Developing and testing a prototype net zero community in the UK

Net-zero energy and net-zero carbon are terms that have gained popularity over the past two decades, to such an extent that their usage is being expanded to the scale of communities and cities. Despite the subject's growing momentum there is ambiguity in its understanding and application. Principles for net-zero have been defined for the building scale and energy systems that analyse and rate sustainability of large-scale developments exist. However, there isn't a set of defined benchmarks for testing the authenticity of net zero in large scale developments. This study aims to develop and test a prototype net zero community in the UK which falls under the temperate climate classification. The focus of the project is to investigate if a sustainable community based on user data from surveys on typical British lifestyles can meet a defined net zero benchmark.

This thesis includes three key elements. First, a net zero guide was developed by extrapolating information from current literature and energy rating systems designed to test communities and cities. Second, a prototype community was designed for the temperate climate classification inferred from current and past examples of net zero developments. Third, energy data was gathered for the designed community from an energy modelling software (DesignBuilder) to test if energy demand of the community can be met by renewable energy supply thereby achieving a net zero/positive balance. The community was found to meet net positive energy and net negative carbon emissions. There was an annual 68% surplus energy, of about 535000 kWh/year. The study makes a significant contribution to standardising net zero for easier application of the popularised concept.