scholarly journals Obstacles to Developing Net-Zero Energy (NZE) Homes in Greater Toronto Area

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Ghazal Makvandia ◽  
Md. Safiuddin
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Greater Toronto Area ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero

Efforts have been put in place to minimize the effects of construction activities and occupancy, but the problem of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continues to have detrimental effects on the environment. As an effort to reduce GHG emissions, particularly carbon emissions, countable commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential net-zero energy (NZE) buildings were built around the globe during the past few years, and they are still operating. But there exist many challenges and barriers for the construction of NZE buildings. This study identifies the obstacles to developing NZE buildings, with a focus on single-family homes, in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The study sought to identify the technical, organizational, and social challenges of constructing NZE buildings, realize the importance of the public awareness in making NZE homes, and provide recommendations on how to raise public knowledge. A qualitative approach was employed to collect the primary data through survey and interviews. The secondary data obtained from the literature review were also used to realize the benefits, challenges, and current situation of NZE buildings. Research results indicate that the construction of NZE buildings is faced with a myriad of challenges, including technical issues, the lack of governmental and institutional supports, and the lack of standardized measures. The public awareness of NZE homes has been found to be very low, thus limiting the uptake and adoption of the new technologies used in this type of homes. The present study also recommends that the government and the academic institutions should strive to support the NZE building technology through curriculum changes, technological uptake, and financial incentives to buyers and developers. The implementation of these recommendations may enhance the success and popularity of NZE homes in the GTA.

scholarly journals Sustainable Housing: Understanding the Barriers to Adopting Net Zero Energy Homes in Ontario, Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6236
Author(s):  
Ranjita Singh ◽  
Philip Walsh ◽  
Christina Mazza
Keyword(s):  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Design Quality ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
Home Owner ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero Energy Building ◽  
Net Zero

Buildings in Canada account for a significant amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and net zero energy building technology has been identified as part of the solution. This study presents a conceptual model identifying barriers to the adoption of net zero energy housing and tests it by administering a survey to 271 participants in a net zero energy housing demonstration project in Toronto, Canada. Using multivariate correlation and multi-linear regression analyses this study finds that of all the innovation adoption variables it was the construction and design quality that was the most significant contributor to the adoption of a net zero energy home by a potential home owner. This study found that the (a) extra cost compared to a conventional home, b) lack of knowledge about the technology associated with a net zero energy home or (c) not knowing someone who owned a net zero energy home were not significant barriers to accepting net zero energy homes. Our results suggest that policy-makers should promote the diffusion of net zero energy home technology by encouraging housing developers to include net zero energy homes in their collection of model homes, with an emphasis on quality design and construction. Furthermore, engaging in trust building initiatives such as education and knowledge about the technology, its related energy cost savings, and the environmental benefits would contribute to a greater acceptance of net zero energy homes.

scholarly journals A Vision for Energy Decarbonization: Planning Sustainable Tertiary Sites as Net-Zero Energy Systems

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5577
Author(s):  
Marc Richter ◽  
Pio Lombardi ◽  
Bartlomiej Arendarski ◽  
André Naumann ◽  
Andreas Hoepfner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Power System ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero

The power system is changing towards a decarbonized one. The Kyoto protocol and the Paris climate agreement have prompted many nations to approve energy policies based on volatile renewable energy sources (RESs). However, the integration into the grid of the power generated by RESs as well as the electrification of the heating, gas and transportation sectors is becoming a huge challenge. Planning industrial and tertiary sites as net-zero energy systems (NZESs) might contribute to advance the solutions of fully integrating volatile RESs into the power system. This study aims to point out the importance of planning large energy consumer sites such as NZESs, and to depict a holistic modeling approach for this. The methodology is based on a multi-layer approach, which focuses on on-site power generation by RESs, on the improvement of energy efficiency, and on the increase of system flexibility. A qualitative case study has been conducted. It considers the planning of a Net-Zero Energy Data Center located in Germany. Results point out that new interdisciplinary and in particular social analysis methods are necessary. They might be used for accelerating the decision making process during the planning of RES-based on-site power generation systems. Besides, for computation and cooling systems, new technologies that are continuously emerging in the market should be taken into account. If well designed, they contribute to significantly decrease the whole energy demand of data center. Finally, optimal sizing of energy storage systems (electric and thermal) as well as an expedient choice of performance indicators to evaluate technology options are identified as the key factor for decreasing the external energy demand of tertiary sites, such as data center.

