Combined Effect of Outdoor Microclimate Boundary Conditions on Air Conditioning System’s Efficiency and Building Energy Demand in Net Zero Energy Settlements

Cristina Piselli, Matteo Di Grazia and Anna Laura Pisello
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Cristina Piselli: Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Matteo Di Grazia: CIRIAF-Interuniversity Research Centre, University of Perugia, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Anna Laura Pisello: Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, 06125 Perugia, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: In Europe, near zero energy buildings (NZEBs) represent the new frontier of energy efficiency in the built environment. Shifting the scale from NZEBs to net zero energy (NZE) settlements represents the opportunity to achieve further energy, environmental, and cost benefits, thanks to shared energy management, optimization of renewable energy systems, and microclimate mitigation. In particular, the last aspect takes advantage of the implementation of local microclimate mitigation strategies at a larger scale to improve settlements outdoor environmental conditions and citizens’ wellbeing. Furthermore, this inter-building scale mitigation involves relatively less severe working boundary conditions for buildings, able to both reduce building energy demand and improve HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system’s efficiency. In this study, this potential extra-energy saving, achievable without additional costs, is explored within the framework of a NZE settlement built in Italy thanks to an ongoing Horizon 2020 project. Improved working conditions for the operating air conditioning system and building energy savings thanks to settlement scale opportunities for microclimate mitigation are assessed. Findings show how this effect represents a further non-negligible energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable benefit achievable through the design and construction of NZE settlements. Potential energy savings are up to 24% when considering the double effect of microclimate mitigation.

Keywords: net zero energy settlement; NZEB; microclimate mitigation; building energy efficiency; HVAC efficiency; dynamic simulation; positive energy district; ZERO-PLUS Horizon 2020 project (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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