nZEB design in the Netherlands : an overview of recent
projects
Citation for published version (APA):
de Bont, K. F. M., Gvozdenović, K., Maassen, W. H., & Zeiler, W. (2016). nZEB design in the Netherlands : an
overview of recent projects. 1-10. Paper presented at 12th REHVA World Congress (CLIMA 2016), May 22-25,
2016, Aalborg, Denmark, Aalborg, Denmark.
Document license:
Unspecified
Document status and date:
Published: 22/05/2016
Document Version:
Accepted manuscript including changes made at the peer-review stage
Please check the document version of this publication:
• A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be
important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People
interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the
DOI to the publisher's website.
• The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review.
• The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page
numbers.
Link to publication
General rights
Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners
and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.
• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.
• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain
• You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal.
If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license above, please
follow below link for the End User Agreement:
www.tue.nl/taverne
Take down policy
If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at:
openaccess@tue.nl
providing details and we will investigate your claim.
Download date: 25. Nov. 2021
nZEB design in the Netherlands:
an overview of recent projects
Kevin de Bont, Kristian Gvozdenovic, Wim Maassen, Wim Zeiler1
Department of the built Environment, TU Eindhoven
Vertigo 6.28, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
1
w.zeiler@bwk.tue.nl
Abstract
Office buildings use relatively much energy compared to houses. Also their energy
use increases whereas for houses it decreases. Therefore the design of nearly Zero
Energy Buildings of our research was focused on offices. In the Netherlands almost
all sustainable offices applies geothermal Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage systems
for heat and cold storage. By this cooling can be achieved with a relatively low energy
consumption, which was found in the primary energy demand diagrams of analyzed
buildings, and therefore have a lower share of energy use compared to lightning,
heating and ventilation. The main specifications of the recent nearly Zero Energy
Buildings are given, as well is the main characteristics were put in charts.
Keywords – nZEB, ATES, low energy design
1.
Introduction
People need buildings to protect them against the environmental conditions
to be able to work and live. Building Services make it possible to provide
comfort and an acceptable indoor Air Quality for building occupants.
However, with 40% of the energy use within the developed world and 36%
of the CO2 emissions the built environment is one of the most important
areas for sustainable development [1]. Overall the energy use of offices is
nearly 40% of the total energy use of the built environment, so quite
substantial.
In the Netherlands offices have a relatively high energy consumption and the
office buildings use in total around 225 PJ/year, compared to around 370
PJ/year for households, see Fig. 1[13]. More important, the energy
consumption of office buildings are increasing slightly, see Fig. 1, despite
the 2020 targets set by the EU. This is due to higher comfort needs and the
use of more conditioning systems with cooling.
Fig. 1 The total energy use for offices and for households [13]
To reduce this high energy demand and pollution of greenhouse gasses the
Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD) came in 2010 with plans
for the European Union member states. One of these plans, as written in
article 2 and 9 EPBD, is to reduce the energy demand and greenhouse gasses
of new buildings. Building performance in the Netherlands is expressed in
Energy Performance Coefficient (EPC): a policy tool according to Dutch
standard NEN 7120 [11] providing a calculation method for building energy
performance. To determine the EPC the key characteristics of the building
(dimensions, level of insulation of roof/walls/floor, type of materials and
window including frame etc.) and installations (heating, cooling, hot water,
ventilation, and lighting) are taken into account [4].
2.
From EPC towards nZEB
The EPC calculation is the basis for the building’s energy performance
certificates. The EPC gives an indication of the primary energy demand as
designed; however the actual demand is also largely dependent of the actual
built situation, maintenance, operation and occupant behaviour.
Implementation of the EPC regulation is quite successful. During the period
from 2008 until the end of 2012 over 2.4 million residential energy
performance certificates were issued, covering more than 30% of the
residential building stock. In the non-residential sector, a total of 15,000
certificates were issued in the same period, mainly for offices, retail and
shops or shopping malls [6].
Table 1 shows an overview of EPC requirements for Dutch buildings for both
the residential and non-residential sector. Over the years, the EPC demand
for residential buildings has been tightened from 1.4 at the start in 1995, to
0.6 from January 2011 onwards. Building industry has agreed with the Dutch
government on a further tightening of the requirements in the near future, in
order to move towards nZEB in 2018 (governmental buildings) and 2020 (all
other buildings). The EPC requirement for the residential sector is scheduled
to decrease to 0.4 in 2015. For the non-residential sector, this requirement is
scheduled to be lessened by 50% by 2017 compared to the EPC requirements
of 2007 [6]
Table 1 Current and future EPC requirements for Dutch buildings. [4,5,6,7]
The building Performance Institute Europe (BPIE [2]) provides a useful
diagram, see fig. 2, which uses cost-optimization as the main driver for the
‘nearly’ approach and the balance with primary energy, see Fig. 3 [3].
Fig. 2 Principles for sustainable nZEB in the EU [2]
Fig. 3 Example in financial, energy and environmental gaps between current and costoptimal requirements and nZEB levels [2]
3.
