|
|
Skip over navigation
Photovoltaics and Zero Energy Buildings: A New Opportunity and Challenge for Design
October 2012 - PDF 1.21MB
By: Alessandra Scognamiglio and Harald N. Røstvik
Starting from the end of 2020, all new buildings will have to be Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (Nearly ZEBs—ED 2010/31/EU recast). This new ‘energy paradigm’ might be a revolution for architecture and for Photovoltaics (PV) too, but there are both cultural and technical obstacles to overcome. There is a need to re-think the way buildings are designed (integrating renewables for being ZE). There is a need to re-think the way PV is designed in buildings. PV will be gaining an increasing relevance in the ZEBs design, thanks to its features and potentialities (suitability for any kind of energy demand of the building, easiness of building integration, cost). In a ZEB scenario, PV is very suitable for generating energy, ‘on site’ and ‘at site’; this enlarges the perspective of use of PV from the architectural scale to a wider scale, including the space close to the building or even to the urban and landscape scale. In such a new context, the existing research on the relationships between PV and architecture, focusing mainly on the way the PV components are used in relation to the envelope (Building-integrated PV/Building-added (Attached) PV), is no longer sufficient. The authors envision possible formal results, opportunities and challenges, for the use of PV in ZEBs, as well as new research issues for the future relationships between PV and ZEBs from the architecture and landscape design point of view. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
|
|
Net zero energy buildings: A consistent definition framework
February 2012 - PDF 0.68MB
By: Igor Sartori, Assunta Napolitano, Karsten Voss
The term Net ZEB, Net Zero Energy Building, indicates a building connected to the energy grids. It is recognized that the sole satisfaction of an annual balance is not sufficient to fully characterize Net ZEBs and the interaction between buildings and energy grids need to be addressed. It is also recognized that different definitions are possible, in accordance with a country’s political targets and specific conditions. This paper presents a consistent framework for setting Net ZEB definitions. Evaluation of the criteria in the definition framework and selection of the related options becomes a methodology to set Net ZEB definitions in a systematic way. The balance concept is central in the definition framework and two major types of balance are identified, namely the import/export balance and the load/generation balance. As compromise between the two a simplified monthly net balance is also described. Concerning the temporal energy match, two major characteristics are described to reflect a Net ZEB’s ability to match its own load by on-site generation and to work beneficially with respect to the needs of the local grids. Possible indicators are presented and the concept of grid interaction flexibility is introduced as a desirable target in the building energy design.
|
|
Keeping Cool with the Sun
Latest Developments on Solar Cooling and Task 48 Short Presentation
January 2012 - PDF 1.36MB
By: Daniel Mugnier (TECSOL) & Uli Jakob (SOLEM Consulting)
Publisher: International Sustainable Energy Review
Worldwide, the energy consumption required for cold and air conditioning is rising rapidly. Usual electrically driven compressor chillers (split units) have maximum energy consumption in peak-load periods during the summer. In the last few years in Southern Europe this has regularly led to grids working to maximum capacity and blackouts. In recent years, the sales figures of split units with a cooling capacity range of up to 5KW have risen rapidly.
www.internationalsustainableenergy.com
|
|
|
|
|