Discussion of strategies for UK zero energy building design

The paper provides a technical discussion on the development of zero energy building design strategies in the UK. Two building simulation software (TAS and TRNSYS) are employed to investigate various facade parameter studies as well as a solar service system. TAS building simulation is used to assess the effectiveness of passive strategies by taking building materials, window sizes and shading devices into consideration. TRNSYS is used for the investigation of the feasibility of using solar domestic hot water system in UK. Several suggestions for the pilot zero energy house design are put forward. The applicability of solar domestic hot water system in UK is confirmed. It has been found that energy consumption of auxiliary heater in solar domestic hot water system is equal to 11.3% of energy consumption of conventional system powered only by electricity.