin ...
tools are available to model how a building will perform with a range of design variables such as building orientation (relative to the daily and seasonal position of the
sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
), window and door type and placement, overhang depth, insulation type and values of the building elements, air tightness (
weatherization Weatherization (American English) or weatherproofing (British English) is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements, particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce e ...
), the efficiency of heating, cooling, lighting and other equipment, as well as local climate. These simulations help the designers predict how the building will perform before it is built, and enable them to model the economic and financial implications on building
cost benefit analysis In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which ...
, or even more appropriate –
life-cycle assessment Life cycle assessment or LCA (also known as life cycle analysis) is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the Product lifecycle, life cycle of a commercial product, Process lifecycle, process, or ...
. Zero-energy buildings are built with significant
energy-saving Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...
features. The
heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...
and cooling loads are lowered by using high-efficiency equipment (such as heat pumps rather than furnaces. Heat pumps are about four times as efficient as furnaces) added
insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...
(especially in the attic and in the basement of houses), high-efficiency windows (such as low emissivity, triple-glazed windows), draft-proofing, high efficiency appliances (particularly modern high-efficiency refrigerators), high-efficiency LED lighting, passive solar gain in winter and passive shading in the summer, natural
ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a m ...
, and other techniques. These features vary depending on
climate zone Climate classifications are systems that categorize the world's climates. A climate classification may correlate closely with a biome classification, as climate is a major influence on life in a region. One of the most used is the Köppen climate ...
s in which the construction occurs. Water heating loads can be lowered by using water conservation fixtures,
heat recovery Heat recovery ventilation (HRV), also known as mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR), is an energy recovery ventilation system which works between two air sources at different temperatures. Heat recovery is a method which is used to reduce ...
units on waste water, and by using solar water heating, and high-efficiency water heating equipment. In addition,
daylighting Daylighting is the practice of placing windows, skylights, other openings, and Reflective surfaces (climate engineering), reflective surfaces so that sunlight (direct or indirect) can provide effective internal lighting. Particular attention is ...
with
skylights A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History Open ...
or solartubes can provide 100% of daytime illumination within the home. Nighttime illumination is typically done with
fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...
and
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
lighting that use 1/3 or less power than incandescent lights, without adding unwanted heat. And
miscellaneous electric loads Miscellaneous electric loads (MELs) in buildings are electric loads resulting from a multitude of devices (electronic and other) excluding main systems for space heating, cooling, water heating, or lighting.Roth, K., McKenney, K., Brodrick, J. "Smal ...
can be lessened by choosing efficient appliances and minimizing phantom loads or
standby power Standby power, also called vampire power, vampire draw, phantom load, ghost load or leaking electricity ("phantom load" and " leaking electricity" are defined technical terms with other meanings, adopted for this different purpose), refers to ...
. Other techniques to reach net zero (dependent on climate) are
Earth sheltered building An earth shelter, also called an earth house, earth bermed house, or underground house, is a structure (usually a house) with earth (soil) against the walls, on the roof, or that is entirely buried underground. Earth acts as thermal mass, making ...
principles, superinsulation walls using
straw-bale construction Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw (commonly wheat, rice, rye and oats straw) as structural elements, building insulation, or both. This construction method is commonly used in natural building or "brown" const ...
, pre-fabricated building panels and roof elements plus exterior landscaping for seasonal shading. Once the energy use of the building has been minimized it can be possible to generate all that energy on site using roof-mounted solar panels. See examples of zero net energy houses
here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...
. Zero-energy buildings are often designed to make dual use of energy including that from
white goods A major appliance, also known as a large domestic appliance or large electric appliance or simply a large appliance, large domestic, or large electric, is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cookin ...
. For example, using
refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...
exhaust to heat domestic water, ventilation air and shower drain
heat exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...
s, office machines and computer servers, and body heat to heat the building. These buildings make use of heat energy that conventional buildings may exhaust outside. They may use
heat recovery ventilation Heat recovery ventilation (HRV), also known as mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR), is an energy recovery ventilation system which works between two air sources at different temperatures. Heat recovery is a method which is used to reduce ...
, hot water heat recycling,
combined heat and power Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...
, and absorption chiller units.


Energy harvest

ZEBs harvest available energy to meet their electricity and heating or cooling needs. By far the most common way to harvest energy is to use roof-mounted solar photovoltaic panels that turn the sun's light into electricity. Energy can also be harvested with solar thermal collectors (which use the sun's heat to heat water for the building). Heat pumps can also harvest heat and cool from the air (air-sourced) or ground near the building (ground-sourced otherwise known as geothermal). Technically, heat pumps move heat rather than harvest it, but the overall effect in terms of reduced energy use and reduced carbon footprint is similar. In the case of individual houses, various
microgeneration Microgeneration is the small-scale production of heat or electric power from a "low carbon source," as an alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power. Microgeneration technologies include small-scale wind turbin ...
technologies may be used to provide heat and electricity to the building, using
solar cell A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.
s or
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s for electricity, and
biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
s or
solar thermal collector A solar thermal collector collects heat by absorbing sunlight. The term "solar collector" commonly refers to a device for solar hot water heating, but may refer to large power generating installations such as solar parabolic troughs and sola ...
s linked to a
seasonal thermal energy storage Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES), also known as inter-seasonal thermal energy storage, is the storage of heat or cold for periods of up to several months. The thermal energy can be collected whenever it is available and be used whenever nee ...
(STES) for space heating. An STES can also be used for summer cooling by storing the cold of winter underground. To cope with fluctuations in demand, zero energy buildings are frequently connected to the
electricity grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
, export electricity to the grid when there is a surplus, and drawing electricity when not enough electricity is being produced. Other buildings may be fully
autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
.
Energy harvesting Energy harvesting (EH, also known as power harvesting or energy scavenging or ambient power) is the process by which energy is derived from external sources (e.g., solar power, thermal energy, wind energy, salinity gradients, and kinetic energ ...
is most often more effective in regards to cost and resource utilization when done on a local but combined scale, for example a group of houses,
cohousing Cohousing is an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space. The term originated in Denmark in late 1960s. Each attached or single family home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces typica ...
, local district or village rather than an individual house basis. An energy benefit of such localized energy harvesting is the virtual elimination of
electrical transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is d ...
and
electricity distribution Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmissio ...
losses. On-site energy harvesting such as with roof top mounted solar panels eliminates these transmission losses entirely. Energy harvesting in
commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
and industrial applications should benefit from the
topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
of each location. However, a site that is free of shade can generate large amounts of solar powered electricity from the building's roof and almost any site can use geothermal or air-sourced heat pumps. The production of goods under net zero fossil energy consumption requires locations of geothermal, microhydro, solar, and
wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
resources to sustain the concept. Zero-energy neighborhoods, such as the
BedZED Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) is an environmentally friendly housing development in Hackbridge, London, England. It is in the London Borough of Sutton, north-east of the town of Sutton itself. Designed to create zero carbon ...
development in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and those that are spreading rapidly in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, may use
distributed generation Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to ...
schemes. This may in some cases include
district heating District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...
, community chilled water, shared wind turbines, etc. There are current plans to use ZEB technologies to build entire
off-the-grid Off-the-grid or off-grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical gr ...
or net zero energy use cities.


