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Design feasibility of a net-zero energy neighborhood in Qazvin

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Abstract

Fossil fuel combustion to supply energy demand has significant effects on air pollution and global warming through an increase in environmental pollutants and greenhouse gases resulting in climate change, environmental deterioration, and spread of different diseases. In Iran, the high growth of annual consumption of various fossil fuels has triggered many environmental and socioeconomic problems, and the building sector with a share of 40% in energy consumption plays a significant role in energy consumption levels. The main aim of this study is to investigate how to decrease residential buildings’ energy demand through passive methods and substitute renewable energy for fossil fuel to supply energy for buildings in a framework of a net-zero energy neighborhood unit in Qazvin. The methods applied in this study were based on analytical method, causal study method, and simulation. In this study, DesignBuilder thermal simulation software is used to estimate the energy consumption decrease through the passive strategies. In addition, the buildings’ energy demand is supplied using renewable energy sources. Results show that improving the thermal insulation and heat capacity of housing materials can reduce energy demand by 31.5%. In addition, appropriate window shading and natural ventilation decrease the buildings’ annual energy consumption levels (32 residential units) at a rate of 2 and 17.5%, respectively. Furthermore, achieving the net-zero energy definition required 902 units of PV modules with nominal power of 256 W, as well as 24 solar collectors and their assimilation with the energy grid.

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Notes

  1. Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report, from the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) was published in 1987. Its targets were multilateralism and interdependence of nations in the search for a sustainable development path.

  2. Bernoulli’s principle states that an increase in the speed of the fluid coincides with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid’s potential energy.

  3. The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section (or choke) of a pipe. The Venturi effect is named after Giovanni Battista Venturi (1746–1822), an Italian physicist.

  4. Stack effect or chimney effect is the movement of air into and out of buildings, chimneys, flue-gas stacks, or other containers, resulting from air buoyancy. Buoyancy occurs due to a difference in indoor-to-outdoor air density resulting from temperature and moisture differences. The result is either a positive or negative buoyancy force.

  5. T-SOL is the simulation program that allows you to accurately calculate the yield of a solar thermal system dynamically over the annual cycle. With T-SOL, you can optimally design solar thermal systems, dimension collector arrays, and storage tanks and calculate the economic efficiency.

  6. Materials, which are applied for a typical housing in Iran, are shown in Table 4 in Appendix.

  7. Materials, which are used in this study with efficient thermal capacity and thermal insulations, are shown in Table 5 in Appendix.

  8. Leca building blocks are solid or hollow blocks of lightweight aggregate concrete. The base product is LECA Designers specify lightweight concrete for floors and roof because it is expected to be cost-effective and environmentally efficient. The spatial weight of these blocks often less than 1100 kg/m3 and the resistance of them are at least 30 kg/cm2. Leca blocks are produced in both solid and hollow shape for use as walls and ceilings. In this study use, the hollow form which based on Iran building’s research center tests has a thermal conductivity equivalent to 0.17–0.15 W/m.K.

  9. One form of wind ventilation is called “cross ventilation.” This involves wind entering through a vent (or a window or door) and allowing air to flow directly through the building and out through an opening on the other side of the building. Likewise, the position and size of vents, windows and doors, as well as the path between the different sides of the building, make a big difference in efficiency of cross ventilation.

  10. Fman is the indication of PV manufacture fault rate, which comprises hot spots, micro-cracks, snail trail contamination and internal corrosion, and delamination.

  11. Peak sun hours (PSH) are the average daily amount of solar energy received on a surface. PSH is equivalent to the number of the hours that the solar irradiance would be at the peak level of 1 kW/m2. Also, the equivalent number of the hours per day that a PV array will operate at peak rated output levels at rated temperature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architecture, School of Architecture and Urbanism, International University of Qazvin (IKIU), Qazvin, Iran

    Amirhossein Janzadeh

  2. Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, International University of Qazvin (IKIU), Qazvin, Iran

    Mahdi Zandieh

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  1. Amirhossein Janzadeh
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Appendix

Appendix

Table 4 Ordinary materials
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Table 5 Materials with efficient thermal capacity and thermal insulations
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Janzadeh, A., Zandieh, M. Design feasibility of a net-zero energy neighborhood in Qazvin. Energy Efficiency 14, 7 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-020-09909-w

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