Design and Analysis of Net-Zero Energy Buildings with Hybrid Energy Sources

Designing and analyzing a net-zero energy building (NZEB) integrated with multiple energy sources to reduce annual energy costs and promote renewable energy utilization is a complicated work process. This paper proposes a new design methodology for NZEB that utilizes the energy sources from electricity grids, photovoltaic (PV), and battery energy storage systems. The design algorithm is divided into five steps: building data collection, energy management, optimum PV and battery sizing, energy analysis, and financial evaluation. NZEB energy analysis is performed using the building's data and the design energy sources to determine the net annual energy value conducted with PVsyst software. The proposed approach is applied to renovate a four-floor university building with an area of 2,248 m², which is used as a case study. The comparative studies and simulation results show that the proposed method provides optimal PV and battery sizes to effectively transform the conventional building into NZEB in both on-grid and off-grid connections.