Forskning på nullutslippsbygg har fått gode resultater i Forskningsrådets evaluering, og ZEB får fortsette driften og forskningen i samme spor.

Net zero energy buildings (nZEBs) are understood as grid-connected buildings which do not require net inputs of non-renewable energy over a defined period of their life cycle. Energy requirements of nZEBs have until now been assessed based on the impact buildings have on the existing energy system. This paper introduces a new approach to nZEB energy balance that takes into account the actual amount of energy nZEBs require. Energy balance methods previously proposed for nZEBs are illustrated in a new way and expressed in a series of equations based on a common terminology. Taking a different standpoint on the very…

The building enclosure plays a relevant role in the management of the energy flows in buildings and in the exploitation of solar energy at a building scale. An optimized configuration of the façade can contribute to reduce the total energy demand of the building. Traditionally, the search for the optimal façade configuration is obtained by analyzing the heating demand and/or the cooling demand only, while the implication of the façade configuration on artificial lighting energy demand is often not addressed. A comprehensive approach (i.e. including heating, cooling and artificial lighting energy demand) is instead necessary to reduce the total energy…

The Research Centre on Zero Emission Buildings - Annual Report 2012

Zeb, forskningssenteret for nullutslippsbygg ved NTNU er sikret ny  treårskontrakt med Forskningsrådet. Det er klart etter at senteret kommer  svært godt ut av en fersk midtveisevaluering.   Artikkelen er skrevet av Sølvi Waterloo Normannsen

Carbon Debt and Carbon Payback time have recently been introduced into the Norwegian debate on greenhouse gas emissions, challenging the established view that Biofuels are carbon neutral. This report demonstrates that these new concepts are primarily a reflection of how the temporal system boundaries for CO2 emissions from biofuels are viewed. In a short term perspective it is possible that CO2 emissions from biofuels may have a non-zero short term climate effect, even though biofuels will be carbon neutral on the order of a century. Two alternative, more useful new concepts for analysis of climate effects of biofuels are described…

In the pursuit of stricter energy standards for buildings to reduce their share of energy use, the use of highly efficient insulation materials like aerogel and vacuum insulation has opened a path towards lighter construction in energy retrofitting, whereas commercially available materials, such as EPS and mineral wool, result in massive wall solutions. However, these new materials are notoriously energy intensive in production, resulting in high levels of embodied energy and emissions. This work describes a comprehensive greenhouse gas analysis of the use of different insulation materials applied to residential building upgrades to passive house standard. It estimates the potential…

Stricter energy regulations for energy use in buildings require new construction to be equipped with increasingly thicker insulation layers and minimal surfaces for glazing in cold climates. In recent years a new type of window has been proposed as a way to overcome the notoriously low thermal performance of transparent surfaces. In order to reach such performances, this glazing type has been equipped with monolithic aerogel as the glass-pane filling. The scope of this study is a comprehensive analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from the partial substitution of typical triple-glazing-with-argon units with double-glazing-with-monolithic-aerogel units in residential building upgrades. A social…