Implementation of net zero energy building (NZEB) prototype with renewable energy integration

Abstract

This paper develops a Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) prototype with renewable energy integration applications. Most of the power generated by the utilities is consumed by the domestic loads and with urbanization; energy demand is continuously increasing in developing countries like India. To meet the ever growing demand, generation has to be increased and thereby transmitted over long distances which results in increased system losses reducing the overall system efficiency and reliability. Generation addition by non-renewable sources would increase the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the additional consumption of fossil fuels. Towards addressing this problem, there is a lot of scope for researchers to increase the overall system efficiency and reliability and also to preserve the fossil fuels for future generations. One solution is by adopting Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) concept which includes integration of renewable energy generation (like solar), intelligent controllers, Internet of Things (IoT) etc., for home energy automation. NZEB concept ensures that the loads of a building are controlled in such a way that the net energy consumed from the utility grid over a period of time (monthly/annually) will be close to zero. The net energy is the difference of the energy imported from grid to the energy exported to grid over a period of time. In this paper the real time NZEB prototype is developed with appropriate assumptions using wireless sensors to achieve home automation with IoT.