Energy-resilient climate adaptation using a tailored life-cycle integrative design approach for national carbon abatement

Greenhouse gas escalation and global warming impose substantial challenges for adapting to and mitigating climate change while ensuring energy resilience. However, uncertainties in supply-demand dynamics and climate-adaptive resilience remain unclear for electrified and integrative photovoltaic (PV)-battery-building systems. Here, following zero-energy building design principles and a U-value/M-value battery sizing method based on maximum marginal benefits, a tailored “kWp-kWh-m2” design approach is applied with intrinsic relationships of prosumer-storage to achieve renewable self-sufficiency and avoid battery oversizing in both centralized and distributed forms. Economic-environmental assessments for zero-energy transformations with the integrative PV-battery systems are conducted across diverse climate-change conditions and geographic areas in China, in terms of levelized costs of storage, net present values, decarbonization potentials, and policy incentives. This research provides guidelines for zero-energy transitions from optimal system design, provincial-level system configurations, and performance evaluation, aiming to guide strategic investment and targeted policy interventions. [Display omitted] •A tailored “kWp-kWh-m2” design approach for zero-energy building systems•Optimal battery sizing for centralized and distributed prosumer-storage scenarios•Economic investment and decision making for zero-carbon transformations•Zero-energy transitions with guidelines and strategic investment are suggested This study proposes a tailored “kWp-kWh-m2” design approach to achieve renewable self-sufficiency and avoid battery oversizing in both centralized and distributed zero-energy building systems. Zhou et al. quantify and compare life cycle and economic-environmental performance across diverse climate conditions and geographic areas in China for guiding sustainability transformations.