Assessment of technical-financial analysis of a zero energy building for Brazilian hot and temperate tropical climate

Abstract

The growing concern about energy consumption and environmental resources has led to research on sustainable approaches in construction. Efficient buildings have been built not only to attract new investments but also to take environmental considerations into account. Zero Energy Buildings; use a variety of passive strategies for energy efficiency and to decrease the use of heating, ventilation and air conditioning. These techniques impact directly on cost benefit and energy performance. The objective of this research is to identify efficient approaches for housing, considering the influence of climate, the energy generation, for two Brazilian cities. The cities climates area classified as Af (tropical climate) and Cfb (hot and temperate). The methodological procedures were divided into three stages: simulation to determine energy consumption in the efficient building; estimation of the balance between electric demand and generation by means of a building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV); assessment of the life cycle cost of the net present value of BIPV. The results show that for the tropical climate the payback is 6.75 years and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 15.06% and for the temperate, payback is 10.25 years and IRR of 8.49%. These outcomes demonstrate that in hot climate payback happens in less time, due to the high incidence of solar radiation in the year.