The Dutch present nZEB status
A review of built sustainable buildings in the Netherlands reveals that the
nZEB are feasible and examples are already there [8]. But for the greenhouse gas emission target of 3 kg/CO2*m2 it looks ambitious. More realistic
approaches proposed a design condition of 3 to 8 kg/ CO2*m2, which could
be a little easier to reach. The average Dutch office building has a primary
energy demand of 900 MJ/m2/year (250 kWh/m2), which is way above the
nearly zero energy demand limit AIDA [14] proposes (50 – 60 kWh/m2 of
which 50 – 70% is covered by RES). The CO2 – emission of an average Dutch
office building is 50 kg/CO2/m2, which is almost 17 times as much as the
BPIE [1] states for an nZEB.
In an inspiration book about 15 sustainable offices [8] only one building was
found which falls between the advised boundary conditions (AIDA) of an
nZEB, see Fig. 4. This example is the in 2011 completed building of the
Dutch institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). This building has an expected
primary energy demand (no real monitoring data available) of 45.3 kWh/m2
(EPC = 0.3), 82% less than the national average 21% of this energy demand
is achieved by photovoltaic-energy; there are plans to extent the installed PVcapacity, this could transform it into an energy-neutral or even energy-plus
building. The building has an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES)
system (with 2 cold and 2 warm, underground wells at a depth of 80m1) and
a high temperature underground thermal energy storage system (40-45 °C at
a depth of 300m1). Heat is mainly generated with 478m2 solar collectors and
an additional load can be derived from a heat pump. Cooling is withdrawn
from the cold well and is generated by a dry cooler during cold periods or the
evaporator of the heat pump. The CO2 –emission is estimated at 8kg CO2 /m2.
The biggest fraction of the primary energy use goes to lightning and then to
heating and ventilation, see Fig. 5
Fig. 4 Comparison primary energy demand ‘sustainable buildings [8]
Fig. 5 Primary Energy demand of the Dutch sustainable-office NIOO-KNAW, of an
average Dutch office building [8]
4.
A new approach to achieve nZEB
Traditionally, the potential for nZEBs in the Netherlands was mainly
determined by the possible applications of building energy reduction
measures according to the Trias Energetica method, see Fig. 6. An adapted
version of the Trias Energetica method could be used in the future adding the
integration of user behavior as well as energy exchange and storage systems
(smart grids), see figure 5. Especially these possibilities become crucially
important for nZEB because of the intermittent characteristics of most
renewable energy sources. Energy exchange has great potential for reducing
energy demand, especially when buildings with a specific heat or cold
demand are combined (e.g. nursing homes, ICT data centers, swimming
pools or other sports facilities like ice rinks).
Fig. 6 The Trias Energetica method and the Five step method [9]
Especially the application of Aquifer Thermal Energy Systems(ATES) offers
a large potential in the Netherlands and as a result almost all sustainable
offices applies geothermal ATES systems for seasonal heat and cold storage.
The principle of an ATES system is based on transferring groundwater
between two separated storage wells. During summertime water is extracted
from the coldest well and used to cool the building. During cooling, the water
temperature increases from approximately 8°C to 16°C. The heated water is
injected in the warmer well and stored until winter season. During winter the
extraction/injection flow is reversed and the heated water (which still has a
temperature of approx. 14 °C) is pumped back to the building. The water is
cooled to approx. 6°C and is injected in the cold well. A heat exchanger
between the groundwater and the building system water is used to avoid
contamination of the water. The storage wells can be located horizontally or
vertically spaced to each other (Fig. 7). A horizontally spaced system is
called a doublet and has the highest thermal capacity because the total length
of the well can be used to inject or extract water. A vertically spaced system
is called a mono-well. A mono-well has less capacity, but is significantly
cheaper because only one borehole is needed.
Fig. 7 Doublet and mono-well ATES systems (modified from [10])
The ATES reaches an operational Coefficient of Performance (COP) of
around 10 compares to a regular (compression based) cooling system
reaching a COP of around 4,standard NEN 7120 [11]. The energy gains
(compared to a conventional system) for heating are not that significant,
because the stored low temperature heat is not directly applicable in the
building. The heating performance of the ATES system depends mainly on
the coupled heat pump, which has a COP of around 4, standard NEN 7120
[11]. However, assuming an average Dutch electricity generation efficiency
of 42% [12], this is still a 60% higher efficiency than natural gas boilers and
is required to provide the cold water storage supply.
The Dutch soil structure is particularly suitable for ATES application: the
groundwater level is relatively close to the ground level (to avoid expensive
deep drilling) and the natural flow in the groundwater should be low to avoid
the stored heat/cold flowing away. Due to the flat Dutch landscape, the
annual groundwater flow is only a few meters per year. Because of these
favorable conditions, the use of ATES systems in the Netherlands has
become increasingly popular since the first installations in 1990. In 2013
there were over 2000 installations in use and this number is expected to grow
to 10.000 (worst-case) or 20.000 (best-case) in the year 2020.
5.
