ZEMCH 2012 International Conference e-Proceedings
July 2013 - EXE 92.89MB
Editor: Masa Noguchi
Publisher: ZEMCH Network
The ZEMCH 2012 International Conference was a first attempt to establish an intellectual forum of interactive discussion on design, production and marketing issues surrounding the delivery of low to zero energy / CO2 emission mass-customizable home and communities being built in developed and developing countries. This download is the e-proceedings. You need to download the .exe file and then run it on your computer to view the complete proceedings. The file is 92MB in size.

Photovoltaics and Zero Energy Buildings: A New Opportunity and Challenge for Design
October 2012 - PDF 1.21MB

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.

Formulating a Building Climate Classification Method
November 2011 - PDF 0.52MB
When country champions participating in the International Energy Agency Task 40 project on Net Zero Energy Buildings were asked to classify their countries climate, six of the participating countries categorised the residential and non-residential buildings, placed in the same location, into different climate zones. This indicated that a climate zoning for buildings that is based purely on the external climate conditions is not sufficient. This paper proposes an adjustment of the traditional approach to climate classification for buildings by utilising thermal simulation to formulate a building climate classification. This produces a climate indicator that is founded on the locations external conditions and the reference buildings thermal performance.

Towards Net Zero Energy Buildings in Hot Climate, Part 2: Experimental Feedback
November 2011 - PDF 0.99MB
The paper deals with the feedback of the measurements conducted in the first zero energy building “EnerPos” constructed in the French tropical Island of La Reunion. The building was designed to operate as long as possible by using passive techniques (cross natural ventilation, day-lighting). The purpose was to reach an annual energy ratio below 55kWh/m² (which is three times below the mean ratio of standard buildings in La Reunion) by avoiding energy consuming active systems such as air-conditioning and artificial lighting.

Towards Net Zero Energy Buildings in Hot Climates: Part 1, New Tools and Methods
November 2011 - PDF 0.87MB
The paper presents the results of a French National research project on Net zero energy design that just ended in December 2009. The project named « ENERPOS »has focused on the development of new methods and tools for the design of Net Zero Energy Buildings in hot climates. Three French university research laboratories and two HVAC practices have been involved in the project. The initial objectives of the ENERPOS project were: to develop new methods and tools for the design of net zero energy buildings in hot/tropical climates; to point out that the factor 3 is easy to meet. The energy index must be below 55 kWhe/m².year (net floor area); to gather the world of research and the professional sector for improving the use of new simulation tools; to do a transfer of knowledge from research to the professional fields once the proposed method validated. The methods and tools have been applied to the design of the first zero energy building of the French overseas departments located in La Reunion. The design and the construction of the building has perfectly matched with the realization of the ENERPOS project. The completion was in October 2008, just one year before the end of the ENERPOS project.

Calibrating the Impact of a Photovoltaic Thermal Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery System on the Delivery of Net Zero-energy Housing in Scotland
June 2011 - PDF 0.15MB
This study was conducted with the aim to assess the potential performance of a photovoltaic thermal mechanical ventilation heat recovery (PV/T MVHR) system. The device is currently considered for the application to the Z-en house project undertaken by Scottish homebuilder, ROBERTRYAN Homes, in collaboration with ZEMCH Network academic partners. The house’s whole energy demand was calibrated based on the UK government’s standard assessment procedure for energy rating of dwellings, known as SAP, while the PV/T performance was estimated using an ‘EESLISM’ energy and environmental design simulation tool developed by Kogakuin University. This study concluded that PV generates heat, which makes the fresh air running under the PV roof 10-15°C warmer than the outside temperature even during the Scottish winter and this warm air extracted from roof integrated PV modules can be used to drastically reduce the domestic space-heating demand. Thus, the building integrated PV/T MVHR system was considered as one of the effective means to facilitate the net zero-energy operation of housing in cool and cold climates.

Environmental design and performance of the ENERPOS building, Reunion island, France
June 2011 - PDF 0.59MB
Located in the French tropical Island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean, the 681 m2 NFA ENERPOS Building was inaugurated in January 2009. The building is located on the Saint Pierre Campus of the University of Reunion Island and was designed from the outset to be a net zero energy project with mixed-mode air conditioning systems in some areas. This paper reports the results of a recent user survey of the staff and students who use the building, and relates the users' perceptions to some of the environmental control systems installed. Indications are that the users have been able to achieve thermally comfortable conditions for much of the year without recourse to the air conditioning systems. However, there is still the need for more readily available information on how to get the best from the windows and the ceiling fan systems for the ever-changing cohorts of students, and staff who may only use the classrooms intermittently. For the more permanent staff group, preliminary indications are of improved health and productivity by comparison with their experience of other buildings.

Users' Behavior and Energy Performances of Net Zero Energy Buildings
June 2011 - PDF 1.18MB
This paper proposes to study the role and the user in the operation of the building and its impact on energy performance of buildings. Some comparisons of the energy consumption and production of the buildings were calculated during the design stage are made against the measured data of the consumption and production of the buildings when they are being utilized. It indicated that the differences between the design calculations and the measurements can be up to 50%. The method used in this study is to restart the process of calculation for the energy balance that was adopted during the design phase and to establish the right hypothesis on the schedules, utilization of appliances, and comfort level of the building that lead to a good evaluation of the energy consumed in the actual buildings operation. This feedback on the tools used by the design offices will allow making improvements in these tools.

BOLIG+ - an Energy Neutral Multifamily Building
Eurosun 2010 Paper
March 2010 - PDF 0.12MB
BOLIG+ is a Danish concept for energy neutral houses based on five dogmas: 1) energy neutral incl. household energy, 2) intelligent and user-friendly, 3) flexible in daily use and over time, 4) good and healthy indoor climate and 5) high architectural quality and adaption to local context.

Impact of the Zero Energy Mass Custom Home Mission to Japan on Industry Education Toward Commercialisation
Renewable Energy 2010 Paper
March 2010 - PDF 0.03MB
Homebuilders’ business operations often develop into routine. Small- or medium-sized homebuilders (and housing manufacturers) which are usually dominant to the industry today seem lacking awareness of societal pressure for the delivery of zero-energy sustainable housing in response to the imminent global warming issues.

Net Zero Energy Buildings in France, From Design Studies to Energy Monitoring - A State of the Art Review
Eurosun 2010 Paper
March 2010 - PDF 0.14MB
In 2020, the French energy policy plans that every new building will be positive energy. It is then essential to develop new methods for the design of such buildings. In addition, energy monitoring should be studied on existing positive or near zero energy buildings to ensure that they really respect this characteristic but also to estimate the impact of certain improvements made on the building design to the energy consumption.

Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings: An Overview and Analysis on Worldwide Building Projects
Eurosun 2010 Paper
March 2010 - PDF 0.38MB
Given the global challenges related to climate change and resource shortages, much more is required than sustainability or increases in energy efficiency in buildings. The zero energy building is no more a vision what is shown by many built examples. Although these buildings are named by different terms and are poorly understood, several countries have adopted this vision as a long-term goal of their building energy policies.

The Road Towards “Zero Energy” in Buildings: Lessons Learned from The Solar XXI Building in Portugal
Eurosun 2010 Paper
March 2010 - PDF 0.06MB
On April 23, 2009, Industry, Transport, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee of the European Parliament voted favorable for the amendment of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) so that all new buildings to become Net-Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) by 31 December 2018[1]. With regard of existing buildings, the Member States were called to set minimum percentages of buildings that should be zero energy by 2015.