IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i9p3775-d1135529.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards Sustainable Cities: A Review of Zero Energy Buildings Techniques and Global Activities in Residential Buildings

Author

Listed:
  • Gamal Ali Mohammed

    (College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
    Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Thamar University, Thamar City 87246, Yemen)

  • Mahmoud Mabrouk

    (Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Urban &Regional Planning, Cairo University, Cairo 11562, Egypt)

  • Guoqing He

    (College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China)

  • Karim I. Abdrabo

    (Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Urban &Regional Planning, Cairo University, Cairo 11562, Egypt)

Abstract

Under rapid urbanization-induced global warming and resource depletion, growing interest in zero-energy building (ZEB) and zero-emission building (ZEB) technologies have emerged globally to improve energy performance in homes and shape sustainable cities. Although several countries have released ZEB-enhanced strategies and set national standards and policies to promote ZEBs, construction projects are still limited to demonstration projects. This paper reviews global ZEB activities and state-of-the-art technologies for energy-efficient residential building technologies [based on an evaluation of 40 residential buildings]. Over 40 residential buildings on different continents were reviewed, and their technical details and performance were evaluated. Our results show that 62.5% of the buildings achieved the +ZEB standard, 25% of the buildings were net-zero energy buildings, and only 12.5% of the buildings were near-zero energy buildings. Solar PV is the most widely used renewable energy source in the studied cases, while in warmer climates, advanced cooling technologies and heat pumps are the preferred technologies. A building envelope and thermal ventilation with heat recovery are essential in cold climates. Our systematic analysis reveals that the thermal performance of the building envelope and solar energy are the most effective mechanisms for achieving energy efficiency and shaping sustainable cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Gamal Ali Mohammed & Mahmoud Mabrouk & Guoqing He & Karim I. Abdrabo, 2023. "Towards Sustainable Cities: A Review of Zero Energy Buildings Techniques and Global Activities in Residential Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-26, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:9:p:3775-:d:1135529
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/9/3775/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/9/3775/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lamia Kamal-Chaoui & Alexis Robert, 2009. "Competitive Cities and Climate Change," OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2009/2, OECD Publishing.
    2. Röck, Martin & Saade, Marcella Ruschi Mendes & Balouktsi, Maria & Rasmussen, Freja Nygaard & Birgisdottir, Harpa & Frischknecht, Rolf & Habert, Guillaume & Lützkendorf, Thomas & Passer, Alexander, 2020. "Embodied GHG emissions of buildings – The hidden challenge for effective climate change mitigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    3. Imessad, K. & Derradji, L. & Messaoudene, N.Ait & Mokhtari, F. & Chenak, A. & Kharchi, R., 2014. "Impact of passive cooling techniques on energy demand for residential buildings in a Mediterranean climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 589-597.
    4. Haleh Moghaddasi & Charles Culp & Jorge Vanegas & Mehrdad Ehsani, 2021. "Net Zero Energy Buildings: Variations, Clarifications, and Requirements in Response to the Paris Agreement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, June.
    5. Panagiotidou, Maria & Fuller, Robert J., 2013. "Progress in ZEBs—A review of definitions, policies and construction activity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 196-206.
    6. Mohamed, Ayman & Hasan, Ala & Sirén, Kai, 2014. "Fulfillment of net-zero energy building (NZEB) with four metrics in a single family house with different heating alternatives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 385-399.
    7. Kneifel, Joshua & Webb, David, 2016. "Predicting energy performance of a net-zero energy building: A statistical approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 468-483.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carmen Mârza & Raluca Moldovan & Georgiana Corsiuc & Gelu Chisăliță, 2023. "Improving the Energy Performance of a Household Using Solar Energy: A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-32, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mottaghizadeh, Pegah & Jabbari, Faryar & Brouwer, Jack, 2022. "Integrated solid oxide fuel cell, solar PV, and battery storage system to achieve zero net energy residential nanogrid in California," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    2. Zhang, Sheng & Sun, Yongjun & Cheng, Yong & Huang, Pei & Oladokun, Majeed Olaide & Lin, Zhang, 2018. "Response-surface-model-based system sizing for Nearly/Net zero energy buildings under uncertainty," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1020-1031.
