Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions of Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zones of China

Abstract

Issues of energy efficiency and sustainability in buildings are gaining increasing attention in the context of the “3060” dual-carbon initiative. In recent years, nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEBs) have emerged as a potentially viable solution to the challenges of the energy crisis in the building sector, and it is important to study the factors influencing their energy consumption and carbon emissions. However, existing research lacks analyses of multifactor interactions, and the problem of high energy consumption has not been sufficiently addressed. Taking a typical residential building in the Yangtze River basin as the study subject, this study, jointly funded by the University of Nottingham and Hubei University of Technology, proposes a hybrid approach that combines building energy simulation and orthogonal experiments to investigate factors pertaining to buildings, people, and the environment to identify key influencing factors and explore the energy consumption and carbon emission characteristics of residential buildings in hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) zones. Our findings reveal the following: (1) The use of renewable energy sources, such as solar photovoltaic power generation and solar hot water, and renewable energy systems such as ground-source heat pumps, in the operation phase of a baseline building can result in a 61.76% energy-saving and a 71% renewable energy utilization rate. (2) To more easily meet the requirements of nZEB standards, it is recommended to keep KE within the range of 0.20–0.30 W/(m2·K), KR within the range of 0.15–0.20 W/(m2·K), and VT within the range of 0.6–0.7 h−1. This study will help to identify the critical factors affecting energy consumption and provide a valuable reference for building energy efficiency in HSCW zones.