“Net Zero Energy” Buildings (ZEB’s)

Or “zero energy buildings” for short, this is an increasingly popular moniker for buildings designed to produce an annual surplus of electrical power, typically through the deployment of on-site solar and/or wind energy systems. The amount of investment in these “alternative” technologies is inversely proportional to the degree to which passive energy flows and otherwise low-energy strategies are integrated, so achieving “net positive” performance is a direct result of prerequisite attendance to a wide range of design variables such as building orientation (relative to the daily and seasonal position of the sun), window and door type and placement, overhang depth, insulation type and values of the building elements, air tightness, the efficiency of heating, cooling, lighting and other equipment, as well as local climatic variations. Heating and cooling loads must be significantly lowered by using high-efficiency equipment, increased insulation, high-performance windows in conjunction with passive solar harvest. Water heating loads are covered by high-efficiency water heating equipment and lighting energy use is mitigated by integrated day-lighting, fluorescent and LED lighting. In the end, the ZEB agenda is but one of a number of facets comprising truly sustainable design!