    3. Colclough, Shane & McGrath, Teresa, 2015. "Net energy analysis of a solar combi system with Seasonal Thermal Energy Store," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 611-616.
    4. Agnieszka Napiorkowska-Baryla & Miroslawa Witkowska-Dabrowska & Natalia Swidynska, 2022. "Financing of Activities Increasing the Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 690-712.
    5. Ascione, Fabrizio & De Masi, Rosa Francesca & de Rossi, Filippo & Ruggiero, Silvia & Vanoli, Giuseppe Peter, 2016. "Optimization of building envelope design for nZEBs in Mediterranean climate: Performance analysis of residential case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 938-957.
    6. Jesica Fernández-Agüera & Samuel Dominguez-Amarillo & Marco Fornaciari & Fabio Orlandi, 2019. "TVOCs and PM 2.5 in Naturally Ventilated Homes: Three Case Studies in a Mild Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-22, November.
    7. QIN, Bo & WU, Jianfeng, 2015. "Does urban concentration mitigate CO2 emissions? Evidence from China 1998–2008," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 220-231.
    8. Haleh Moghaddasi & Charles Culp & Jorge Vanegas & Saptarshi Das & Mehrdad Ehsani, 2022. "An Adaptable Net Zero Model: Energy Analysis of a Monitored Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-24, May.
    9. Paul Plachinda & Julia Morgan & Maria Coelho, 2022. "Towards Net Zero: Modeling Approach to the Right-Sized Facilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    10. Ali-Toudert, Fazia & Weidhaus, Juliane, 2017. "Numerical assessment and optimization of a low-energy residential building for Mediterranean and Saharan climates using a pilot project in Algeria," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 327-346.
    11. Rakel Kristjansdottir & Henner Busch, 2019. "Towards a Neutral North—The Urban Low Carbon Transitions of Akureyri, Iceland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-16, April.
    12. Zhang, Shicong & Jiang, Yiqiang & Xu, Wei & Li, Huai & Yu, Zhen, 2016. "Operating performance in cooling mode of a ground source heat pump of a nearly-zero energy building in the cold region of China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(P3), pages 1045-1052.
    13. Jacek Michalak & Bartosz Michałowski, 2022. "Understanding Sustainability of Construction Products: Answers from Investors, Contractors, and Sellers of Building Materials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-14, March.
    14. Luthander, Rasmus & Nilsson, Annica M. & Widén, Joakim & Åberg, Magnus, 2019. "Graphical analysis of photovoltaic generation and load matching in buildings: A novel way of studying self-consumption and self-sufficiency," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 748-759.
    15. Maria Cristina Collivignarelli & Giacomo Cillari & Paola Ricciardi & Marco Carnevale Miino & Vincenzo Torretta & Elena Cristina Rada & Alessandro Abbà, 2020. "The Production of Sustainable Concrete with the Use of Alternative Aggregates: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-34, September.
    16. Fahlstedt, Oskar & Temeljotov-Salaj, Alenka & Lohne, Jardar & Bohne, Rolf André, 2022. "Holistic assessment of carbon abatement strategies in building refurbishment literature — A scoping review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    17. Villa-Arrieta, Manuel & Sumper, Andreas, 2019. "Economic evaluation of Nearly Zero Energy Cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 404-416.
    18. Chen, Xi & Yang, Hongxing & Wang, Yuanhao, 2017. "Parametric study of passive design strategies for high-rise residential buildings in hot and humid climates: miscellaneous impact factors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 442-460.
    19. Jennifer S. Bansard & Philipp H. Pattberg & Oscar Widerberg, 2017. "Cities to the rescue? Assessing the performance of transnational municipal networks in global climate governance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 229-246, April.
    20. Can Wang & Jie Lin & Wenjia Cai & ZhongXiang Zhang, 2013. "Policies and Practices of Low Carbon City Development in China," Energy & Environment, , vol. 24(7-8), pages 1347-1372, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:9:p:3775-:d:1135529. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.