2. INTRODUCTION
Net zero energy refers to a building's ability to meet its
energy needs without relying on the local power grid. It
rather relies on renewable resources of energy preferably
produced and harbored in situ or near site. They produce
at least as much energy as they require, and offer the
excess to the local grid. Net zero energy projects aim to
be environmentally friendly and have a carbon neutral and
energy efficient life cycle.
Zero energy buildings offer a variety of benefits, including:
• Reduced energy costs
• Increased comfort for occupants
• Positive environmental impact
• Reliable and affordable operations
• Improved energy security
Lower
Emissions
Renewable
Sources
User
Comfort
Net-Zero
Energy
3.
4. DEFINING “ZERO”
Historically, a Zero Energy Building (ZEB) has been
interpreted as an off-grid building with an autonomous
energy supply. Renewable energy and distributed
generation systems were considered to supply and
operate these buildings. In some cases, and in order to
overcome the seasonal mismatch between demand and
supply, these renewable energy systems were oversized.
This raised concerns with regards to the loss of generated
energy, environmental impacts of the storage systems
and other sustainability issues. To address these matters,
the concept of ZEB was reviewed to consider:
● Reducing the energy demand;
● Installing energy efficient equipment;
● Relying on the public grid as a sink and/or source of
energy.
5.
6.
7. SUZLON ONE EARTH GLOBAL CORP. HEADQUARTERS
The Suzlon One Earth Global Corporate Headquarters
(SOEGCH) is an institutional building located in Pune,
India. The campus covers an area of 10 acres or 42,000
sqm. Approximately. Its green features include:
● Green certifications: The institute is a LEED
platinum and also a TERI GRIHA 5-star certified
building. The campus itself is divided into 5
interconnected individual buildings (figure 1.1).
The 5 buildings are named after the elements:
○ Aqua
○ Sun
○ Sky
○ Tree
○ Sea
8. SUZLON ONE EARTH GLOBAL CORP. HEADQUARTERS
The Suzlon One Earth Global Corporate Headquarters
(SOEGCH) is an institutional building located in Pune,
India. The campus covers an area of 10 acres or 42,000
sqm. Approximately. Its green features include:
● Green certifications: The institute is a LEED
platinum and also a TERI GRIHA 5-star certified
building. The campus itself is divided into 5
interconnected individual buildings.
The 5 buildings are named after the elements:
○ Aqua
○ Sun
○ Sky
○ Tree
○ Sea
(Figure 1.1 Suzlon One Earth Global Corporation Headquarters plan view)
10
10. Solar Panels
9. SUZLON ONE EARTH GLOBAL CORP. HEADQUARTERS
● Sustainable materials: To reduce impacts resulting
from the extraction and processing of new virgin
materials, the architect, Christopher Benninger used
non-toxic materials that had been recycled. Bamboo
flooring, jute carpets etc. were also incorporated in the
project.
● Renewable energy: The campus covers an area of 10
acres or 42,000 sqm. Approximately. The building is
completely powered by renewable energy, using
photovoltaic cells (figure 2.1), solar panels (figure 2.2),
and off-site hybrid wind turbines (figure 2.3).
● Energy efficient: The project’s total connected load is
4 but only 2.3 mva is required during the full processes
of the campus. Devices such as LED lighting is
regulated by IBMS and are powered by renewable
energy.
(Figure 2.1 Solar Panels)
(Figure 2.3 Wind Turbines)
(Figure 2.2 Photovoltaic Cells)
10. SUZLON ONE EARTH GLOBAL CORP. HEADQUARTERS
● Innovative lighting: All structures designed to harvest
the maximum daylight via glass and louvers (figure 3.1)
with almost 90% of the users not needing artificial light in
daytime. The total load of exterior lighting is only 50 kW
for the whole campus. External light design is done so that
lowest light pollution at night ( figure 3.2).
● HVAC system:
○ The water being used in the air conditioning system
is entirely developed through the sewage treatment
plant. It is due of these design features the A/C
load has been decreased by 40%. Evaporative
cooling also employed (figure 4.1).
○ A water-cooled VRV method is the most
energy-efficient system compared to a
conventional system with power consumption as
low as 0.5 kW/TR [Kilowatt per ton (refrigeration)].
(Figure 3.1 Glass and Louvres)
(Figure 4.1 Outdoor water bodies
For evaporative cooling effect)
(Figure 3.2 External light design)
11. UNIVERSITY OF DUBAI named first net-zero energy building in the region
The university of dubai is an institutional building
located in Academic city, dubai, UAE. The campus
covers an area of 273,387 sqm. Approximately. The
project has been divided into two phases to
accommodate 4,000 students in each phase - Total
8000+ Students Capacity.
● Dubai is the first LEED certified net-zero energy
building in the region, following the
implementation of a $1.47m (AED5.4m) solar
power project at its campus.
12. ● The University of Dubai solar project is expected to
result in savings worth $326,726 (AED1.2m) within the
first year of operation.
● As part of the project, a Ground Mount Solar system
was installed on-site utilising the latest technologies.
The system is connected directly to the national grid,
eliminating the need to use batteries for energy
storage.
● Developed by the US Green Building Council
(USGBC), Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) is a reputed green building
certification programme used worldwide. LEED
provides a framework for healthy, efficient, carbon
and cost-saving green buildings.
Benefits of the project.
COST CAPACITY INTERNAL RATE
5.4M AED 1.7 MWH 23 %
Offsetting 100 per cent of the electricity at the campus, the project abates 2,040 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission per
year. It also uses a robotic dry-cleaning system for the solar panels that saves 34000 litres of water per month.
13. The Ground Mount system
● However, the roofs of the UD’s campus buildings
were not large enough to accommodate an
adequate number of solar panels to cater for all
the energy requirements.
● Dubai Chamber then decided to install the
Ground Mount Solar system at the boundary
perimeter.
● If we look at the statistics, we can realise that the
UD’s has taken a giant leap towards sustaining
the environment, decreasing the carbon footprint
to zero and has set an example for others. The
numbers and facts for the net-zero energy
campus initiative show financial sustainability in
addition to environmental sustainability.
https://www.constructionweekonline.com/business/260738-university-of-dubai-named-first-net-zero-energy-building-in-the-region
