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Progress in ZEBs—A review of definitions, policies and construction activity

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  • Panagiotidou, Maria
  • Fuller, Robert J.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review three interlinked aspects of Zero Energy (or Emissions) Buildings (ZEB): definitions, government policies and construction activity. It is critical to understand the current status of these three aspects in order to advance the ZEB concept. In broad terms, a ZEB can be described as a residential or commercial building with greatly reduced energy needs and/or carbon emissions, achieved through efficiency gains, such that the balance of energy needs can be supplied by renewable energy. The paper explores how leading countries have defined and are implementing the concept of ZEBs. Although the term ZEB can be used for both commercial and residential buildings, the paper is limited to the latter since this sector produces the greatest amount of emissions. Case studies are used to illustrate the current level of understanding in various countries. The paper concludes that although the term ZEB has been used for some time, there is still no globally-agreed definition or pathway to it. In addition, construction progress is still limited to demonstration projects located in or driven by countries which have already established ZEB policies or a tradition in low energy buildings.

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  • Panagiotidou, Maria & Fuller, Robert J., 2013. "Progress in ZEBs—A review of definitions, policies and construction activity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 196-206.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:62:y:2013:i:c:p:196-206
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.06.099
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McLeod, Robert S. & Hopfe, Christina J. & Rezgui, Yacine, 2012. "An investigation into recent proposals for a revised definition of zero carbon homes in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 25-35.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Liu, Zhijian & Zhou, Qingxu & Tian, Zhiyong & He, Bao-jie & Jin, Guangya, 2019. "A comprehensive analysis on definitions, development, and policies of nearly zero energy buildings in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Pan, Wei & Pan, Mi, 2019. "Opportunities and risks of implementing zero-carbon building policy for cities: Hong Kong case," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    4. Natanian, Jonathan & Aleksandrowicz, Or & Auer, Thomas, 2019. "A parametric approach to optimizing urban form, energy balance and environmental quality: The case of Mediterranean districts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    5. Gamal Ali Mohammed & Mahmoud Mabrouk & Guoqing He & Karim I. Abdrabo, 2023. "Towards Sustainable Cities: A Review of Zero Energy Buildings Techniques and Global Activities in Residential Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-26, April.
    6. Shaterabadi, Mohammad & Jirdehi, Mehdi Ahmadi & Amiri, Nima & Omidi, Sina, 2020. "Enhancement the economical and environmental aspects of plus-zero energy buildings integrated with INVELOX turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 1355-1367.
    7. Verhaeghe, C. & Verbeke, S. & Audenaert, A., 2021. "A consistent taxonomic framework: towards common understanding of high energy performance building definitions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    8. McKenna, Russell & Herbes, Carsten & Fichtner, Wolf, 2015. "Energieautarkie: Definitionen, Für- bzw. Gegenargumente, und entstehende Forschungsbedarfe," Working Paper Series in Production and Energy 6, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Industrial Production (IIP).
    9. Luthander, Rasmus & Nilsson, Annica M. & Widén, Joakim & Åberg, Magnus, 2019. "Graphical analysis of photovoltaic generation and load matching in buildings: A novel way of studying self-consumption and self-sufficiency," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 748-759.
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    11. Elisa Pennacchia & Mariagrazia Tiberi & Elisa Carbonara & Davide Astiaso Garcia & Fabrizio Cumo, 2016. "Reuse and Upcycling of Municipal Waste for ZEB Envelope Design in European Urban Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-11, June.
    12. Sesil Koutra, 2022. "From ‘Zero’ to ‘Positive’ Energy Concepts and from Buildings to Districts—A Portfolio of 51 European Success Stories," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-23, November.
    13. Zhang, Shicong & Jiang, Yiqiang & Xu, Wei & Li, Huai & Yu, Zhen, 2016. "Operating performance in cooling mode of a ground source heat pump of a nearly-zero energy building in the cold region of China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(P3), pages 1045-1052.
    14. Walker, Linus & Hischier, Illias & Schlueter, Arno, 2022. "Scenario-based robustness assessment of building system life cycle performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    15. Zhang, Shicong & Wang, Ke & Xu, Wei & Iyer-Raniga, Usha & Athienitis, Andreas & Ge, Hua & Cho, Dong woo & Feng, Wei & Okumiya, Masaya & Yoon, Gyuyoung & Mazria, Edward & Lyu, Yanjie, 2021. "Policy recommendations for the zero energy building promotion towards carbon neutral in Asia-Pacific Region," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    16. Mottaghizadeh, Pegah & Jabbari, Faryar & Brouwer, Jack, 2022. "Integrated solid oxide fuel cell, solar PV, and battery storage system to achieve zero net energy residential nanogrid in California," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    17. Cristina Baglivo, 2021. "Dynamic Evaluation of the Effects of Climate Change on the Energy Renovation of a School in a Mediterranean Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    18. Yang, Xinyan & Zhang, Shicong & Xu, Wei, 2019. "Impact of zero energy buildings on medium-to-long term building energy consumption in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 574-586.

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