Potential evaluation and analysis of near-to-net zero energy building in hot and dry climate

•Near-to-net zero energy building in hot and dry climate has been investigated.•NZEBs model has been developed and simulated using TRNSYS models/components.•Space cooling, space heating, and electrical energy outcomes was developed.•Maximum reduction rate ratio in energy demand 48.2% was achieved. In a hot and dry climate like the weather of Iraq, near-to-net zero energy buildings (NNZEBs) can become one of the effective solutions to reduce energy demands in the residential buildings sector. Therefore, the current work aims to cornerstone of the developed solution combined the different scenarios for residential building with a total living area of 240 m2 has been considered. The investigated scenarios include different building constructions, orientations, control strategies, and using solar PV panels as renewable energy techniques. The proposed scenarios have been developed and simulated using TRNSYS models/components. The energy demand for space cooling, space heating, and electrical energy outcomes from an NNZEB model was developed using the TRNSYS simulation workspace. The data input of the residential multi-zone building envelope is configured using TRNBuild (i.e., building simulation software) and then introduced into TRNSYS. Moreover, the solar PV panels tool is developed in TRNSYS to evaluate the impact of renewable energy on energy consumptions. A full cost analysis of the energy consumption has been carried out to see if this technology is viable. In terms of maximum energy demand, the preliminary building requires 340 kWh/m2 per year as a cooling demand compared with 65 kWh/m2 per year as a heating demand. The results showed that the maximum reduction rate in energy demand for cooling demand of 33.9% was achieved by changing the construction, ventilation, and control systems. The scenarios of using double glaze and insulating the building showed the most significant impact on the reducing of energy demand with a total reduction rate ratio of 34.40% compared with other scenarios. From economic analysis, it can be concluded that the increase in the energy tariff led to an increase in the yearly energy cost for the preliminary building without solar PV panels. The results highlighted that the effects of key investigated scenarios should be considered in combination through a parametric investigation.