Integration of Sustainability in Net-zero House: Experiences in Solar Decathlon China

AbstractThe integration design between architecture, technology and engineering is an important issue of sustainable building. Facing the problems such as high city density, high performance limitation, construction methods and financial problems, the integration of sustainability issues into a regular residential building is a challenge, especially in China. This article's objective is to set up a framework integrating sustainable strategies to the design and the construction of a net-zero house based on the particular living situation in China. O-house is one of the entries of the solar decathlon competition in 2013, which was designed as a net-zero house for China residential market. By analyzing existing problems and potential opportunities during the market oriented survey, a possible solution by combining an appropriate building mode, solar power technologies and energy saving methods which may suit Chinese residential market is presented in this paper. The case shows specific strategies and steps of integration design, including building composition mode, architecture and material, combination of building and renewable energy technologies, integration of building and its equipment systems and integrated indoor furniture design etc. This experimental design and construction process presents us with a net-zero energy consumption and reasonable construction consumption (e.g. costs, labour, and time). In conclusion, this paper illustrates the scope of usage for integrate sustainable residential building design, and also points out its advantages and limitations that may come out in future