The "energy harvest" versus "energy conservation" debate

One of the key areas of debate in zero energy building design is over the balance between
energy conservation Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...
and the distributed point-of-use harvesting of
renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
(
solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
,
wind energy Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
and
thermal energy The term "thermal energy" is used loosely in various contexts in physics and engineering. It can refer to several different well-defined physical concepts. These include the internal energy or enthalpy of a body of matter and radiation; heat, d ...
). Most zero energy homes use a combination of these strategies. As a result of significant government subsidies for photovoltaic solar electric systems, wind turbines, etc., there are those who suggest that a ZEB is a conventional house with distributed renewable energy harvesting technologies. Entire additions of such homes have appeared in locations where photovoltaic (PV) subsidies are significant, but many so called "Zero Energy Homes" still have utility bills. This type of energy harvesting without added energy conservation may not be cost effective with the current price of electricity generated with photovoltaic equipment, depending on the local price of power company electricity.P. Eiffert
Guidelines for the Economic Evaluation of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Power Systems
Prepared for
National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and d ...
. January 2003.
The cost, energy and carbon-footprint savings from conservation (e.g., added insulation, triple-glazed windows and heat pumps) compared to those from on-site energy generation (e.g., solar panels) have been published for an upgrade to an existing hous
here
Since the 1980s,
passive solar building design In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unli ...
and
passive house "Passive house" (german: Passivhaus) is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, which reduces the building's ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or coo ...
have demonstrated heating energy consumption reductions of 70% to 90% in many locations, without active energy harvesting. For new builds, and with expert design, this can be accomplished with little additional construction cost for materials over a conventional building. Very few industry experts have the skills or experience to fully capture benefits of the passive design.Spiegel, Jan Allen
"The House that Green Built."
''New York Times''. 20 April 2008. Last retrieved: 15 December 2013.
Such passive solar designs are much more cost-effective than adding expensive photovoltaic panels on the roof of a conventional inefficient building. A few kilowatt-hours of photovoltaic panels (costing the equivalent of about
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
2-3 dollars per annual kWh production) may only reduce external energy requirements by 15% to 30%. A high
seasonal energy efficiency ratio In the United States, the efficiency of air conditioners is often rated by the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) which is defined by the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, a trade association, in its 2008 standard AHRI ...
14 conventional air conditioner requires over 7 kW of photovoltaic electricity while it is operating, and that does not include enough for
off-the-grid Off-the-grid or off-grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical gr ...
night-time operation. Passive cooling, and superior system engineering techniques, can reduce the air conditioning requirement by 70% to 90%. Photovoltaic-generated electricity becomes more cost-effective when the overall demand for electricity is lower.


Combined approach in rapid retrofits for existing buildings

Companies in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
offer rapid climate retrofit packages for existing buildings, which add a custom designed shell of insulation to the outside of a building, along with upgrades for more sustainable energy use, such as heat pumps. Similar pilot projects are underway in the US.


Occupant behavior

The energy used in a building can vary greatly depending on the behavior of its occupants. The acceptance of what is considered comfortable varies widely. Studies of identical homes have shown dramatic differences in energy use in a variety of climates. An average widely accepted ratio of highest to lowest energy consumer in identical homes is about 3, with some identical homes using up to 20 times as much heating energy as the others. Occupant behavior can vary from differences in setting and programming
thermostat A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint. Thermostats are used in any device or system tha ...
s, varying levels of illumination and hot water use, window and shading system operation and the amount of miscellaneous electric devices or
plug load Plug load is the energy used by products that are powered by means of an ordinary AC plug (e.g., 100, 115, or 230 V). This term generally excludes building energy that is attributed to major end uses (HVAC, lighting, water heating, etc.) Definitio ...
s used.Energy Pyramid Ref


Utility concerns

Utility companies are typically legally responsible for maintaining the electrical infrastructure that brings power to our cities, neighborhoods, and individual buildings. Utility companies typically own this infrastructure up to the property line of an individual parcel, and in some cases own electrical infrastructure on private land as well. In the US utilities have expressed concern that the use of Net Metering for ZNE projects threatens the utilities base revenue, which in turn impacts their ability to maintain and service the portion of the electrical grid that they are responsible for. Utilities have expressed concern that states that maintain Net Metering laws may saddle non-ZNE homes with higher utility costs, as those homeowners would be responsible for paying for grid maintenance while ZNE home owners would theoretically pay nothing if they do achieve ZNE status. This creates potential equity issues, as currently, the burden would appear to fall on lower-income households. A possible solution to this issue is to create a minimum base charge for all homes connected to the utility grid, which would force ZNE home owners to pay for grid services independently of their electrical use. Additional concerns are that local distribution as well as larger transmission grids have not been designed to convey electricity in two directions, which may be necessary as higher levels of distributed energy generation come on line. Overcoming this barrier could require extensive upgrades to the electrical grid, however, as of 2010, this is not believed to be a major problem until renewable generation reaches much higher levels of penetration.


Development efforts

Wide acceptance of zero-energy building technology may require more government incentives or building code regulations, the development of recognized standards, or significant increases in the cost of conventional energy. The Google photovoltaic campus and the Microsoft 480-kilowatt photovoltaic campus relied on US Federal, and especially California, subsidies and financial incentives. California is now providing US$3.2 billion in subsidies for residential-and-commercial near-zero-energy buildings. The details of other American states' renewable
energy subsidies Energy subsidies are measures that keep prices for customers below market levels, or for suppliers above market levels, or reduce costs for customers and suppliers. Energy subsidies may be direct cash transfers to suppliers, customers, or rel ...
(up to US$5.00 per watt) can be found in the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency. The Florida Solar Energy Center has a slide presentation on recent progress in this area. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has launched a major initiative to support the development of ZEB. Led by the CEO of
United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems ...
and the Chairman of
Lafarge La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to: People * Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer * Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge * Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...
, the organization has both the support of large global companies and the expertise to mobilize the corporate world and governmental support to make ZEB a reality. Their first report, a survey of key players in real estate and construction, indicates that the costs of building green are overestimated by 300 percent. Survey respondents estimated that greenhouse gas emissions by buildings are 19 percent of the worldwide total, in contrast to the actual value of roughly 40 percent.


Influential zero-energy and low-energy buildings

Those who commissioned construction of passive houses and zero-energy homes (over the last three decades) were essential to iterative, incremental, cutting-edge, technology innovations. Much has been learned from many significant successes, and a few expensive failures. The zero-energy building concept has been a progressive evolution from other
low-energy building A low-energy house is characterized by an energy-efficient design and technical features which enable it to provide high living standards and comfort with low energy consumption and carbon emissions. Traditional heating and active cooling systems ...
designs. Among these, the Canadian R-2000 and the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
passive house "Passive house" (german: Passivhaus) is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, which reduces the building's ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or coo ...
standards have been internationally influential. Collaborative government demonstration projects, such as the superinsulated Saskatchewan House, and the International Energy Agency's '' Task 13'', have also played their part.


Net zero energy building definition

The US
National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and d ...
(NREL) published a report called Net-Zero Energy Buildings: A Classification System Based on Renewable Energy Supply Options. This is the first report to lay out a full spectrum classification system for Net Zero/Renewable Energy buildings that includes the full spectrum of Clean Energy sources, both on site and off site. This classification system identifies the following four main categories of Net Zero Energy Buildings/Sites/Campuses: * NZEB:A — A footprint renewables Net Zero Energy Building * NZEB:B — A site renewables Net Zero Energy Building * NZEB:C — An imported renewables Net Zero Energy Building * NZEB:D — An off-site purchased renewables Net Zero Energy Building Applying this US Government Net Zero classification system means that every building can become net nero with the right combination of the key net zero technologies - PV (solar), GHP (geothermal heating and cooling, thermal batteries), EE (energy efficiency), sometimes wind, and electric batteries. A graphical exposé of the scale of impact of applying these NREL guidelines for net zero can be seen in the graphic at Net Zero Foundation titled "Net Zero Effect on U.S. Total Energy Use" showing a possible 39% US total fossil fuel use reduction by changing US residential and commercial buildings to net zero, 37% savings if we still use natural gas for cooking at the same level.


Net zero carbon conversion example

Many well known universities have professed to want to completely convert their energy systems off of fossil fuels. Capitalizing on the continuing developments in both
photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
and
geothermal heat pump A ground source heat pump (also geothermal heat pump) is a heating/cooling system for buildings that uses a type of heat pump to transfer heat to or from the ground, taking advantage of the relative constancy of temperatures of the earth through ...
technologies, and in the advancing
electric battery An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negati ...
field, complete conversion to a carbon free energy solution is becoming easier. Large scale
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
has been around since before 1900. An example of such a project is in the Net Zero Foundation's proposal at MIT to take that campus completely off fossil fuel use. This proposal shows the coming application of Net Zero Energy Buildings technologies at the District Energy scale.


