Robustness study of a flexible zero-energy house

The U.S. Department of Energy launched the 5th Solar-Decathlon-competition, defying student teams from all over the world to conceive a house powered exclusively by the sun. Team Belgium, of Ghent University, conceived the E-Cube, a modular and flexible house, that could be adapted depending on the inhabitants, the building site and the climate. This paper focuses on that last aspect: the robustness and flexibility of the energy concept and the design, depending on the climate it is built in. Different climates are selected for the analyses, reaching from climates with extreme winters (Canada:... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Delghust, Marc
Laverge, Jelle
Janssens, Arnold
De Paepe, Michel
Van Dessel, Steven
Dokumenttyp: conference
Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
Verlag/Hrsg.: Passiefhuis-Platform
Schlagwörter: Technology and Engineering / passive house / zero-energy house / EPBD / PHPP / Trnsys / energy performance / Solar Decathlon / E-Cube / Team-Belgium
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29361249
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/1923572

The U.S. Department of Energy launched the 5th Solar-Decathlon-competition, defying student teams from all over the world to conceive a house powered exclusively by the sun. Team Belgium, of Ghent University, conceived the E-Cube, a modular and flexible house, that could be adapted depending on the inhabitants, the building site and the climate. This paper focuses on that last aspect: the robustness and flexibility of the energy concept and the design, depending on the climate it is built in. Different climates are selected for the analyses, reaching from climates with extreme winters (Canada: Saskatoon) to arid climates (US: Las Vegas), through milder climates (Belgium: Ukkel and US: Washington D.C.). To cover both locally (Belgian) and internationally used energy-assessment procedures both the Flemish EPB-software as well as the PHPP-software are used. Furthermore, dynamic simulations in Trnsys are carried out to obtain more detailed and accurate feedback on the buildings’ dynamic thermal response. Through simulations with these three calculation methods, energy robustness is tested and alternative solutions for the building envelope are proposed, adapting the building to its boundary conditions. This paper presents the results from this study, analyzing the differences due to the climate, the calculation method and the design options.