Minimum Energy Price to Make Net Zero Energy Buildings Cost-Effective - A Study in Various Geographical Climates of Iran

The energy price has a vital role in encouraging people to make their buildings net zero energy buildings (NZEB). The minimum energy price to make NZEB cost-effective depends on the efficiency of renewable energy generators (REGs) of the building, and the building’s energy consumption, which are functions of geographical climate (GC). In this paper, a 10-unit apartment, each containing several appliances, is selected as a sample building. Regarding the usage time of appliances, the load curves of apartments and buildings are derived for all load seasons in four GC zones of Iran. A computer program has been developed and the minimum amount of REGs for sample building to be NZEB in four GC zones is determined. afterward, the annual energy cost of the building and the minimum energy price of the grid to make the NZEB cost-effective are calculated.