Open AccessEnergy consumption, thermal comfort and load match: study of a monitored nearly Zero Energy Building in Mediterranean climate
Author(s) -
S. Erba,
Lorenzo Pagliano,
Saeid Charani Shandiz,
Marco Pietrobon
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
iop conference series. materials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1757-899X
pISSN - 1757-8981
DOI - 10.1088/1757-899x/609/6/062026
Subject(s) - zero energy building , architectural engineering , renewable energy , environmental science , thermal comfort , energy consumption , thermal mass , computer science , meteorology , civil engineering , thermal , engineering , geography , electrical engineering
Several definitions of Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) exist in literature and different implementations of the term can be found in National laws/regulations. The differences among the Member States in nomenclature and definition of the main indicators often lead to incomparable results and difficulties in transfer and diffusion of technologies across the EU. The paper aims to investigate the topic of ZEB by clarifying the meaning of nearly ZEB and Net ZEB through the application of the definitions in a case study of a high-performance building (certified Passivhaus) located in Sicily, Italy. The house fulfils the requirements of nearly ZEB, according to Italian legislation, and satisfies the Net ZEB’s yearly balance between imported and exported energy. However, the use of shorter calculation time periods highlights the presence of a relatively large mismatch between the time of use and of renewable generation. Finally, the results of the thermal comfort analysis show the achievement of adaptive thermal comfort in summer thanks to the passive features of the building (mass, external thermal insulation, solar protections) and passive techniques for heat removal (night ventilation and ground exchange).