Renewable energy contribution to reach nZEB with the help of HOMER software: A case study

Abstract

Recent studies are directed towards achieving the goal of buildings with a net energy of zero. In Iraq, the price of energy units (kwhr) for government buildings is high and not supported. In this paper, a case study is conducted for one of these buildings (the building of the college of electronics engineering located in Mosul city north of Iraq) to reach to net-zero energy building (NZEB). The available renewable energy resources are proposed represented by solar energy. HOMER (Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources) software is used to find the size of the grid-connected photovoltaic system to reach NZEB. The energy consumed by the building is recorded hourly for one year and the cost of the photovoltaic system and the inverter are obtained as local prices. With the help of a smart meter that can measure the bought energy from the grid and sell energy to the grid. The result showed that using 173 panels in the roof of the proposed building with an installed capacity of 71.795kw and an inverter with 75kw lead makes the cost of energy is zero over the project lifetime.