A Balancing Act

As the built environment moves towards the goal of net-zero carbon by 2050, the balance between mitigating overheating in NZEBs and maintaining indoor air quality (IAQ) is necessary.

Airtightness

Although air tightness significantly reduces heat loss and improves energy efficiency, it can be dangerous if the dwelling is not balanced with adequate ventilation, as it would lead to heat and pollutants being trapped, hence leading to overheating and degraded indoor air quality (Abuild, 2024), (Mulville et al., 2025).

Total Energy Usage Intensity (TEUI)

Passive cooling strategies such as optimised shading, natural ventilation, and strategic building orientation, not only improve thermal comfort but also significantly reduce TEUI by decreasing the need for energy-intensive active cooling systems (Mulville et al., 2025), (Neu et al., 2014)

Greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity.

One of the systems to help combat the emission of help gases is heat pumps, as heat pumps offer an energy efficient, low carbon solution for both heating and cooling, ensuring stable indoor temperatures while reducing fossil fuel dependence (Bord Gáis, 2024)