(Zero) net energy buildings arise as a market driver for solar

The concept of zero net energy buildings and communities - produce so much energy from renewable raw materials on the ground as she should - consume annually momentum gaining in the United States in the residential and commercial sectors.

Signs of the increased interest in net nullenergie (ZNE) building concepts are everywhere. Last year TD Bank opened the first ZNE Bank, Frito Lay presented, a close "of net zero" manufacturing facility in Arizona, and the University of California-Davis completed the first part of the largest planned ZNE community so far. Recently announced Shea Homes, housing developer nullenergie-net or close to zero net energy homes the standard for all new houses in all ten communities offer their retirement.

The Federal Government and the military leaders were also ZNE. As part of executive order 13514, the Federal Government announced a goal that reach 100 per cent of the new federal buildings ZNE by 2030. The army recently a pilot program to make five bases ZNE by 2020.

Progressive and municipalities are standards in their energy efficiency action plans and objectives including ZNE. The California public utilities Commission founded in 2010 is a target that all new commercial buildings in the State of ZNE are up to the year 2030, as 50 percent of the existing building.

Fast innovation in technology and in place renewable energy sources, in particular solar energy, has helped, that usher building opportunity for ZNE. A new report from the new buildings Institute (NBI) and the zero of energy are commercial buildings Consortium (CBC) now ZNE built with readily available technologies. The study also found, the incremental price was reached ZNE before installing renewable energy sources on the ground, between three and eighteen percent modest.

The rise of NULL net energy buildings is not without its challenges. A last week by Rocky Mountain Institute published study found that utility rate structures and business models are poorly adapted for the widespread adoption of ZNE. According to the report "not existing prices and incentives provide accurate economic signals to distributed generation investment with system cost and use over the long term target."

For example net metering - currently crucial for ZNE building - is a policy that should be probably adjusted in the widespread adoption of ZNE. As in Figure 1 see, leave at night electricity deliver ZNE customers in the grid if not produced their solar system, and excess electricity to export during the day. Under current net metering policies get ZNE and other solar customers full volumetric retail value for the energy that fixed costs contains on the network to export, transmission and distribution, the utility incurred on its behalf. Therefore, the utility is currently not fully the costs for the transmission and distribution of plastics producer with solar systems, leads in the fact restore to higher electrical for traditional electric customers.

Despite the long-term likelihood of changes in the electric set structures are the growth in ZNE buildings and communities an important driver for above-location technologies for renewable energies. In particular, such as solar usually a crucial component for ZNE is building, solar developers looking to provide increasingly partnerships with real estate developer and construction company solar for their ZNE projects. For example, solar city has recently partnered with Shea Homes of solar all Shea new ZNE houses offer.

It is short, to expand, such as residential and commercial applications from ZNE in the future a large market opportunity for solar and renewable energy technology developers on the ground represent.