Analysis of Net Zero Energy Buildings public policies at the residential building sector: A comparison between Chile and selected countries

Abstract

The building sector could have a high impact on the reduction of GHG emissions. Several countries have developed public policies to encourage Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) as one of the main approaches to reach their GHG reduction goals. Chile has adopted different goals and action plans to reduce fossil fuels and GHG emissions. However, there is a lack of public policies for the building sector. Chile should consider the NZEB an effective measure to reduce GHG emissions because this policy has been successful in other countries, regions, or states because NZEB reduce energy consumption in the building sector and produce energy from renewable sources. This research aims to identify, analyze and compare mandatory public policies of different countries towards NZEB. Different countries’ public policies are identified and classified through a literature review based on keywords. Chilean public policies are compared concerning them worldwide. We concluded that Chile has not yet developed public policies to promote NZEB as part of the strategies to achieve its environmental commitments for the coming years. We suggested evaluating the technical potential of buildings to reach NZEB standards in different Chilean climates before elaborating future public policies towards NZEB. It is concluded that Chile has to develop regulatory, economic and information, motivation and advice policies towards NZEB that are the mainstream policies worldwide.