scholarly journals Cost Allocation Model for Net-Zero Energy Buildings under Community-Based Reward Penalty Mechanism

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-307
Author(s):  
Zhijia Huang ◽  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Yuehong Lu ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Demin Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Cost Allocation ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Allocation Model ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Net Zero Energy Buildings ◽  
Zero Energy Buildings

Abstract The introduction of financial incentives for net-zero energy building/community (ZEB/ZEC) is a potential strategy that facilitates the development of sustainable buildings. In this study, a reward-penalty mechanism (RPM) is firstly proposed for a community that aims to achieve the target of annual zero energy balance. In order to investigate the cost allocated for each building in the community, a cost allocation model by considering the load of these buildings and the levels of zero energy building achieved is further proposed, based on which four typical types of the model is selected and investigated. The economic performance of a building under the four types of allocation model is then compared for a community that consists of 20 family houses in Ireland. By considering the possible ZEB level ranges in each building, two Cases are conducted (Case 1 – the range is between 0.0 and 1.0; Case 2 – the range is between 0.5 and 1.0). The results show that the 1st model is the simplest one that allocates cost evenly. By contrast, the cost of a building depends on its load in the 2nd model and depends on the ZEB level it achieved in the 3rd model, while it considers the two factors evenly in the 4th model. The proposed cost allocation model is expected to provide a basic guide for the designers of financial incentives as well as experts in the fields of net-zero energy buildings.

STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF INCENTIVES FORM STATE-OF-THE-ART NET-ZERO ENERGY HOUSES

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Davoud Sahban Rafsanjani ◽  
Deepak Sharma ◽  
Tung Tran ◽  
Phoung Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Interest Rate ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Energy Information Administration ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Market Interest Rate ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Government Incentives ◽  
The Impact

Over the past several years, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported that buildings consume about 40% of the total energy produced. As a consequence, buildings emit high volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2). The ever-increasing population demand implies that buildings will continue their consumption and emit gasses in high proportions if appropriate steps are not taken. Federal and state agencies offer various financial incentives to motivate homeowners to adopt energy efficient alternatives. In this research, major cash inflows and outflows are identified for Net Zero Energy Houses (NZEH) and breakeven analysis is conducted by considering that the houses are constructed in two US states having significantly different climatic conditions. The cash inflows considered in this research are from Federal and State incentive programs and savings generated by adopting NZEH. Sensitivity analysis is also conducted to determine the impact of variation in in government incentives, market interest rate, electricity rates and rate of construction. Results show that when some of the incentives are utilized the breakeven for a NZEH construction could be less than 4 years. Sensitivity analysis shows that the breakeven is most sensitive to changes in government incentives and market interest rate.

Intelligent building development and LabView-based modelling of a net zero-energy strategy

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cs. Szász
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
Balance Performance ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Intelligent Building ◽  
Labview Software ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero Energy Building ◽  
Net Zero

The paper presents an intelligent building (IB) development strategy emphasizing the locally available non-polluting renewable energy resources utilization. Considering the immense complexity of the topic, the implementation strategy of the main energy-flow processes is unfolded, using the net zero-energy building concept (NZEB). Noticeably, in the first research steps the mathematical background of the considered NZEB strategy has been developed and presented. Then careful LabView software-based simulations prove that the adopted strategy is feasible for implementation. The result of the above mentioned research efforts is a set of powerful and versatile software toolkits well suitable to model and simulate complex heating, ventilation and air-conditioning processes and to perform energy balance performance evaluations. Besides the elaborated mathematical models, concrete software implementation examples and measurement data also is provided in the paper. Finally, the proposed original models offer a feasible solution for future developments and research in NZEB applications modelling and simulation purposes.

Proceedings of the ERDC-CERL Net Zero Energy (NZE) Installation and Deployed Bases Workshop Held in Colorado Springs, CO. on 3-4 Feb 2009

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl A. Feickert ◽  
Thomas J. Hartranft ◽  
Franklin H. Holcomb ◽  
John L. Vavrin ◽  
Alexander M. Zhivov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zero Energy ◽  
Colorado Springs ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero
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