ABSTRACT
The Italian case study settlement is a demonstration of two single-family villas located near Bologna and equipped with advanced technologies for energy efficiency and generation. These villas showcase the practical application of the H2020 ZERO-PLUS project framework, across design, constriction, monitoring, and operation of the settlement, but faced challenges in implementing the NZES concept due to pre-2020 regulatory constraints. The design phase involved a team of researchers, technology providers, developers, and planning authorities who considered local planning permissions and cost limitations. The villas met the energy efficiency and generation targets set in the project. Economic and environmental targets were achieved through design solutions selected based on economic, microclimate, thermal energy, and environmental analysis. This chapter presents the main characteristics of the settlement and the key aspects of all the phases that brought it to its completion and operation, including the pre- and post-occupation building performance, the continuous monitoring data collected from August 2019 to August 2020, and the sentiment of the occupation via post-occupancy evaluation. The results provide valuable insight into the potential for the ZERO-PLUS approach replication in different climates and environments in Europe and beyond.
