How To Achieve Net Zero Energy In Buildings?

The definition of a zero-energy home is a high-performance home that is so energy-efficient that a renewable energy system can balance all or most of its yearly energy intake.

Fremont, CA: The costs of a Net Zero building encircle the high initial costs of finding experienced builders to implement Net Zero principles. Nevertheless, this can be easily circumvented through the appointment of a qualified Consultant to plan and monitor the energy emissions of the building.

By integrating Net Zero principles through asset and operational assessments, we accomplish Net Zero in our buildings.

Here are the ways a consultant can support you in accomplishing Net Zero:

Asset Assessment

An asset assessment deals with all the building assets, including its building envelope, the HVAC and lighting systems, energy needs, etc. Through these assessments, we can identify areas with high embodied energy and carbon emissions and develop strategies to decrease them.

1. Through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA):

An LCA allows for identifying a building's environmental hotspots or areas producing the most embodied carbon emissions. Separate materials with a lower impact can be identified as per the LCA. By analyzing the environmental aspects and possible impacts of a product, process, or service utilized in the building, one can distinguish which of these are potential hotspots that should be addressed during the early design stage itself. Better alternatives like recycled components or locally obtainable materials would be preferable to manage the key impact categories, called greenhouse gas emissions, ozone depletion potential, acidification, and eutrophication.

2. Energy Modelling:

Energy Modelling enables builders to identify which energy-saving measures will best enable a project to attain Net Zero and how to address the design of building assets at the minimum possible cost. Assessing these assets' energy gives a pretty accurate idea of where savings can be made. It proves a building's ability to achieve Net Zero before construction. Moreover, it can allow for calculating the necessary size and cost of the solar paneling the building requires, for example.

3. Envelope Commissioning to assess the performance of a building's structure itself:

Envelope commissioning includes evaluating the performance of a facility envelope to determine whether a building is encountering the objectives and demands set by the owner and improves the performance of the building casing by identifying and correcting uncontrolled leaks or invasions at building intersections. A huge part of envelope commissioning is inspecting and testing various systems to verify if the assemblies react as designed. For instance, airtightness testing is used to identify any air leakage, and when fixed, this leads to higher energy efficiency. A water ingress test concerns finding the possibility of water intrusion in fixtures like doors, windows, skylights, and other assemblies, to reduce moisture penetration and resultant issues, e.g., mold growth and detrimental indoor air quality for occupants.

Building enclosures can be improved through simple actions such as re-sealing joints or repairing window frames without costing a lot. "Attention to detail, junctions, and system dynamics can make the difference between efforts that improve building performance, and those that waste energy rather than saving."

Operational Assessment

The only solution to identify if a building is truly attaining Net Zero is with assessments of energy employed and resultant carbon discharge done during the true operational phase of a building. This can be done using metering, i.e., periodically measuring and monitoring energy consumption. In addition, establishing meters on the renewable electricity generators, lighting fixtures, plug loads, and HVAC systems ensures that the efficiency of all these equipment can be recorded and monitored to take corrective action where necessary.

After the data is collected from an operational assessment, it can be analyzed and used to inform future improvements to the building to either achieve its Net Zero Goal or outperform it. For instance, the results could be used to consider the integration of building automation or any behavioral changes that may have to be caused by building occupants through implementing policies such as establishing least efficiency standards for appliances and equipment.

How can rating systems help achieve it?

Green Building rating systems have been growingly popular in the construction industry in latest years and have greatly enhanced the progress of sustainability in the built environment worldwide.

While some were created specifically to address the achievement of Net Zero, many others partially incorporate Net Zero principles within them and are used as a great tool for achieving Net Zero buildings.