HONE NZEB EXPLAINER ANIMATION

Explainer animation to explain what nZEB (near zero energy building) is and how it will affect future building.

nZEB will become mandatory in the next few months. It will affect all of us, and for the first time, it includes existing buildings regardless of age. nZEB applies to every building; domestic, commercial and public. Are you ready?

nZEB stands for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings. These new EU and UK regulations for nearly zero energy buildings can seem confusing with mixed messages such as; you must insulate heavily; or you must use a heat pump; or you need to build a passive house. These messages are not helpful in explaining what nZEB is really about.

Understanding nZEB is crucial if you want to make correct design decisions to meet nZEB or super nZEB regulations at the lowest building cost. It is important to meet this regulation now to avoid having to upgrade your house or building in the future or pay expensive carbon taxes.

So what do nZEB regulations mean for all of us? In simple terms, they restrict the amount of energy your home or commercial building can consume from the outside. You get a maximum allowance of 45 kilowatt hours of primary energy for every square meter of your home or building. The nZEB regulations states that;

“for new homes or buildings the energy required in the home or building should be covered to a very significant extent by energy from renewable sources including energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby.”

To explain this, imagine all your energy is coming into your building via a pipe. It does not matter whether that energy is electricity, gas, kerosene or a mixture of all types, it is all measured in kWhrs.

The amount of energy you are allowed is restricted by your building energy rating. The smaller you make the pipe, the better your energy rating will be. It’s that simple.

To meet nZEB regulations, you need to understand the energy profile of your home or building. We have 3 primary energy requirements in our homes; electricity, hot water and heating.

In the past, heating was our biggest cost but over recent years the EU’s energy rating system has reduced our need for heating. Hot water and electricity consumption remains the same whether the home is new or old.

nZEB homes will typically cost only €100 to €200 for heating per year. This means investing thousands in an elaborate heating system no longer makes any sense. With heating bills this small, your heating system should be simple and small with no maintenance required.

The old way of heating homes with heat pumps and underfloor heating will be obsolete because of the high initial installation cost, on-going maintenance of the system and continuing consumption costs for electricity or fossil fuel from external sources. This does not make financial or environmental sense!

As the requirement for heating in nZEB homes becomes more trivial, the production of hot water and electricity becomes more important .  The HONE Thermal Electric system produces both hot water and electricity from 100% renewable energy.

With HONE’s high energy performance per square meter, your home and building will effortlessly exceed nZEB compliance at a much lower building cost than traditional methods.  Due to HONE’s unique patented nanotechnology, the HONE Thermal Electric system holds the world’s highest renewable panel performance rating designed specifically for meeting nZEB.

An extra significant benefit to this new design approach is the lower cost minimum u values requirement for build and insulation. This will save thousands in building costs of up to 10% versus heat pump installations.  Build time is also shorter. This is a direct benefit for home owners and developers.

nZEB homes fitted with the HONE Thermal Electric system, can easily achieve a Super nZEB rating of A1 and could expect heating bills of less than €20 euros per month.

If every home is fitted with a HONE Thermal Electric system, we will dramatically reduce global warming and secure a better, greener future for our children.