Low, Passive, Zero and Plus Energy Buildings

Energy-efficient buildings are designed to use as little energy as possible.

Buildings can be made energy-efficient by using quality building and insulation
materials which help prevent heat loss and make the building airtight. High-
quality design and craftsmanship are prerequisites in energy-efficient building.
Minimising thermal bridges is the key.

Energy-efficient buildings are classified into four categories: Low Energy,

Passive, Zero and Plus Energy buildings. Passive buildings are often the optimal
solution when considering the lifecycle of a building.

 Type 0 - Standard Building

A standard building is constructed to meet only minimum building standard

energy efficiency requirements.

 Type I - Low Energy Building

A low energy building consumes only half of the energy needed by a standard
building. Energy efficiency is achieved by improved insulation and windows and a
ventilation heat recovery system. To bring a building to a low energy level is not
notably more expensive than building a standard house (0 - 5 %). Annual energy
consumption for heating a low energy building is in the range of 50 – 60 kWh/m2.

 Type II – Passive Energy Building

A passive building consumes less than a quarter of the energy used by a

standard building. It stays warm by using energy generated in the building. It has
no separate heating system apart from heat recovery ventilation.
The definition of a passive building is based on its energy need. The building’s
total energy need is estimated in primary energy and it has limit values. For
example, in Germany, a primary energy conversion factor of 2.7 is used for all
electric energy bought from the grid. The energy conversion factors are agreed
on the national basis.
Energy efficiency is based on passive building envelope solutions: low U-values
and particularly good air tightness. It has a very well insulated structure, quality
windows and doors.

Building a passive house is only 5 – 10 % more expensive than building a

standard house. However, the additional costs of the more solid structures are
compensated for by not needing to install a heating system. No new technical
skills, special equipment or materials are needed for passive building. Annual
energy consumption for heating a passive building depends on the building’s
location and varies from 15 kWh/m2 in Central Europe to 30 kWh/m2 in North
Europe.

According to the Commission’s plans, passive houses are expected to become

standard in new buildings in the EU by 2015.

 Type III – Zero Energy Building

A zero energy building is a building with zero net energy consumption and zero
carbon emissions annually. These buildings can be independent of the energy
grid supply.

 Type IV - Plus Energy Building

The plus energy concept is based on buildings having an energy efficiency level
of a passive building and additional integrated active energy supply systems that
exploit solar or wind energy. During the summer, the building sells excess
amounts of electricity to the national grid and buys it back during the winter. The
prerequisite for such a building is the existence of a national sales tariff, which is
not yet the case in most countries. The current tariffs are heavily subsidised to
promote the development of new technology.

An extra investment cost for a Plus Energy Building is at least 10 % compared to

a standard building. Plus Energy Buildings are currently rare but are likely to
become a new building trend in the near future.

Life cycle assessment (LCA)

LCA is a process whereby the material and energy flows of a system are
quantified and evaluated. Typically, upstream (extraction, production,
transportation and construction), use, and downstream (deconstruction and
disposal) flows of a product or service system are inventoried first. Subsequently,
global and/or regional impacts (e.g. global warming, ozone depletion, euro
phonation and acidification) are calculated; based on energy consumption, waste
generation, etc. LCA allows for an evaluation of impacts of different processes
and life cycle stages on the environment. As per international organization for
standardization, LCA studies generally consist of four phases: goal and scope
definition, life cycle inventory (LCI), impact assessment and interpretation of
results.
The goal and scope defines the purposes, audiences, and system boundaries.
The LCI involves data collection and calculations to quantify material and energy
inputs and outputs of a system, and the impact assessment evaluates the
significance of potential environmental impacts based on the LCI. In other
industrial sectors, life cycle analysis is currently widely used to assess the life
cycle environmental impact of products. In order to use LCA methods to assess
the environmental impact, it is necessary to perform an inventory analysis.
However, in the construction industry, the materials used in construction,
operation, and demolition are varied and the range of environmental criteria that
are relevant to buildings is potentially enormous.
This may serve as a severe limitation to the use of LCA methods in the building
industry. Modern day buildings are typically large-scale projects utilizing different
kinds of building materials, so their constructions have a great impact on many
other industrial sectors. Building materials production processes are much less
standardized than most manufactured goods because of the unique character of
each building. There is limited quantitative information about the environmental
impacts of the production and manufacturing of construction materials, or the
actual process of construction and demolition. All these factors make
environmental assessments of the building industry a challenging task.
 Assignment # 1
RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURES
AND UTILIZATION

Submitted To:
Engr. TAHIR RAZA

Submitted BY:

Registration #
2014-UET-CCET-MECH-
Date:
4TH -MAY-2018
Department:

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CHENAB COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND

TECHNOLGY