Advantages and disadvantages


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
total cost of ownership Total cost of ownership (TCO) is a financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or service. It is a management accounting concept that can be used in full cost accounting or even ecolog ...
due to improved
energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...
* reduced total net monthly
cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a c ...
* reduced risk of loss from grid blackouts *Minimal to no future energy price increases for building owners reduced requirement for energy
austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...
and carbon emission taxes *improved reliability – photovoltaic systems have 25-year warranties and seldom fail during weather problems – the 1982 photovoltaic systems on the Walt Disney World EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) Energy Pavilion were still in use until 2018, even through three hurricanes. They were taken down in 2018 in preparation for a new ride. * 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 * contribute to the greater benefits of the society, e.g. providing sustainable renewable energy to the grid, reducing the need of grid expansion


Disadvantages

* initial costs can be higher – effort required to understand, apply, and qualify for ZEB subsidies, if they exist. * 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 Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
solar cells A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physics, physical and Chemical substance, chemical phenomenon.green building Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planni ...
and
sustainable architecture Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable ...
is to use resources more efficiently and reduce a building's negative impact on the environment. Zero energy buildings achieve one key goal of exporting as much renewable energy as it uses over the course of year; reducing greenhouse gas emissions. ZEB goals need to be defined and set, as they are critical to the design process. Zero energy buildings may or may not be considered "green" in all areas, such as reducing waste, using
recycled Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
building materials, etc. However, zero energy, or net-zero buildings do tend to have a much lower ecological impact over the life of the building compared with other "green" buildings that require imported energy and/or fossil fuel to be habitable and meet the needs of occupants. Both terms, zero energy buildings and green buildings, have similarities and differences. "Green" buildings often focus on operational energy, and disregard the embodied carbon footprint from construction. According to the IPCC, embodied carbon will make up half of the total carbon emissions between now 020and 2050. On the other hand, zero energy buildings are specifically designed to produce enough energy from renewable energy sources to meet its own consumption requirements, and green buildings can be generally defined as a building that reduces negative impacts or positively impacts our natural environment -NEWUSDE There are several factors that must be considered before a building is determined to be a green building. Building a green building must include an efficient use of utilities such as water and energy, use of renewable energy, use of recycling and reusing practices to reduce waste, provide proper indoor air quality, use of ethically sourced and non-toxic materials, use of a design that allows the building to adapt to changing environmental climates, and aspects of the design, construction, and operational process that address the environment and quality of life of its occupants. The term green building can also be used to refer to the practice of green building which includes being resource efficient from its design, to its construction, to its operational processes, and ultimately to its deconstruction. The practice of green building differs slightly from zero energy buildings because it considers all environmental impacts such as use of materials and water pollution for example, whereas the scope of zero energy buildings only includes the buildings energy consumption and ability to produce an equal amount, or more, of energy from renewable energy sources. There are many unforeseen design challenges and site conditions required to efficiently meet the renewable energy needs of a building and its occupants, as much of this technology is new. Designers must apply holistic design principles, and take advantage of the free naturally occurring assets available, such as passive solar orientation, natural ventilation, daylighting, thermal mass, and night time cooling. Designers and engineers must also experiment with new materials and technological advances, striving for more affordable and efficient production.


Zero energy building versus zero heating building

With advances in ultra low U-value glazing a (nearly)
zero heating building Zero-heating building or nearly zero-heating building (nZHB) is a building having essentially zero heating demand, defined as having heating demand, Q’NH, less than 3 kWh/(m2a). The zero-heating building is intended for use in heating-dominated ar ...
is proposed to supersede nearly-zero energy buildings in EU. The zero heating building reduces on the passive solar design and makes the building more opened to conventional architectural design. The zero heating building removes the need for seasonal / winter utility power reserve. The annual specific heating demand for the zero-heating house should not exceed 3 kWh/m2a. Zero heating building is simpler to design and to operate. For example: there is no need for modulated sun shading.


Certification

The two most common certifications for green building are Passive House, and LEED. The goal of Passive House is to be energy efficient and reduce the use of heating/cooling to below standard. LEED certification is more comprehensive in regards to energy use, a building is awarded credits as it demonstrates sustainable practices across a range of categories. Another certification that designates a building as a net zero energy building exists within the requirements of the Living Building Challenge (LBC) called the Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) certification provided by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). The designation was developed in November 2011 as the NZEB certification but was then simplified to the Zero Energy Building Certification in 2017. Included in the list of green building certifications, the BCA Green Mark rating system allows for the evaluation of buildings for their performance and impact on the environment


Worldwide


International initiatives

As a response to global warming and increasing greenhouse gas emissions, countries around the world have been gradually implementing different policies to tackle ZEB. Between 2008 and 2013, researchers from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the US worked together in the joint research program called "Towards Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings". The program was created under the umbrella of International Energy Agency (IEA) Solar Heating and Cooling Program (SHC) Task 40 / Energy in Buildings and Communities (EBC, formerly ECBCS) Annex 52 with the intent of harmonizing international definition frameworks regarding net-zero and very low energy buildings by diving them into subtasks. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was created under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) with the intent of keeping the global temperature rise of the 21st century below 2 degrees Celsius and limiting temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. While there was no enforced compliance, 197 countries signed the international treaty which bound developed countries legally through a mutual cooperation where each party would update its INDC every five years and report annually to the COP. Due to the advantages of energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction, ZEBs are widely being implemented in many different countries as a solution to energy and environmental problems within the infrastructure sector.


Australia

In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, researchers have recently developed a new approach to the construction of visually-clear solar energy harvesting windows suitable for industrialization and applications in net-zero energy buildings. Industrial production of several prototype batches of solar windows has started in 2016. Up to the December 2017, the State of Queensland has more than 30% of households with rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system. The average size of Australian rooftop solar PV system has exceeded 3.5 kW. In Brisbane, households with 6 kW rooftop PV system and reasonable energy rating, for example 5 or 6 stars for Australian National
House Energy Rating The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) is a national scheme to measure the energy efficiency of a residential dwelling in Australia. An accredited software tool assesses the home based on a variety of criteria and produces an energ ...
, can achieve net zero total energy target or even positive energy.


Belgium

In
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
there is a project with the ambition to make the Belgian city Leuven climate-neutral in 2030.


Brazil

In Brazil, the Ordinance No. 42, of February 24, 2021, approved the Inmetro Normative Instruction for the Classification of Energy Efficiency of Commercial, Service and Public Buildings (INI-C), which improves the Technical Quality Requirements for the Energy Efficiency Level of Commercial, Service and Public Buildings (RTQ-C), specifying the criteria and methods for classifying commercial, service and public buildings as to their energy efficiency. Annex D presents the procedures for determining the potential for local renewable energy generation and the assessment conditions for Near Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) and Positive Energy Buildings (PEBs).


