Hybrid buildings: a pathway to carbon neutral housing

Abstract

In the residential sector, there is growing interest in the concept of carbon neutral and net zero energy housing within the context of emerging climate change mitigation and energy security strategies. A hybrid building represents a new class of dwelling capable of achieving net zero energy, carbon neutral or zero carbon status. This article reports on the carbon footprints of alternative configurations of a hybrid building, where variations in performance are explored across different types of residential structure (detached, medium density, high-rise), different energy ratings of the shell, number and mix of domestic appliances in use, and type of distributed or local energy generation technology employed. Hybrid building pathways to zero carbon housing are identified, delivering average savings of approximately 11 tonnes CO₂-e per year per dwelling compared with new detached project homes designed to current 5-star energy standards.

Keywords:

• Carbon neutrality
• distributed energy generation
• energy efficiency
• greenhouse gas emissions
• housing
• sustainable cities
• zero carbon