A clear and agreed definition of Zero Emission Building (ZEB) is yet to be achieved, both internationally and in Norway. However, it is understood that both the definition and the surrounding energy supply system will affect significantly the way buildings are designed to achieve the ZEB goal. Since the energy system in Europe is expected to change significantly in the coming decades, especially for electricity, it is indispensable to tie the definition of ZEB to possible scenarios on such development of the energy system. A scenario is defined as a combination of options chosen within a framework of different uncertain…

Conceptually a Zero Emission Building (ZEB) is a building with greatly reduced energy demand and able to generate electricity (or other carriers) from renewable sources in order to achieve a carbon neutral balance. However, a rigorous and agreed definition of ZEB is yet to come. A parallel paper in this conference explains how a formal and comprehensive ZEB definition can be based on the evaluation of certain criteria. These criteria are extensively discussed in ongoing projects, both in Norway and internationally. The objective of this paper is to focus on two of these criteria: energy performance and credits used to…