Canada

* The Canadian Home Builders Association - National oversees the Net Zero Homes certification label, a voluntary industry-led labeling initiative. * In December 2017, the
BC Energy Step Code The BC Energy Step Code is a provincial regulation that local governments in British Columbia, Canada, may use, if they wish, to incentivize or require a level of energy efficiency in new construction that goes above and beyond the requirements of ...
entered into legal force in British Columbia. Local British Columbia governments may use the standard to incentivize or require a level of energy efficiency in new construction that goes above and beyond the requirements of the base building code. The regulation is designed as a technical roadmap to help the province reach its target that all new buildings will attain a net zero energy ready level of performance by 2032. * In August 2017, the Government of Canada released Build Smart - Canada's Buildings Strategy, as a key driver of the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, Canada's national climate strategy. The Build Smart strategy seeks to dramatically increase the energy efficiency of Canadian buildings in pursuit of a net zero energy ready level of performance. * In
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
the
Net-Zero Energy Home Coalition Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
is an industry association promoting net-zero energy home construction and the adoption of a near net-zero energy home (nNZEH), NZEH Ready and NZEH standard. * The
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) (french: Société canadienne d'hypothèques et de logement) (SCHL) is Canada's national housing agency, and state-owned mortgage insurer. It was originally established after World War II, to help re ...
is sponsoring the EQuilibrium Sustainable Housing Competition that will see the completion of fifteen zero-energy and near-zero-energy demonstration projects across the country starting in 2008. * The EcoTerra House in Eastman, Quebec is Canada's first nearly net-zero energy housing built through the
CMHC EQuilibrium Sustainable Housing Competition CMHC is an abbreviation for different entities: * Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a Canadian government agency providing homebuyer assistance and insurance to lenders in case of defaults * St. Cloud Hospital#CentraCare Heart & Vascular Cent ...
. The house was designed by Assoc. Prof. Dr.
Masa Noguchi ''Masa'' (or ''masa de maíz'') (; ) is a maize dough that comes from ground nixtamalized corn. It is used for making corn tortillas, '' gorditas'', ''tamales'', ''pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes. It is dried and powdered into a ...
of the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
for
Alouette Homes Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...
and engineered by Prof. Dr. Andreas K. Athienitis of
Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
. * In 2014, the public library building in Varennes, QC, became the first ZNE institutional building in Canada. The library is also LEED gold certified. * The EcoPlusHome in Bathurst, New Brunswick. The
Eco Plus Home Eco may refer to Ecology or Economics. It may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Eco'' (video game), a 1988 life simulation game * Eco (2018 video game), a 2018 simulation game * ''Emil Chronicle Online'', a 2005 Japanese MMO computer ...
is a prefabricated test house built by
Maple Leaf Homes ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since ht ...
and with technology from Bosch Thermotechnology. * Mohawk College will be building Hamilton's first net Zero Building


China

With an estimated population of 1,439,323,776 people,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
has become one of the world's leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions due to its ongoing rapid urbanization. Even with the growing increase in building infrastructure, China has long been considered as a country where the overall energy demand has consistently grown less rapidly than the
gross domestic product (GDP) Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of China. Since the late 1970s, China has been using half as much energy as it did in 1997, but due to its dense population and rapid growth of infrastructure, China has become the world's second largest energy consumer and is in a position to become the leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the next century. Since 2010,
Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...
has been driven by the release of new national policies to increase ZEB design standards and has also laid out a series of incentives to increase ZEB projects in China. In November 2015, China's
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is a ministry of the People's Republic of China which provides housing and regulates the state construction activities in Mainland China. It was formerly known as the Ministry of Construction ...
(MOHURD) released a technical guide regarding passive and low energy green residential buildings. This guide was aimed at improving energy efficiency in China's infrastructure and was also the first of its kind to be formally released as a guide for energy efficiency. Also, with rapid growth in ZEBs in the last three years, there is an estimated influx of ZEBs to be built in China by 2020 along with the existing ZEB projects that are already built. As a response to the Paris Agreement in 2015, China stated that it set a target of reducing peak carbon emissions around 2030 while also aiming to lower carbon dioxide emissions by 60-65 percent from 2005 emissions per unit of GDP. In 2020,
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
leader
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
released a statement in his address to the UN General Assembly declaring that China would be carbon neutral by 2060 pushing forward climate change reforms. With more than 95 percent of China's energy originating from fuel sources that emit carbon dioxide, carbon neutrality in China will require an almost complete transition to fuel sources such as solar power, wind, hydro, or nuclear power. In order to achieve carbon neutrality, China's proposed energy quota policy will have to incorporate new monitoring and mechanisms that ensure accurate measurements of energy performance of buildings. Future research should investigate the different possible challenges that could come up due to implementation of ZEB policies in China.


Net-zero energy projects in China

* One of the new generation net-zero energy office buildings successfully constructed is the 71-story
Pearl River Tower Pearl River Tower (; or ) is a 71- story, , clean technology neofuturistic skyscraper at the junction of Jinsui Road/Zhujiang Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Ow ...
located in
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, China. Designed by Skidmore Owings Merrill LLP, the tower was designed with the idea that the building would generate the same amount of energy used on an annual basis while also following the four steps to net zero energy: reduction,
absorption Absorption may refer to: Chemistry and biology * Absorption (biology), digestion **Absorption (small intestine) *Absorption (chemistry), diffusion of particles of gas or liquid into liquid or solid materials *Absorption (skin), a route by which ...
,
reclamation Reclaim, reclaimed, reclaimer, reclaiming or reclamation means "to get something back". It may refer to: * Land reclamation, creating new land from oceans, riverbeds, or lake beds * Dedesertification, reversing of the land degradation in arid ...
, and generation. While initial plans for the
Pearl River Tower Pearl River Tower (; or ) is a 71- story, , clean technology neofuturistic skyscraper at the junction of Jinsui Road/Zhujiang Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Ow ...
included natural gas-fired microturbines used for generation electricity, photovoltaic panels integrated into the glazed roof and shading louvers and tactical building design in combination with the VAWT's electricity generation were chosen instead due to local regulations.


Denmark

Strategic Research Centre on Zero Energy Buildings was in 2009 established at
Aalborg University Aalborg University (AAU) is a Danish public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen founded in 1974. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subjects within humanities ...
by a grant from the
Danish Council for Strategic Research Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
(DSF), the Programme Commission for Sustainable Energy and Environment, and in cooperation with the Technical University of Denmark, Danish Technological Institute, The Danish Construction Association and some private companies. The purpose of the centre is through development of integrated, intelligent technologies for the buildings, which ensure considerable energy conservation and optimal application of renewable energy, to develop zero energy building concepts. In cooperation with the industry, the centre will create the necessary basis for a long-term sustainable development in the building sector.


Germany

* Technische Universität Darmstadt won first place in the international zero energy design 2007 Solar Decathlon competition, with a passivhaus design (
Passive house "Passive house" (german: Passivhaus) is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, which reduces the building's ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or coo ...
) + renewables, scoring highest in the Architecture, Lighting, and Engineering contests *
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (or Fraunhofer ISE) is an institute of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Located in Freiburg, Germany, The Institute performs applied scientific and engineering research and development for all ...
,
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...
* Net zero energy, energy-plus or climate-neutral buildings in the next generation of electricity grids


India

India's first net zero building is
Indira Paryavaran Bhawan Indira Paryavaran Bhawan is India’s first on-site net-zero building located in New Delhi, India. The building houses the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) accommodating three ministers and their offices along with ...
, located in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, inaugurated in 2014. Features include
passive solar building design In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unli ...
and other green technologies. High-efficiency solar panels are proposed. It cools air from toilet exhaust using a
thermal wheel A thermal wheel, also known as a rotary heat exchanger, or rotary air-to-air enthalpy wheel, energy recovery wheel, or heat recovery wheel, is a type of energy recovery heat exchanger positioned within the supply and exhaust air streams of air-h ...
in order to reduce load on its
chiller A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression refrigeration, vapor-compression, adsorption refrigeration, or absorption refrigerator, absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated th ...
system. It has many water conservation features.


Iran

In 2011, ''Payesh'' Energy House (PEH) or ''Khaneh Payesh Niroo'' by a collaboration of Fajr-e-Toseah Consultant Engineering Company and Vancouver Green Homes Ltd] under management of Payesh Energy Group (EPG) launched the first Net-Zero passive house in Iran. This concept makes the design and construction of PEH a sample model and standardized process for mass production by MAPSA. Also, an example of the new generation of zero energy office buildings is the 24-story OIIC Office Tower, which is started in 2011, as the OIIC Company headquarters. It uses both modest energy efficiency, and a big distributed renewable energy generation from both solar and wind. It is managed by Rahgostar Naft Company in
Tehran, Iran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...
. The tower is receiving economic support from government subsidies that are now funding many significant fossil-fuel-free efforts.


