Comprehensive Carbon Emission and Economic Analysis on Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings in Different Regions of China

Yiting Kang, Jianlin Wu, Shilei Lu (), Yashuai Yang, Zhen Yu, Haizhu Zhou, Shangqun Xie, Zheng Fu, Minchao Fan and Xiaolong Xu
Additional contact information
Yiting Kang: School of Environment Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Jianlin Wu: China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013, China
Shilei Lu: School of Environment Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Yashuai Yang: China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013, China
Zhen Yu: China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013, China
Haizhu Zhou: China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013, China
Shangqun Xie: China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013, China
Zheng Fu: School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
Minchao Fan: School of Environment Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Xiaolong Xu: China Association of Building Energy Efficiency, Beijing 100029, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-23

Abstract: Considering the comprehensive effect of building carbon emissions, cost savings is of great significance in nearly-zero-energy buildings (NZEBs). Previous research mostly focused on studying the impact of technical measures in pilot projects. The characteristics of different cities or climate zones have only been considered in a few studies, and the selection of cities is often limited. At times, only one city is considered in each climate zone. Therefore, this study selected 15 cities to better cover climate zone characteristics according to the variation in weather and solar radiation conditions. A pilot NZEB project was chosen as the research subject, in which the energy consumption was monitored and compared across different categories using simulated values by EnergyPlus software. Various NZEB technologies were considered, such as the high-performance building envelope, the fresh air heat recovery unit (FAHRU), demand-controlled ventilation (DCV), a high-efficiency HVAC and lighting system, daylighting, and photovoltaic (PV). The simulated carbon emission intensities in severe cold, cold, and hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) climate zones were 21.97 kgCO 2 /m 2 , 19.60 kgCO 2 /m 2 , and 15.40 kgCO 2 /m 2 , respectively. The combined use of various NZEB technologies resulted in incremental costs of 998.86 CNY/m 2 , 870.61 CNY/m 2 , and 656.58 CNY/m 2 . The results indicated that the HSCW region had the best carbon emission reduction potential and cost-effectiveness when adopting NZEB strategies. Although the incremental cost of passive strategies produced by the envelope system is higher than active strategies produced by the HVAC system and lighting system, the effect of reducing the building’s heating load is a primary and urgent concern. The findings may provide a reference for similar buildings in different climate zones worldwide.

Keywords: sensitivity analysis; incremental cost; energy simulation; climate regions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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