Photovoltaics and Net Zero Energy Buildings: new concepts towards a smart city vision

The wide use of renewables has changed the energy scenario in recent years, and the European Directive 2010/31/EU on Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) is going to be the driver of an even more radical shift. The building is going to be transformed into an energy generation system, and its design should consider not only the traditional design aspects, but the energy aspect, too. In particular, in the present paper two main issues will be addressed: the design of NZEBs with a special focus on PV and the broad concept of \u201csmartness\u201d with a focus on the role of the PV technology. Finally, some new research issues will be proposed as new topics to be investigated towards a smart city vision