The building sector is responsible for 39% of process-related greenhouse gas emissions globally, making net- or nearly-zero energy buildings pivotal for reaching climate neutrality. This article re...

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-environ-012420-045843

Advances Toward a Net-Zero Global Building Sector

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Assessment of the renewable energy generation towards net-zero energy buildings: A review

Zero emission neighbourhoods and positive energy districts – A state-of-the-art review

Effectiveness of passive design strategies in responding to future climate change for residential buildings in hot and humid Hong Kong

With nearly 70% of the world population expected to live in cities by 2050, assessing the sustainability of urban systems, both existing and future ones, is becoming increasingly relevant. Making cities more sustainable is a global priority, which is highlighted by ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’ being listed as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by United Nations Member States in 2015. This Virtual Special Issue (VSI) explores the implementation and assessment of policies and technologies that contribute to the transition to a sustainable, energy efficient and regenerative society. We organized the issue according to four main research themes: 1) Renewable Energy Systems (i.e., different types of systems, qualitative assessments and public acceptance); 2) Sustainable Built Environment (which includes construction, operation and refurbishment); 3) Multi-Scale Models (considering urban sustainability transition from building to districts, or cities and regions to multi-country comparisons and their scaling across different countries); and 4) Governance and Policy (climate change mitigation and adaptation plans/policies that are reported across countries, urban services and infrastructures). This paper serves two purposes. The first is to provide an analysis about patterns, correlations and synergies found across the different topics that have been addressed over the last 20 years in the literature about cities’ sustainability paths. A bibliometric analysis and a contingency matrix show the degree of correlation between scientific journals and main topics addressed by published articles. Secondly, the paper acts as an Editorial to the VSI, introducing the wealth of research articles and topics included in it. Both the bibliometric analysis and the papers published in this VSI demonstrate the interconnectedness of energy consumption, pollutant emissions and the competition for finite resources. The aim is to present advances and challenges of this exciting and ever-evolving research field to inform and guide future studies of urban sustainability.

Advances and challenges in assessing urban sustainability : an advanced bibliometric review

Sustainable development in the building sector requires the integration of energy efficiency and renewable energy utilization in buildings. In recent years, the concept of net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) has become a potential plausible solution to improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption in buildings. To achieve an NZEB goal, building systems and design strategies must be integrated and optimized based on local climatic conditions. This paper provides a comprehensive review of NZEBs and their current development in hot and humid regions. Through investigating 34 NZEB cases around the world, this study summarized NZEB key design strategies, technology choices and energy performance. The study found that passive design and technologies such as daylighting and natural ventilation are often adopted for NZEBs in hot and humid climates, together with other energy efficient and renewable energy technologies. Most NZEB cases demonstrated site annual energy consumption intensity less than 100 kW-hours (kWh) per square meter of floor space, and some buildings even achieved “net-positive energy” (that is, they generate more energy locally than they consume). However, the analysis also shows that not all NZEBs are energy efficient buildings, and buildings with ample renewable energy adoption can still achieve NZEB status even with high energy use intensity. This paper provides in-depth case-study-driven analysis to evaluate NZEB energy performance and summarize best practices for high performance NZEBs. This review provides critical technical information as well as policy recommendations for net zero energy building development in hot and humid climates.

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A review of net zero energy buildings in hot and humid climates: Experience learned from 34 case study buildings

The optimal schedule of energy storage systems is an effective way to improve the economy and stability of grid connected photovoltaic-battery energy storage systems (PV-BESS). This study presents an operation strategy considering economic feasibility and photovoltaic self-consumption rate (SCR) for the energy management of office buildings under time-of-use (ToU) electricity price. The strategy aims to optimize FiT revenue streams for the PV-BESS by scheduling the overall energy flow in real time based on a dynamic programming algorithm. The battery control strategy based on a dynamic programming algorithm can control the energy flow in a flexible way to minimize net present value (NPV) in a typical year, while taking such factors as dynamic electricity price, the battery cycling aging, and demand response characteristics into account. An existing PV-BESS used for a middle-size office building in Beijing was taken as a case study to evaluate the optimization model. It is shown that the dispatch strategy could achieve superior performance in the cold region in China. Additionally, the indices affecting economic performance were figured out to validate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm. The results show that while the unit cost of energy storage is dropped to about 100$/kWh, the system could gain revenue under different electricity prices. Lastly, it is concluded that electricity price is the most sensitive parameter to the system's economy through sensitivity analysis. 

Optimal battery schedule for grid-connected photovoltaic-battery systems of office buildings based on a dynamic programming algorithm

Simulation and power quality analysis of a Loose-Coupled bipolar DC microgrid in an office building

LVDC buildings use a low-voltage direct current (LVDC) distribution system for energy transmission and integrate photovoltaic (PV), battery energy storage (BES) and the utility grid as building energy resources. This technology can reduce energy loss in conversion to a certain extent and increase renewable energy compared with traditional AC distribution systems. Under the national goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, LVDC buildings have been proven to be a new approach to energy conservation and emission reductions, and have been applied in engineering in China. However, the construction methods and integrated technologies of those projects are not clear, and technical barriers and policy constraints for the engineering application of LVDC buildings are not systematically discussed yet. This paper presents the latest study of LVDC building engineering applications the advantages and drawbacks of LVDC development in China. First, relevant policies and standards which support the development of LVDC building industries are summarized. More than 60 practical LVDC projects are investigated, and the application characteristics and the technology status of building types, and their capacity and design methods, etc., are analyzed. The attitudes of stakeholders toward LVDC buildings are surveyed to determine the policy direction according to the demands of this technology, with reference to building practitioners who intend to engage in LVDC projects.

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Bin Hao

Papers

A review of net zero energy buildings in hot and humid climates: Experience learned from 34 case study buildings

Optimal battery schedule for grid-connected photovoltaic-battery systems of office buildings based on a dynamic programming algorithm

Simulation and power quality analysis of a Loose-Coupled bipolar DC microgrid in an office building

The Application and Development of LVDC Buildings in China