Energy-Saving Design Strategies of Zero-Energy Solar Buildings—A Case Study of the Third Solar Decathlon China

Abstract

Solar Decathlon is a multi-disciplinary international competition that integrates energy-saving design strategies to design, build and operate zero-energy solar houses. This study focused on the 15 entries in the third Solar Decathlon China. It summarized their energy-saving design strategies into strategies of architectural design, equipment management, energy acquisition and intelligent regulation, and extracted a total of 22 key design elements. Based on the scoring results of the competition, this study analyzed the application of different design strategies with qualitative analysis; through quantitative analysis, 22 design elements were associated with the score, and the impact of different strategies on the score was comprehensively analyzed. As revealed in the data, design concept, functional structure and application type of renewable energy are significantly correlated with and have a great impact on the score; in contrast, building area and thermal buffer space are not significantly correlated with the score. On the basis of data analysis, this study provides a quantitative decision basis for the energy-saving design strategy of zero-energy buildings, and establishes an empirical model for the design of zero-energy solar buildings in Zhangbei County, Zhangjiakou City. This paper is helpful for the design practice and application of subsequent studies on ZEBs.