Overview recent nZEB development
In 2009 the Dutch government started their so called UKP NESK program to
stimulate innovation for energy neutral buildings. UKP means unique
chances projects and NESK means 'Towards energy neutral schools and
offices’ (Naar Energieneutrale Scholen en Kantoren). This program of the
Dutch government gave in 2010 funding to projects which show exceptional
innovation in the area of energy conservation, sustainability or organization
within the building industry, see table 2. These projects and organizations
played as inspiring examples an important part in stimulating other leading
figures and the mainstream in commercial and industrial building in The
Netherlands. This resulted already in a second generation of nZEB which are
listed in table 2.
Table 2 Comparison of the first series of nZEB office buildings in the Netherlands.
Table 3 Comparison of 2nd series of nZEB office buildings in the Netherlands.
Heating and cooling is provided in all projects by the combination of ATES
with a heat pump. Floor heating of concrete core activation is used a release
system and by applying recovery wheel within the ventilation system, heat is
regenerated to the building. Furthermore a bypass ensures no overheating
occurs during the summer. Other aspects that make these buildings very
energy efficient are: climate ceilings, energy efficient lighting, day light
control and presence detection.
6.
Conclusions
So an important aspect for nZEBs is the optimal use of the surrounding
energy infrastructure. Future energy infrastructure will be connected on a
local level, with an integrated smart grid (energy exchange between
buildings). The energy infrastructure has to be able adapt to changing
conditions such as; changing building functions during the lifetime of the
building, future extension of buildings, etc. Fig. 8 shows the vision on energy
infrastructure on nZEBs in the built environment [4]. In current situation
single buildings are connected to energy generating infrastructure (red circle)
and Aquifer Long Term Energy Storage (ATES) systems (blue circle). In
future the buildings will be connected to each other to enable energy
exchange as well as to centralized energy storage systems such as ATES on
neighborhood level to ensure a stable energy network.
Fig. 8 Current and future energy infrastructure in the built environment [9]
Conclusions
This study on nZEBs in the Netherlands provides insight in the current
situation of nZEBs and promising scenarios which are technically and
financially feasible. The aim of this report was to give information on nZEB
developments that will occur in the near future and what the consequences
of these developments have for buildings, in particular for building services.
Examples of nZEBs (offices) show the technical capabilities of energy saving
measures: low EPC scores can already be achieved.
In the Netherlands almost all sustainable offices apply geothermal ATES
systems for seasonal heat and cold storage. By this cooling and heating can
be achieved with a relatively low primary energy consumption. Therefor it is
almost a prerequisite for Dutch nZEB.
References
[1] Buildings Performance Institute Europe. Renovation the EU building stock.
<http://www.bpie.eu/renovating_eu_buildings.html#.VLzRfdKG8TY> (accessed: Jan. 2015)
[2] BPIE, ‘Implementing the cost-optimal methodology in EU countries,’ March 2014.
[3] Voss K., Sartori I., ‘Nearly-zero, Net zero and Plus Energy Buildings – How definitions
®ulations affect the solutions,’ REHVA journal, 2012, http://www.rehva.eu/publicationsand-resources/hvac-journal/2012/062012/nearly-zero-net-zero-and-plus-energy-buildingshow-definitions-regulations-affect-the-solutions/
[4] Gvozdenović K., ‘Roadmap to nearly Zero Energy Buildings,’ 15 April 2014
[5] Nationaal Plan voor het bevorderen van Bijna-Energie Neutrale Gebouwen (BENG) in
Nederland, september 2012. http://www.government.nl/documents-andpublications/reports/2011/02/25/plan-of-action -energy-saving-in-built-environment.html Date
visited: 11-11-2013
[6] Concerted Action Energy Performance of Buildings - Implementing the Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) featuring Country Reports 2012. Porto, June
http://www.epbd-ca.org/Medias/Pdf/CA3-BOOK-2012-ebook-201310.pdf Date visited: 14-112013
[7] Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 25 October 2012 on
energy efficiency, Official Journal of the European Union, (2012) 14/11/2012. http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/ LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:315:0001:0056:EN:PDF
[8] Peutz, SBRCURnet, Dutch Green Building Council, ‘Inspiratieboek Duurzame Kantoren,’
2014.
[9] Gvozdenović K., Maassen W.H., Zeiler W., Besselink H., 2015, Roadmap to nearly Zero
Energy Buildings in 2020, REHVA Journal, March.
[10] IF Technology, www.iftechnology.nl
[11] Dutch Normalisation Institute NEN, standard 7120 Energie prestatie van gebouwenbepalingsmethode
[12] Segers R., 2014, Rendement en CO2-emissie van elektriciteitsproductie in Nederland,
update 2012, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, www.cbs.nl
[13] RVO, 2014, Monitor Energiebesparing Gebouwde Omgeving 2013, November 2014
[14] Paoletti G., AIDA, 2013, Affirmative Integrated energy Design Action - D3.1 Integrated
Energy Design in Municipal Practice - Interim Version, 30-09-2013,
http://www.aidaproject.eu/downloads/27/AIDA%20D3.1%20Integrated%20Energy%20Desig
n%20in%20municipal%20Practice%20EN.pdf