Feasibility Study of Zero Carbon Domestic Building in the UK

This paper evaluates the technical feasibility of an existing domestic building in the UK to achieve zero carbon emission. Local weather condition and the initial building energy performance are analysed to provide the guide for building refurbishment and the available renewable energy sources. Various passive design strategies are adopted for building refurbishment, such as building envelope improvements, shading device and efficient appliances. Solar and wind energies are captured to provide heating and electricity for the building, these include solar collector, PV panel and wind turbine. EnergyPlus simulation software is employed to investigate energy performance of the building with different passive design strategies and renewable energy systems. The research results show that applying passive design components into the building reduces the annual heating energy consumption of 37.37 GJ, while increases the annual cooling energy requirement of 0.99 GJ. The renewable energy systems consist of 4.26 m2 solar collectors and a 2.5 kW wind turbine; they can produce enough heat and electricity to meet the building energy demands. It is possible to achieve the zero carbon domestic building in the UK with the passive design strategies and the renewable energy sources. In addition, the building is not only the zero carbon emission, but makes a contribution to CO2 reduction of 779.1 kg per year with surplus electricity output