Affordable Net Zero Energy Buildings
Abstract
Since the early beginnings of the solar exploration, three major drivers have constantly shaped and improved the industry. Firstly, a significant amount of research and development conducted by a variety of disciplines aimed to either generate electrical power, or to utilize thermal connectivity. Since early inventions made by Edmond Becquerel, efforts led to a multitude of solar related energy applications and also contributed to the field of material science. R&D often leads to system designs that can be tested and benchmarked against other technologies in development or on the market. This points towards the second driver for innovations in the field of solar energy, the re-engineering and improvement of already existing system designs. By employing superior material properties or by modifying component configurations, higher energy yields can be gained. While R&D and the optimization of prevalent systems concern major parts of the solar industry, architects and planners are predominantly interested in applied solutions, opportunity costs and life expectancies of solar technologies. To gain a competitive advantage, cost efficiencies have been the third driver for innovation and progress for some time. Over the years, individual manufacturers were able to achieve significant price drops, sometimes of to up to 80% from one product generation to the next. While this can positively impact on supply and demand of the market, it does not guarantee that designers are encouraged to investigate system designs in regard to cost saving potentials.