Ireland

In 2005, a private company launched the world's first standardised passive house in Ireland, this concept makes the design and construction of passive house a standardised process. Conventional low energy construction techniques have been refined and modelled on the PHPP (Passive House Design Package) to create the standardised passive house. Building offsite allows high precision techniques to be utilised and reduces the possibility of errors in construction. In 2009 the same company started a project to use 23,000 liters of water in a seasonal storage tank, heated up by evacuated solar tubes throughout the year, with the aim to provide the house with enough heat throughout the winter months thus eliminating the need for any electrical heat to keep the house comfortably warm. The system is monitored and documented by a research team from The University of Ulster and the results will be included in part of a PhD thesis. In 2012 Cork Institute of Technology started renovation work on its 1974 building stock to develop a net zero energy building retrofit. The exemplar project will become Ireland's first zero energy testbed offering a post-occupancy evaluation of actual building performance against design benchmarks.


Jamaica

The first zero energy building in Jamaica and the Caribbean opened at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 2017. The 2300 square foot building was designed to inspire more sustainable and energy efficient buildings in the area.


Japan

After the
April 2011 Fukushima earthquake A potent magnitude 6.6 Mw intraplate aftershock occurred at 17:16  JST (08:16  UTC) on 11 April, in the Hamadōri region of Fukushima, Japan. With a shallow focus of , the earthquake was centred inland about west of Iwa ...
followed by the up with
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
, Japan experienced severe power crisis that led to the awareness of the importance of energy conservation. In 2012
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry The or METI, is a ministry of the Government of Japan. It was created by the 2001 Central Government Reform when the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) merged with agencies from other ministries related to economic activities, ...
,
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法 ...
and
Ministry of the Environment (Japan) The is a Cabinet-level ministry of the government of Japan responsible for global environmental conservation, pollution control, and nature conservation. The ministry was formed in 2001 from the sub-cabinet level Environmental Agency establishe ...
summarized the road map for Low-carbon Society which contains the goal of ZEH and ZEB to be standard of new construction in 2020. The Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is underway with the construction of Japan's first zero energy office building, set to be completed in October, 2020 (as of September 2020). The SUSTIE ZEB test facility is located in Kamakura, Japan, to develop ZEB technology. With the net zero certification, the facility projects to reduce energy consumption by 103%. Japan has made it a goal that all new houses be net zero energy by 2030. The developing company Sekisui House introduced their first net zero home in 2013, and is now planning Japan's first zero energy condominium in Nagoya City, it is a three-story building with 12 units. There are solar panels on the roof and fuel cells for each unit to provide backup power.


Malaysia

In October 2007, the
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
Energy Centre (PTM) successfully completed the development and construction of the PTM Zero Energy Office (ZEO) Building. The building has been designed to be a super-energy-efficient building using only 286 kWh/day. The renewable energy – photovoltaic combination is expected to result in a net zero energy requirement from the grid. The building is currently undergoing a fine tuning process by the local energy management team. Findings are expected to be published in a year. In 2016, the Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia (SEDA Malaysia) started a voluntary initiative called Low Carbon Building Facilitation Program. The purpose is to support the current low carbon cities program in Malaysia. Under the program, several project demonstration managed to reduce energy and carbon beyond 50% savings and some managed to save more than 75%. Continuous improvement of super energy efficient buildings with significant implementation of on-site renewable energy managed to make a few of them become nearly Zero Energy (nZEB) as well as Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB). In March 2018, SEDA Malaysia has started the Zero Energy Building Facilitation Program. Malaysia also has its own sustainable building tool special for Low Carbon and zero energy building, called GreenPASS that been developed by the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) in 2012, and currently being administered and promoted by SEDA Malaysia. GreenPASS official is called the Construction Industry Standard (CIS) 20:2012.


Netherlands

In September 2006, the Dutch headquarters of the
World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
(WWF) in
Zeist Zeist () is the capital and largest town of the municipality of Zeist. The town is located in the Utrecht province of the Netherlands, east of the city of Utrecht. History The town of "Seist" was first mentioned in a charter in the year 83 ...
was opened. This earth-friendly building gives back more energy than it uses. All materials in the building were tested against strict requirements laid down by the WWF and the architect.


Norway

In February 2009, the Research Council of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
assigned The Faculty of Architecture and Fine Art at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology to host the Research Centre on Zero Emission Buildings (ZEB), which is one of eight new national Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME). The main objective of the FME-centres is to contribute to the development of good technologies for environmentally friendly energy and to raise the level of Norwegian expertise in this area. In addition, they should help to generate new industrial activity and new jobs. Over the next eight years, the FME-Centre ZEB will develop competitive products and solutions for existing and new buildings that will lead to market penetration of zero emission buildings related to their production, operation and demolition.


Singapore

Singapore unveiled a prominent development at the National University of Singapore that is a net-zero energy building. The building, called SDE4, is located within a group of three buildings in its School of Design and Environment (SDE). The design of the building achieved a Green Mark Platinum certification as it produces as much energy as it consumes with its solar panel covered rooftop and hybrid cooling system along with many integrated systems to achieve optimum energy efficiency. This development was the first new-build zero-energy building to come to fruition in Singapore, and the first zero-energy building at the NUS. The first retrofitted zero energy building to be developed in Singapore was a building at the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) academy by the Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan at the inaugural Singapore Green Building Week on October 26, 2009. Singapore's Green Building Week (SGBW) promotes sustainable development and celebrates the achievements of successfully designed sustainable buildings. A net-zero energy building unveiled more recently is the SMU Connexion (SMUC). It is the first net-zero energy building in the city that also utilizes mass engineered timber (MET). It is designed to meet the
Building and Construction Authority The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. It was established on 1 April 1999 through the merger of the Construction Industry Development Board ...
(BCA) Green Mark Platinum certification and has been in operation since January 2020.


Switzerland

The Swiss
MINERGIE Minergie is a registered quality label for new and refurbished low-energy-consumption buildings. This label is mutually supported by the Swiss Confederation, the Swiss Cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein along with Trade and Industry. T ...
-A-Eco label certifies zero energy buildings. The first building with this label, a single-family home, was completed in
Mühleberg Mühleberg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Mühleberg is first mentioned in 1011–16 as ''Mulinberg''. There are several Hallstatt era grave mounds around Mühlebe ...
in 2011.


United Arab Emirates

*
Masdar City Masdar City ( ar, مدينة مصدر, Madīnat Maṣdar, lit=Source City) is a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Its core is being built by Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, with the majority ...
in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...
*
Dubai The Sustainable City Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...


United Kingdom

In December 2006, the government announced that by 2016 all new homes in England will be zero energy buildings. To encourage this, an exemption from Stamp Duty Land Tax is planned. In
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
the plan is for the standard to be met earlier in 2011, although it is looking more likely that the actual implementation date will be 2012. However, as a result of a unilateral change of policy published at the time of the March 2011 budget, a more limited policy is now planned which, it is estimated, will only mitigate two thirds of the emissions of a new home. *
BedZED Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) is an environmentally friendly housing development in Hackbridge, London, England. It is in the London Borough of Sutton, north-east of the town of Sutton itself. Designed to create zero carbon ...
development * Hockerton Housing Project In January 2019 the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government simply defined 'Zero Energy' as 'just meets current building standards' neatly solving this problem.


