Life cycle carbon emissions and cost analysis of zero-energy residential buildings based on TRNSYS

Under the background of “dual carbon” goals, zero-energy buildings can significantly reduce carbon emissions from building operations by efficiently utilizing renewable energy, but their environmental impact and economic efficiency throughout the life cycle still need to be systematically evaluated. This paper combines the life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost (LCC) theories to construct a carbon emission and cost calculation model for buildings throughout the life cycle with consideration of carbon tax policies, and takes a zero-energy residential building in hot summer and cold winter zone as an example for analysis. The results show that the system of the zero-energy building based on wind turbine (ZEB-WT) has the best emission reduction effect throughout the life cycle, and its carbon emissions during the use and maintenance phase account for -3.40%. Compared with the benchmark building (without renewable energy), the traditional cost of the ZEB-WT system is reduced by 19.23%, the carbon cost is reduced by 46.81%, and the total cost is reduced by 19.82%.