Abstract
The paper shows how difficult it is to prove technically that a building really is both low energy and smart, and that all aspects of energy efficiency have been treated equally. Regulations connected to the determination of the energy performance of residential buildings take into account only space and hot water heating energy consumption and define the indices of maximal primary energy consumption, but not energy needs based on the architecture of the building. A single family house designed and constructed as a low energy solar house in Warsaw’s suburbs is considered. Availability of solar energy and its influence on the architecture of the house is analyzed. A specific solar passive architectural concept with solar southern and cold northern buffer spaces incorporated into the interior of the house is presented. Parameters of the building’s structure, construction materials, as well as operation parameters of equipment and heating systems based on active use of solar energy, ground energy (via a heat pump) and waste heat from a ventilation system are described. Results of calculations give values of final and primary energy consumption index levels of 11.58 kWh/m2 and 25.77 kWh/m2, respectively. However, the official methodology for determination of energy performance does not allow for presenting how energy efficient and smart the building really is.
Highlights
This paper deals with the analysis of the energy performance of a solar low-energy house, which can be considered a smart house
Primary energy consumption is less than the heating energy needs
In standard buildings with standard thermal energy systems supplied by fossil fuels the primary energy consumption is always the highest, the final energy and the lowest being the energy heating needs
Summary
This paper deals with the analysis of the energy performance of a solar low-energy house, which can be considered a smart house. In Poland, according to existing regulations [10] since 2021 the indices of primary energy consumption for space heating and domestic hot water of all newly constructed residential buildings, called nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB), cannot exceed 70 kWh/m2 a or 65 kWh/m2 a for single family houses or multi-family apartment buildings, respectively. Existing regulations on energy performance of buildings define the indices of maximal primary energy consumption considering only technical issues They put the focus on energy efficiency, which results in reduction of final energy consumption and gives support for renewable energy sources, which utilize much less primary energy. When a building is designed and constructed without a real vision of maintaining low energy consumption throughout the whole year, it will not be possible to reduce the final and primary energy consumption to the set limits relying only on the energy efficiency of devices and installations applied. Both the officially calculated and real energy performances of the building are discussed and general conclusions are formulated
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