United States

In the US, ZEB research is currently being supported by the
US Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United State ...
(DOE) Building America Program, including industry-based consortia and researcher organizations at the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and d ...
(NREL), the
Florida Solar Energy Center The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) is a research institute of the University of Central Florida, located on a 20-acre (.08 km2) research complex on Florida's Space Coast at UCF's Cocoa satellite campus. FSEC is the largest and most act ...
(FSEC),
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States Department of Energy National Labs, United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, t ...
(LBNL), and
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...
(ORNL). From
fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
2008 to 2012, DOE plans to award $40 million to four Building America teams, the Building Science Corporation; IBACOS; the Consortium of Advanced Residential Buildings; and the Building Industry Research Alliance, as well as a consortium of academic and building industry leaders. The funds will be used to develop net-zero-energy homes that consume 50% to 70% less energy than conventional homes. DOE is also awarding $4.1 million to two regional building technology application centers that will accelerate the adoption of new and developing energy-efficient technologies. The two centers, located at the
University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
and
Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...
, will serve 17 states, providing information and training on commercially available energy-efficient technologies. The U.S.
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007Pub.L. 110-140, originally named the Clean Energy Act of 2007, is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States. As part of the Democratic Party's 100-Hour Plan during the ...
created 2008 through 2012 funding for a new
solar air conditioning Solar air conditioning, or "solar-powered air conditioning", refers to any air conditioning (cooling) system that uses solar power. This can be done through passive solar design, solar thermal energy conversion, and photovoltaic conversion (sunli ...
research and development program, which should soon demonstrate multiple new technology innovations and
mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
economies of scale In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
. The 2008
Solar America Initiative Solar power includes solar farms as well as local distributed generation, mostly Rooftop solar power, on rooftops and increasingly from community solar arrays. In 2021, utility-scale solar power generated 115 Kilowatt-hour#Multiples, terawat ...
funded research and development into future development of cost-effective Zero Energy Homes in the amount of $148 million in 2008. The Solar Energy Tax Credits have been extended until the end of 2016. By
Executive Order 13514 Executive Order 13514 (or EO 13514) was an Executive Order, entitled ''Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance'', which U.S. President Barack Obama issued on October 5, 2009. EO 13514 was replaced by Executive Order 136 ...
, U.S. President Barack Obama mandated that by 2015, 15% of existing Federal buildings conform to new energy efficiency standards and 100% of all new Federal buildings be Zero-Net-Energy by 2030.


Energy Free Home Challenge

In 2007, the philanthropic
Siebel Foundation Siebel was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1937 in Halle an der Saale.Gunston p.424 History It originated in the Klemm-Flugzeugwerke Halle that had been founded in 1934 as a branch of Leichtflugzeugbau Klemm in Böblingen. Its nam ...
created the Energy Free Home Foundation. The goal was to offer $20 million in global incentive prizes to design and build a 2,000 square foot (186 square meter) three-bedroom, two bathroom home with (1) net-zero annual utility bills that also has (2) high market appeal, and (3) costs no more than a conventional home to construct. The plan included funding to build the top ten entries at $250,000 each, a $10 million first prize, and then a total of 100 such homes to be built and sold to the public. Beginning in 2009,
Thomas Siebel Thomas M. Siebel (; born November 20, 1952) is an American billionaire businessman, technologist, and author. He was the founder of enterprise software company Siebel Systems and is the founder, chairman, and CEO of C3.ai, an artificial intellig ...
made many presentations about his Energy Free Home Challenge. The Siebel Foundation Report stated that the Energy Free Home Challenge was "Launching in late 2009". The
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States Department of Energy National Labs, United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, t ...
at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
participated in writing the "Feasibility of Achieving Zero-Net-Energy, Zero-Net-Cost Homes" for the $20-million Energy Free Home Challenge. If implemented, the Energy Free Home Challenge would have provided increased incentives for improved technology and consumer education about zero energy buildings coming in at the same cost as conventional housing.


US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

The US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an international competition that challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. Achieving zero net energy balance is a major focus of the competition.


States


=Arizona

= * Zero Energy House developed by the NAHB Research Center and John Wesley Miller Companies, Tucson.


=California

= * The State of California has proposed that all new low- and mid-rise residential buildings, and all new commercial buildings, be designed and constructed to ZNE standards beginning in 2020 and 2030, respectively. The requirements, if implemented, will be promulgated via the California Building Code, which is updated on a three-year cycle and which currently mandates some of the highest energy efficiency standards in the United States. California is anticipated to further increase efficiency requirements by 2020, thus avoiding the trends discussed above of building standard housing and achieving ZNE by adding large amounts of renewables. The California Energy Commission is required to perform a cost-benefit analysis to prove that new regulations create a net benefit for residents of the state. * West Village, located on the University of California campus in Davis, California, was the largest ZNE-planned community in North America at the time of its opening in 2014. The development contains student housing for approximately 1,980 UC Davis students as well as leasable office space and community amenities including a community center, pool, gym, restaurant and convenience store. Office spaces in the development are currently leased by energy and transportation-related University programs. The project was a public-private partnership between the university and West Village Community Partnership LLC, led by Carmel Partners of San Francisco, a private developer, who entered into a 60-year ground lease with the university and was responsible for the design, construction, and implementation of the $300 million project, which is intended to be market-rate housing for Davis. This is unique as the developer designed the project to achieve ZNE at no added cost to themselves or to the residents. Designed and modeled to achieve ZNE, the project uses a mixture of passive elements (roof overhangs, well-insulated walls, radiant heat barriers, ducts in insulated spaces, etc.) as well as active approaches (occupancy sensors on lights, high-efficiency appliances and lighting, etc.). Designed to out-perform California's 2008 Title 24 energy codes by 50%, the project produced 87% of the energy it consumed during its first year in operation. The shortcoming in ZNE status is attributed to several factors, including improperly functioning heat pump water heaters, which have since been fixed. Occupant behavior is significantly different from that anticipated, with the all-student population using more energy on a per-capita basis than typical inhabitants of single-family homes in the area. One of the primary factors driving increased energy use appears to be the increased miscellaneous electrical loads (MEL, or plug loads) in the form of mini-refrigerators, lights, computers, gaming consoles, televisions, and other electronic equipment. The university continues to work with the developer to identify strategies for achieving ZNE status. These approaches include incentivizing occupant behavior and increasing the site's renewable energy capacity, which is a 4 MW photovoltaic array per the original design. The West Village site is also home to the Honda Smart Home US, a beyond-ZNE single-family home that incorporates cutting-edge technologies in energy management, lighting, construction, and
water efficiency Water efficiency is the practice of reducing water consumption by measuring the amount of water required for a particular purpose and is proportionate to the amount of essential water used.Vickers, Amy. “Water use and conservation." Amherst, MA ...
. * The IDeAs Z2 Design Facility is a net zero energy, zero carbon retrofit project occupied since 2007. It uses less than one fourth the energy of a typical U.S. office by applying strategies such as daylighting, radiant heating/cooling with a ground-source heat pump and high energy performance lighting and computing. The remaining energy demand is met with renewable energy from its
building-integrated photovoltaic Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are photovoltaic materials that are used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the building envelope such as the roof, skylights, or facades. They are increasingly being incorporated in ...
array. In 2009, building owner and occupant Integrated Design Associates (IDeAs) recorded actual measured energy use intensity of per year, with per year produced, for a net of per year. The building is also carbon neutral, with no gas connection, and with
carbon offset A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carbon ...
s purchased to cover the embodied carbon of the building materials used in the renovation. * The Zero Net Energy Center, scheduled to open in 2013 in
San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...
, is to be a 46,000-square-foot electrician training facility created by the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 775,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, a ...
Local 595 and the Northern California chapter of the
National Electrical Contractors Association The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) is a trade association in the United States that represents the electrical contracting industry. NECA supports the businesses that bring power, light, and communication technology to buildi ...
. Training will include energy-efficient construction methods. * The Green Idea House is a net zero energy, zero-carbon retrofit in Hermosa Beach. * George LeyVa Middle School Administrative Offices, occupied since fall 2011, is a net zero energy, net zero carbon emissions building of just over 9,000 square feet. With daylighting, variable refrigerant flow HVAC, and displacement ventilation, it is designed to use half of the energy of a conventional California school building, and, through a building-integrated solar array, provides 108% of the energy needed to offset its annual electricity use. The excess helps power the remainder of the middle school campus. It is the first publicly funded NZE K–12 building in California. * The Stevens Library at Sacred Heart Schools in California is the first net-zero library in the United States, receiving Net Zero Energy Building status from the
International Living Future Institute International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
, part of the PG&E Zero Net Energy Pilot Project. *The Santa Monica City Services Building is among the first net-zero energy, net-zero water public/municipal buildings in California. Completed in 2020, the 50,000-square-foot addition to the historic Santa Monica City Hall building was designed to provide its own energy and water, and to minimize energy use through efficient building systems. *At 402,000 square-feet, the
California Air Resources Board The California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) is the "clean air agency" of the government of California. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor ...
Southern California Headquarters - Mary D. Nichols Campus, is the largest net-zero energy facility in the United States. A photovoltaic system covers 204,903 square-feet between the facility rooftop and parking pavilions. The +3.5 megawatt system is anticipated to generate roughly 6,235,000 kWh reusable energy per year. The facility was dedicated on November 18, 2021.


