Autodesk Eduction Community

Reducing energy use in buildings is one of the most important ways to reduce humans’ overall environmental impact. This is because buildings account for 40% of worldwide energy use1 —far more than cars and airplanes combined.

As much as 90% of a building's environmental impact comes from the energy used during its lifetime. When your building is energy efficient and generates enough energy on-site to equal its annual energy needs, you’ve designed a Net Zero Energy Building.

To achieve net zero cost effectively, you’ll need to reduce energy demand as much as you can. With passive design strategies, you use the energy that's already around, like the sun's heat and light.

This video series shows strategies for designing a net zero energy building. It covers the basics of building energy loads, passive design strategies, lighting and daylighting, and efficient HVAC design.