Design strategies and energy performance of a net-zero energy house based on natural philosophy

Abstract

This paper presents the design strategies and energy performance of a net-zero energy house (NZEH), Nature Between, which was designed and built to participate in the Solar Decathlon China 2018 competition. The specific parts of the design strategies for Nature Between, including architectural concept, materials, passive strategies and active strategies, are introduced and analyzed. This study includes a discussion of the building’s energy performance based on the measured data gathered in Dezhou, where the competition was held. And also the annual energy simulation using Energyplus software based on the climate of Xiamen, where the prototype was located in. The results show that the design strategies are reasonably applied in Nature Between to achieve the goal of zero energy consumption in Dezhou and Xiamen. Pleasant indoor environment and flexible spaces are achieved in the house using natural material, which embodies the concepts of sustainability and natural philosophy. The practical strategies provided in this paper could help the architecture designs for residential NZEH.