=Colorado

= * The Moore House achieves net-zero energy usage with passive solar design, 'tuned' heat reflective windows, super-insulated and air-tight construction, natural daylighting, solar thermal panels for hot water and space heating, a photovoltaic (PV) system that generates more carbon-free electricity than the house requires, and an energy-recovery ventilator (ERV) for fresh air. The green building strategies used on the Moore House earned it a verified home energy rating system (HERS) score of −3. * The NREL Research Support Facility in Golden is a class A office building. Its energy efficiency features include: Thermal storage concrete structure, transpired solar collectors, 70 miles of radiant piping, high-efficiency office equipment, and an energy-efficient data center that reduces the data center's energy use by 50% over traditional approaches. * Wayne Aspinall Federal Building in Grand Junction, originally constructed in 1918, became the first Net Zero Energy building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On-site renewable energy generation is intended to produce 100% of the building's energy throughout the year using the following energy efficiency features: Variable refrigerant flow for the HVAC, a geo-exchange system, advanced metering and building controls, high-efficient lighting systems, thermally enhanced building envelope, interior window system (to maintain historic windows), and advanced power strips (APS) with individual occupancy sensors. * Tutt Library at Colorado College was renovated to be a net-zero library in 2017, making it the largest ZNE academic library. It received an Innovation Award from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.


=Florida

= * The 1999 side-by-side
Florida Solar Energy Center The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) is a research institute of the University of Central Florida, located on a 20-acre (.08 km2) research complex on Florida's Space Coast at UCF's Cocoa satellite campus. FSEC is the largest and most act ...
Lakeland demonstration project was called the "Zero Energy Home". It was a first-generation university effort that significantly influenced the creation of the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Zero Energy Home program.


=Illinois

= * The Walgreens store located on 741 Chicago Ave, Evanston, is the first of the company's stores to be built and or converted to a net zero energy building. It is the first net zero energy retail stores to be built and will pave the way to renovating and building net zero energy retail stores in the near future. The Walgreens store includes the following energy efficiency features: Geo-exchange system, energy-efficient building materials, LED lighting and daylight harvesting, and carbon dioxide refrigerant. * The Electrical and Computer Engineering building at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which was built in 2014, is a net zero building.


=Iowa

= * The MUM Sustainable Living Center was designed to surpass LEED Platinum qualification. The Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, Iowa, founded by
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918
(best known for having brought
Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...
to the West) incorporates principles of Bau Biology (a German system that focuses on creating a healthy indoor environment), as well as Maharishi Vedic Architecture (an Indian system of architecture focused on the precise orientation, proportions and placement of rooms). The building is one of the few in the country to qualify as net zero, and one of even fewer that can claim the banner of grid positive via its solar power system. A rainwater catchment system and on-site natural waste-water treatment likewise take the building off (sewer) grid with respect to water and waste treatment. Additional green features include natural daylighting in every room, natural and breathable earth block walls (made by the program's students), purified rainwater for both potable and non-potable functions; and an on-site water purification and recycling system consisting of plants, algae, and bacteria.


=Kentucky

= * Richardsville Elementary School, part of the Warren County Public School District in south-central Kentucky, is the first Net Zero energy school in the United States. To reach Net Zero, innovative energy reduction strategies were used by CMTA Consulting Engineers and Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects including dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) with dynamic reset, new IT systems, alternative methods to prepare lunches, and the use of solar photovoltaics. The project has an efficient thermal envelope constructed with insulated concrete form (ICF) walls, geothermal water source heat pumps, low-flow fixtures, and features daylighting extensively throughout. It is also the first truly wireless school in Kentucky. *
Locust Trace AgriScience Center Fayette County Public Schools is a school district based in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. The district serves all of Fayette County, which is coextensive with the city of Lexington. Administration Superintendent * Demetrius Liggins (202 ...
, an agricultural-based vocational school serving Fayette County Public Schools and surrounding districts, features a Net Zero Academic Building engineered by CMTA Consulting Engineers and designed by Tate Hill Jacobs Architects. The facility, located in Lexington, Kentucky, also has a greenhouse, riding arena with stalls, and a barn. To reach Net Zero in the Academic Building the project utilizes an air-tight envelope, expanded indoor temperature setpoints in specified areas to more closely model real-world conditions, a solar thermal system, and geothermal water source heat pumps. The school has further reduced its site impact by minimizing municipal water use through the use of a dual system consisting of a standard leach field system and a constructed wetlands system and using pervious surfaces to collect, drain, and use rainwater for crop irrigation and animal watering.


=Massachusetts

= * The government of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
has enacted a plan for "net zero" carbon emissions from all buildings in the city by 2040. * John W. Olver Transit Center, designed by Charles Rose Architects Inc, is an intermodal transit hub in
Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Val ...
. Built with
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
funds, the facility was constructed with solar panels, geothermal wells, copper heat screens and other energy efficient technologies.


=Michigan

= * The Mission Zero House is the 110-year-old Ann Arbor home of Greenovation.TV host and Environment Report contributor
Matthew Grocoff Matthew "Matt" Grocoff is an American environmentalist, sustainability advocate, sustainable real estate developer, writer, speaker and founder of the THRIVE Collaborative. He is known for his work on net zero energy and net zero water buildings an ...
. As of 2011, the home is the oldest home in America to achieve net-zero energy. The owners are chronicling their project on Greenovation.TV and ''
The Environment Report ''The Environment Report'' was a show produced and syndicated by Michigan Radio (WUOM) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Show Mission ''The Environment Report's'' (TER) mission was to be a news service committed to revealing the relationship between th ...
'' on public radio. * The Vineyard Project is a Zero Energy Home (ZEH) thanks to the Passive Solar Design, 3.3 Kws of Photovoltaics, Solar Hot Water and Geothermal Heating and Cooling. The home is pre-wired for a future wind turbine and only uses 600 kWh of energy per month while a minimum of 20 kWh of electricity per day with many days net-metering backwards. The project also used ICF insulation throughout the entire house and is certified as Platinum under the LEED for Homes certification. This Project was awarded Green Builder Magazine Home of the Year 2009. * The Lenawee Center for a Sustainable Future, a new campus for Lenawee Intermediate School District, serves as a living laboratory for the future of agriculture. It is the first Net Zero education building in Michigan, engineered by CMTA Consulting Engineers and designed by The Collaborative, Inc. The project includes solar arrays on the ground as well as the roof, a geothermal heating and cooling system, solar tubes, permeable pavement and sidewalks, a sedum green roof, and an overhang design to regulate building temperature.


=Missouri

= * In 2010, architectural firm HOK worked with energy and daylighting consultant The Weidt Group to design a net zero carbon emissions Class A office building prototype in
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri. The team chronicled its process and results on Netzerocourt.com.


