Research Brief: Can Passive House and Zero-energy Building Standards Promise a Low-carbon Future?
Name
0601_Building_LCA_Brief.pdf
Size
1.1 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
b945815a5432e07a07ef40a8b31c4aca
Author(s)
Burek, Jasmina
Date Issued
May 2020
Series/Report no.
MIT CSHub Research Brief; Volume 2020, Issue 3
Abstract
Passive house (PH) and zero-energy building (ZEB) standards aim to reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprints of buildings. The PH concept implies a low energy consumption achieved through passive technology such as insulation and energy-efficient HVAC systems. A ZEB is an energy-efficient building that generates enough renewable energy to offset or even exceed the energy it consumes from the grid. Previous research has shown higher embodied energy and costs for PH and ZEB compared to conventional buildings. To date, very few projects have shown that a PH could be done within a budget comparable to similar standard homes, which calls into question the economic viability of PH. However, most analyses were done using comparisons of individual designs for specific scenarios, making it difficult to draw broad conclusions. We conducted an analysis comparing a wide range of conventional, PH, and ZEB designs in order to have a better understanding of the economic and environmental trade-offs of these strategies.
Subjects
Passive House
Building Energy Consumption
Net-zero Buildings
Persistent DSpace Link
