Colclough, Shane

English

All new dwellings in the European Union are to abideby the near Zero Energy Building (nZEB) Standard from2020. Accordance to this standard will result in a muchimproved next generation of residential buildings, overbuildings built even ten years ago. This study, however,investigates if considering the urgent matter of climatechange, buildings built to this standard are even efficientenough. Or more pertinently it asks even if we buildthese new buildings to these high standards, are webuilding too many buildings? Is there enough of our‘carbon budget’ remaining, or might the constructionand operation of a new cohort of buildings push usbeyond boundary limits? This paper evaluates nZEB inthe context of the above narrative. It places nZEB as theoptimum build solution for that which will be built andthen questions if the nZEB standard is stringent enough.Does it stipulate a performance that is near enough tozero? And can it capture the full range of performance inand across nZEB homes. Are broader or stricterregulations required to ensure these buildings are nearlyzero in operation. Or as previously questioned, isbuilding a folly when considered in light of the greaterclimate crisis context?The paper outlines a thought experiment based onconstruction projections until 2060. Phenomena ofbuilding usage are identified using some real data fromcase study buildings of the nZEB101 project

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Are nZEBs nearly near zero enough?:Considerations of nZEB housing and standards as a solution to building associated climate change

https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/files/89458740/EXT_4_8_Are_NZEBs_Nearly_Near_Zero_Enough_Kinnane_1830_b.pdf

Are nZEBs nearly near zero enough?:Considerations of nZEB housing and standards as a solution to building associated climate change

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