=New Jersey

= * The 31 Tannery Project, located in Branchburg, New Jersey, serves as the corporate headquarters for Ferreira Construction, the Ferreira Group, and Noveda Technologies. The 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m2) office and shop building was constructed in 2006 and is the first building in the state of
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
to meet New Jersey's
Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
54. The building is also the first Net Zero Electric Commercial Building in the United States.


=New York

= * Green Acres, the first true zero-net energy development in America, is located in New Paltz, about north of New York City. Greenhill Contracting began construction on this development of 25 single family homes in summer 2008, with designs by BOLDER Architecture. After a full year of occupancy, from March 2009 to March 2010, the
solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...
of the first occupied home in Green Acres generated 1490 kWh more energy than the home consumed. The second occupied home has also achieved zero-net energy use. As of June 2011, five houses have been completed, purchased and occupied, two are under construction, and several more are being planned. The homes are built of
insulated concrete forms Insulating concrete form or insulated concrete form (ICF) is a system of formwork for reinforced concrete usually made with a rigid thermal insulation that stays in place as a permanent interior and exterior substrate for walls, floors, and roofs ...
with spray foam insulated rafters and triple pane casement windows, heated and cooled by a geothermal system, to create extremely energy-efficient and long-lasting buildings. The heat recovery ventilator provides constant fresh air and, with low or no
VOC VOC, VoC or voc may refer to: Science and technology * Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected * Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus ...
(volatile organic compound) materials, these homes are very healthy to live in. To the best of our knowledge, Green Acres is the first development of multiple buildings, residential or commercial, that achieves true zero-net energy use in the United States, and the first zero-net energy development of single family homes in the world. * Greenhill Contracting has built two luxury zero-net energy homes in Esopus, completed in 2008. One house was the first Energy Star rated zero-net energy home in the Northeast and the first registered zero-net energy home on the US Department of Energy's Builder's Challenge website. These homes were the template for Green Acres and the other zero-net energy homes that Greenhill Contracting has built, in terms of methods and materials. * The headquarters of Hudson Solar, a dba of Hudson Valley Clean Energy, Inc., located in Rhinebeck and completed in 2007, was determined by NESEA (the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association) to have become the first proven zero-net energy commercial building in New York State and the ten northeast United States (October 2008). The building consumes less energy than it generates, using a solar electric system to generate power from the sun, geothermal heating and cooling, and solar thermal collectors to heat all its hot water.


=Oklahoma

= * The first zero-energy design home was built in 1979 with support from President Carter's new
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
. It relied heavily on
passive solar building design In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unli ...
for space heat, water heat and space cooling. It heated and cooled itself effectively in a climate where the summer peak temperature was 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and the winter low temperature was −10 F. It did not use
active solar Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
systems. It is a
double envelope house A double envelope house is a passive solar house design which collects solar energy in a solarium and passively allows the warm air to circulate around the house between two sets of walls, a double building envelope. This design is from 1975 by ...
that uses a gravity-fed
natural convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convect ...
air flow design to circulate passive solar heat from of south-facing glass on its
greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...
through a thermal buffer zone in the winter. A swimming pool in the greenhouse provided thermal mass for winter heat storage. In the summer, air from two underground earth tubes is used to cool the thermal buffer zone and exhaust heat through 7200 cfm of outer-envelope roof vents.


=Oregon

= * Net Zero Energy Building Certification launched in 2011, with an international following. The first project, Painters Hall, is Pringle Creek's Community Center, café, office, art gallery, and event venue. Originally built in the 1930s, Painters Hall was renovated to LEED Platinum Net Zero energy building standards in 2010, demonstrating the potential of converting existing building stock into high‐performance, sustainable building sites. Painters Hall features simple low-cost solutions for energy reduction, such as natural daylighting and passive cooling lighting, that save money and increase comfort. A district ground-source geothermal loop serves the building's GSHP for highly efficient heating and air conditioning. Excess generation from the 20.2 kW rooftop solar array offsets pumping for the neighborhoods geo loop system. Open to the public, Painters Hall is a hub for gatherings of friends, neighbors, and visitors at the heart of a neighborhood designed around nature and community.


=Pennsylvania

= * The Phipps Center for Sustainable Landscapes in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
was designed to be one of the greenest buildings in the world. It achieved Net Zero Energy Building Certification from the Living Building Challenge in February 2014 and is pursuing full certification. The Phipps Center uses
energy conservation Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...
technologies such as solar hot water collectors, carbon dioxide sensors, and daylighting, as well as renewable energy technologies to allow it to achieve Net Zero Energy status. * The Lombardo Welcome Center at
Millersville University Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the fourteen schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher E ...
became the first building in the state to become zero-energy certified. This was the largest step in
Millersville University Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the fourteen schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher E ...
's goal to be
carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
by 2040. According to the International Living Future Institute, The Lombardo Welcome Center is one of the highest-performing buildings throughout the country generating 75% more energy than currently being used.


=Rhode Island

= * In Newport, the Paul W. Crowley East Bay MET School is the first Net Zero project to be constructed in Rhode Island. It is a 17,000 sq ft building, housing eight large classrooms, seven bathrooms and a kitchen. It will have PV panels to supply all necessary electricity for the building and a geothermal well which will be the source of heat.


=Tennessee

= * civitas, designed by
archimania Archimania is a collective of architects and designers in downtown Memphis, Tennessee’s South Main Historic Arts District. The collective was founded in 1995 and is led by Todd Walker, FAIA, and Barry Alan Yoakum, FAIA. Archimania was ranked 8 ...
, Memphis, Tennessee. civitas is a case study home on the banks of the Mississippi River, currently under construction. It aims to embrace cultural, climatic, and economic challenges. The home will set a precedent for Southeastern high-performance design.


=Texas

= * The University of North Texas (UNT) was constructing a Zero Energy Research Laboratory on its 300-acre research campus, Discovery Park, in Denton, Texas. The project is funded at over $1,150,000 and will primarily benefit students in mechanical and energy engineering (UNT became the first university to offer degrees in mechanical and energy engineering in 2006). This 1,200-square-foot structure is now competed and held ribbon-cutting ceremony for the University of North Texas' Zero Energy Laboratory on April 20, 2012. * The West Irving Library in
Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, ...
, became the first net zero library in Texas in 2011, running entirely off solar energy. Since then it has produced a surplus. It has LEED gold certification.


=Vermont

= * The
Putney School The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. The school was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton on the principles of the Progressive Education movement and the teachings of its principal exponent, John Dewey. It is a co-ed ...
's net zero Field House was opened on October 10, 2009. In use for over a year, as of December 2010, the Field House used 48,374 kWh and produced a total of 51,371 kWh during the first 12 months of operation, thus performing at slightly better than net-zero. Also in December, the building won an AIA-Vermont Honor Award. * The Charlotte Vermont House designed by Pill-Maharam Architects is a verified net zero energy house completed in 2007. The project won the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Net Zero Energy award in 2009.


See also


References


Further reading

* Nisson, J. D. Ned; and Gautam Dutt, "The Superinsulated Home Book",
John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...
, 1985, , . * Markvart, Thomas; Editor, "Solar Electricity" John Wiley & Sons; 2nd edition, 2000, . * Clarke, Joseph; "Energy Simulation in Building Design", Second Edition
Butterworth-Heinemann Butterworth–Heinemann is a British publishing company specialised in professional information and learning materials for higher education and professional training, in printed and electronic forms. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of Hein ...
; 2nd edition, 2001, . * National Renewable Energy Laboratory
2000 ZEB meeting report
* Noguchi, Masa, ed., "The Quest for Zero Carbon Housing Solutions", Open House International, Vol.33, No.3, 2008, Open House International * Voss, Karsten; Musall, Eike: "Net zero energy buildings – International projects of carbon neutrality in buildings",
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, 2011, .


External links


Net Zero Energy Homes Project Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zero-Energy Building Low-energy building Sustainable building Sustainable architecture Building biology Energy economics Environmental design ru:Активный дом