Energy Consumption Analysis Using Measured Data from a Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building in a Cold and Dry Climate

Abstract

Zero-energy buildings have a critical role in reducing global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. However, few studies have analyzed net-zero energy commercial buildings using measured energy use such as whole-building level and end-use level data. This paper presents an energy consumption analysis for the first net-zero energy commercial building in Idaho, U.S., in a cold and dry climate using measured end-use data from this building as well as measured whole-building energy use. Monthly bill data analysis, end-use data analysis, and Energy Use Intensity (EUI) analysis were conducted. The combined analysis of this study shows that the HVAC system was the most sensitive to the outside air temperature, showing different energy use percentages of 48.4%, 35.1% (the heating period), 21.6% (the weather-independent period), and 33.4% (the cooling period), respectively. Lighting had the highest percentage of 35.2% for the weather-independent period. The PV electricity generation was higher than the building electricity use, except from December 2017 to February 2018, and the building was net-positive from an energy perspective. The calculated EUI of the building was 34.2 kWh/m2·y, which can be compared to the EUIs of other net zero energy buildings. The approaches developed in this study can be useful for analyzing several net zero buildings by different weather profiles.