Integrating Renewable Energy Systems with Contemporary Architecture in A Zero Energy House in Southeastern Brazil

This paper presents an application of renewable energy systems and building thermal simulation tools to the design of a 145 m2 off-grid, three-bedroom, modern house. EnergyPlus is used to perform the dynamic thermal simulation, generating a typical yearly demand profile that corresponds to a daily energy load of 6.26 kWh. The tool Homer is then used to size the standalone energy system that combines PV (2 kW), a small wind turbine (1 kW) and a battery bank (600 Ah). As expected, the building achieves the highest energy performance level according to the Brazilian thermal regulation of buildings.