Feasibility Study of a Low-Carbon House in Tabriz, Iran: Fid-Bau Portal

Feasibility Study of a Low-Carbon House in Tabriz, Iran

Mirzaii, Hossein / Shabestari, Sanaz Hariri

The reduction of CO₂ emissions is essential in the building sector as it contributes highly to carbon emissions. In 2014, approximately 22% of the total CO₂ emissions in Iran came from residential buildings, commercial buildings and public services. Therefore, designing and constructing low-carbon energy-efficient buildings should benefit significantly in the reduction of CO₂ emission by targeting a 12% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This report investigates technical and economic aspects of using passive and active solar thermal methods for a low-carbon-emitting house in Tabriz city, Iran. The house is designed and developed using reduced embodied carbon materials, which improved the energy efficiency of the building with the use of materials such as natural wood for wall structure, window frames and doors and natural cellulose for insulation. A 3D model of the house is developed to demonstrate the real dimensions of the building. The passive cooling using natural air ventilation is considered and tested with the aid of CFD software to determine the final average temperature of the house, which is found to be 23.4 °C based on an outside temperature of 30 °C. The house is designed to have 15 photovoltaic panels and 3 evacuated tube collectors that generated a total of 69.1% annual fraction of the self-consumption electricity and a total of 57.7% annual fraction of energy provided by the solar thermal system. The active system saved CO₂ emissions by 7553 kg in a year. The annual heating of the house is found to be 19.62 kWh/m², whereas the total primary energy demand is calculated as 47.19 kWh/m². The levelised cost of energy (LCOE) for the PV system calculated at 3.43 p/kWh is lower than the current rate of electricity. The LCOE of the thermal system is found to be 23.42 p/kWh and it is higher than the current rate of domestic natural gas subsidised by the state. The total profit of the entire active system is calculated to be £20,479.60 with a payback time of 11 years.