Reaching net zero energy at the neighbourhood scale: feasibility studies in the south of Italy

The concept of "net zero energy building" has been recently implemented in regulations throughout Europe: however, some aspects regarding e.g. the interaction of generation and load between buildings and the energy interactions of each building between each other are often overlooked by an approach that focuses mostly on the single building scale. The objective of the study is to evaluate the potential for reaching net zero energy target on a district level in a mixed-use community in southern Italy. The paper identifi es a district case study, made of around twenty buildings having mixed uses. The buildings were modeled in Energy Plus environment and a set of retrofi t solutions are identifi ed, including HVAC and envelope components, as well as energy generation options from photovoltaic systems. The retrofi tted neighbourhood shows an overall electricity yearly energy use of around 628 MWhe, with a reduction of around 28% if compared to the existing one. All retrofi t solutions show payback times below 13 years.