Net zero emissions for a seminar room in the University of Balearic Islands

Abstract

In this study the energy retrofit of a seminar room in the University of Balearic Islands was evaluated. This room was built in the late 80s and it was equipped with halogen lights and Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs). The climate system consisted of an air to air heat pump system. Development of modern net zero-energy buildings (NZEB) became possible with the combination of solar thermal, photovoltaic and geothermal energy systems. This kind of combination was used to improve the energy efficiency of the room evaluated in this paper, together with the installation of an innovative radiant heating and cooling ceiling system. Although renewable energy can cover all the annual energy consumption, a small fraction of auxiliary energy is provided by heat pump systems (HP).. Solar heating combined with geothermal systems for buildings have been designed to achieve different values of the fraction of a primary energy saving using Flat Plate Collectors (FPC) for Solar Thermal (ST) and other supply energies like solar photovoltaic (PV) or wind technology, and having the higher efficiency of the system with net zero energy.