[EnergyPlus_Support] Re: US: costs and features of Zero Energy Commercial Buildings

["Jean marais" <jeannieboef@xxxxxxxxx>]

For me the most notable ommition was that (especially that most of these projects use natural ventilation stradegies) was the modelled or measured room air temperatures (not to put too fine a point on the indoor environment quality). That is why appendix G forces the modelling of mechanical systems...they assume that if the IEQ is bad, people will retrofit mechanical systems.

ZEB also don't take embodied carbon into account. I have been involved in the mechanical design of PV panels...and I can tell you that the ceramic holders which house the silicon wafers as they pass through the curing ovens are designed to take 800 deg C. I've worked in a auto-glass factory...glass is made at 700 deg C.

That is where the german DGNB (although very hard to do) tops LEED as a certification impact outcome. They also take into account person per square meter usage density and life cycle costing.

On a side note: I remember reading an ASHRAE journal article which basically concluded that ZEB by means of pure-PV for the onsite generation has a theoretical limit of 2 stories high with the current state of the technology.

On another side note: I wish Architects would think more about the people that use the building...the sales angle often get's in the way, i.e. the facade looks great, but has many disadvantages for the users, energy users, maintanence, bird life, etc.

What I am happy about is that someone is doing these studies AND that people are interested in challanging this topic with real projects, and that it is a big step in the right direction.





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