High performance building skin. From low-energy to net zero energy buildings.

Last version of the building guidelines published in 2010 the European union calls upon member states to introduce the energy standard NZEB for all new buildings by no later than the end of 2020. Standards that define the goals in relation to the respective national building practice standards do not yet exist. The Swiss MINERGIE-A Certificate, released in March 2010, has become a pioneer and a proposal towards a calculation process in the context of German standardisation has been formulated and accompanied by a relevant calculation tool. NZEB are generally entirely self-supplying by means of renewables. Equipping buildings to produce their own electricity is not only technological demanding, the maintenance of such systems is complex and expensive, which means that connecting the building to an electricity grid offers a significant advantage. Through the interaction of architecture, building construction and energy technology the studies presented utilise diverse possibilities: from the geometry to the U-values of the parts of the building envelope to the performance of combined heat and power units or photovoltaic. Designing and building a NZEB means that from the very start energy demand and energy generation must be consistently kept in balance. This work documents in detail the results achieved through the application of advanced energy technologies in envelope components and the experience gained from the planning and use phases, as well as the individual steps on the way to an equalised energy balance carried out all around the world supplement the overview and broaden knowledge of possible strategies.