The rapid growth of sustainability has created a plethora of options for expanding zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) and energy efficiency in all aspects of life. In recent years, there has been a rise in interest in ZEBs, and many countries have adopted ZEBs as future energy targets to promote the sustainable development paradigm. The primary goal of this paper was to conduct a bibliometric review of current research on ZEBs and energy efficiency. The first part of this paper identifies new knowledge gaps as well as practical demands in the field of sustainable development. Furthermore, bibliometric analysis was performed using the Scopus database (i.e., 2592 articles) and a screening process was undertaken, with the result being 252 papers. This study draws attention to a body of knowledge by reviewing trends and patterns, major research topics, journals, countries, new approaches, emerging trends, and future directions for sustainable development. This study is unique in that it provides a comprehensive, updated review of ZEBs and energy efficiency trends. Moreover, this study could help identify limitations for future policymakers, practitioners, and academics. The empirical section of this paper, through a case study, presents an example of a low-energy single-family building located in Poland.
The study presents an investigation of thermal energy consumption for heating in an educational building located in the north-eastern part of Poland in 2017–2020, after deep thermomodernization. An evaluation of the actual energy effects was made based on measurements carried out over a 4-year operational period. They were compared with the results of theoretical calculations included in the energy audit and an attempt was made to describe the reasons for the discrepancies. The planned and achieved economic efficiency indicators were assessed and the amount of reduction of pollutant emissions was determined. The performed analysis allowed for an assessment of the impact of deep thermomodernization in terms of reducing heat energy consumption for central heating purposes, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2, SOx, NOx and benzo(a)pyrene to the atmosphere. The implementation of thermomodernization in buildings led to savings of about 43% in terms of heat energy consumption for heating and a reduction in pollutant emissions. The theoretical savings based on the audit were 50.4%. The obtained results show that deep thermomodernization contributes to the improvement of energy and ecological efficiency in educational buildings, however, without the possibility of using subsidies, the investment is unprofitable. All the obtained results were discussed with the available literature sources and have been summarized with appropriate conclusions.
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