Retrofitting Office Buildings for Net-Zero Energy: A Review

This annotated bibliography focuses on the energy consumption and optimization in buildings, specifically targeting the retrofitting of office buildings to achieve net-zero energy status. The included articles delve into energy consumption patterns, particularly in heating, cooling, and lighting, and explore the potential for reducing energy usage through various strategies. The author reviews the European directives for renewable energy and energy reduction, and provides a detailed literature review of the processes through which energy is utilized in buildings. The annotated bibliography covers energy conservation methods, the application of renewable energy sources, and the significance of energy-efficient design, construction, and maintenance. The review emphasizes the importance of understanding energy generation, consumption, and conservation, offering insights into the design and operation of net-zero energy buildings. The provided articles include discussions on different energy calculation methodologies, definitions of net-zero energy buildings, and practical tips for achieving net-zero energy goals. The overall aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research and practices in building energy efficiency and sustainability.

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ENERGY OPTIMIZATION BUILDING
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

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Retrofitting an office building towards a net-zero energy building
Summary of the article
This article is mainly about the energy consumption in a building. The author has started by
listing the ways through which energy is consumed in a building, this achieved through a
detailed literature review which is carried out. The author also discusses in details the ways
through the processes through which the energy is utilized in the buildings. According to the
author, the main processes through which the energy is utilized in the building include; heating,
cooling and lighting. The author continuous to explain the measures which can be taken by the
European Countries to achieve the goals set by European directives of increasing the
introduction of the renewable energy by 20 % and reducing the overall energy consumption
(Voss et al 2010). The author has recommends the measures which can be implemented to
reduce the overall energy consumption in buildings, this was achieved through the analysis of an
office building located on the Campus of the Technical University of Crete. Finally the author
concludes by discussing the basic energy conservation methods and analyses the new energy
needs in residential and office buildings.
Evaluation/ relevance
This article is very essential in examining and analyzing the entire concept of energy
consumption in buildings. This evident through the approach which the author has used to
address the entire concept and the detailed literature review which was carried out to gain a
deeper understanding of the concept. (Kurnitski et al 2011). This gives one an in-depth
understanding of the sources of energy and the ways through which energy can be conserved.
The author has as discussed in-depth the methods of conserving energy in a building which

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helped me to understand the entire concept of energy generation, consumption and conservation.
The combination of the utilization of renewable energy sources and implementation of energy
conservation strategies will greatly contribute to the knowledge regarding the design,
construction and maintenance of a net-zero energy building.

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References
Kurnitski, J., Allard, F., Braham, D., Goeders, G., Heidelberg, P., Jagemar, L., ... & Seppänen,
O. (2011). How to define nearly net zero energy buildings nZEB. Rehva Journal, 48(3),
6-12.
Voss, K., Sartori, I., Napolitano, A., Geier, S., Gonçalves, H., Hall, M., ... & Karlsson, B. (2010).
Load matching and grid interaction of net-zero energy buildings. In EUROSUN 2010
International Conference on Solar Heating, Cooling and Buildings.