Reduction of the Cost Needed for Converting a Conventional Building to a Nearly Zero Energy Building

This paper investigates the challenging problem of reducing the cost needed for converting a conventional building to a nearly-zero energy building (nZEB). This can be at-tained by properly selecting the sizing of the domestic renewable energy sources (DRES) and battery storage system (BSS), and improving the performance of the building electric microgrid. Thus, on the one side, a new methodology based on the genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed to properly determine the correct size of the DRES and BSS. On the other side, an integrated control method based on the GA technique too for the energy man-agement in the home microgrid is suggested that is accomplished through a correct balance between the maximum exploitation of the DRES and BSS, comfort of the building residents, and en-ergy saving. Therefore, the problem of reducing the cost for de-veloping an nZEB is addressed by reducing the two cost components, i.e. installation and operating cost. Moreover, the influ-ence of the one cost on the other is considered, and therefore an integrated calculation method is developed that provides a ho-listic solution for the nZEB's cost problem. The proposed calcu-lation strategy has been experimentally validated in a pilot building and several experimental results are presented in this paper to demonstrate the effectiveness, practicality, and functionality of the suggested methodology.