Feasibility of achieving net-zero energy performance in high-rise buildings using solar energy

As part of a broad strategy to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming,many countries are requiring all new buildings to have net-zero energy use.This requires that on-site energy use not exceed on-site generation of renewable energy(taken here to be solar energy),or equivalently,that the building Energy Use Intensity(EUI,kWh/m^(2)a)not exceed the supply of on-site solar energy(electricity and heat)per m^(2)of floor area per year.On this basis,we find that achieving net-zero energy performance in an archetype 40-story square building in 16 different cities of North America requires EUI of 17–24 kWh/m^(2)a using PV panels,and 19–28 kWh/m^(2)a using PVT collectors.Changing building orientation to a non-square floor shape can improve maximum permitted EUI by up to 50%in PV and 60%in PVT case.Conversely,the best-performing residential and commercial buildings have EUIs of 50–75 kWh/m^(2)a.Only if building heights are limited to 5–10 floors does the available solar energy,and thus the permitted EUI,reach 50–75 kWh/m^(2)a.Therefore,we recommend that policymakers not require high-rise buildings to be net-zero energy,unless they are prepared to limit building heights to 5–10 floors.