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Zero emission buildings (ZEB) are buildings with a minimized energy consumption and renewable energy supply with zero greenhouse gas emissions. There is no common accepted definition of zero emission buildings. This is due to issues in defining the boundary of a balance in terms of building site and time frame of this balance. Further, there is no standard on accounting for emissions (on material, components, system, and building level) nor is there a standard for emissions from other building related environments. In this paper the goals for ZEB are specified and implications for components are discussed.

The main aim of this article is to rephrase good and bad performance of built environments as good or bad interplay of spaces, building technologies, and users. To support this perspective, two conceptual tools broadly used within the social study of technology are introduced. These concepts, the semiotic pair “script/antiprogram” and the study of “domestication of media and technology in everyday life,” were originally developed in the search for a better understanding of the mutual shaping of culture/society and technology. In this contribution, these concepts are applied in an empirical study of two nonresidential buildings. Through an extension of these…

Energy-plus, zero energy and zero emission buildings denote some of the best buildings of today and the future with respect to energy efficiency and environmental impact. A zero emission building might be defined in different ways. Nevertheless, the main concept is that renewable energy sources produced or transformed at the building site have to compensate for CO2 emissions from operation of the building and for production, transport and demolition of all the building materials and components during the life cycle of the building. In order to fulfill this, CO2 emission data has to be made available and verified for traditional…

This paper presents a case study of a single-family house, where the effect of using thermal energy storage integrated in the floor is evaluated regarding GHG-emissions during the life cycle. The house has a lightweight wood frame construction, is well insulated, and fulfils the Norwegian energy regulations from 2010. Different floor configurations have been studied, both regarding energy demand and emissions. Floors with PCM panels have been compared with a reference case without thermal energy storage integrated in the floor, and have also been compared with concrete and wood as replacement for the PCM panels. The effect of changing the…

Powerhouse One i Trondheim
Authors: Publication Year: 2011


Freeze protection in ventilation systems is important to avoid freeze damages and increase in maintenance costs. Freezing in a ventilation system can appear in construction and operation phase. The aim of this study was to test a new method for freeze protection in ventilation system. This method implies use of an additional heat exchanger. The method used two hydronic circuits: the first one with water on energy supply side, and second one with mixture of glycol and water at the secondary side. The mixture transfers heat from the energy source via an additional heat exchanger to the coil in the…

This paper shows how much electricity generation would be needed for a passive house to achieve a zero emission balance over the year, hence to become a Zero Emission Building, ZEB. The case study is based on the passive house apartment blocks built in 2008 in Løvåshagen, near Bergen, Norway, and the analysis focuses on the consequences of adopting different heating systems. With the carbon emission factors assumed, it is shown that the sole PV installation on the roof is generally not sufficient to generate all the electricity needed to achieve the ZEB balance. Possible integrations are the use of…

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