Identifying cost-optimal options for a typical residential nearly zero energy building’s design in developing countries

High population growth rate and the limited non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels have made different challenges for the energy supply in the building sector, especially for the residential buildings. Nearly zero energy buildings are viable solutions for reducing the dependency of the building sector on non-renewable energy sources and reducing the destructive environmental impacts of building sector during their operational period. Besides, nearly zero energy buildings are climate-specific. That means their development needs to be addressed in various economic, technical, and climatic conditions of different countries. Consequently, the present study tries to identify the cost-optimal options for designing a residential nearly zero energy building in Kabul city, the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. In this regard, the optimal options are identified using energy simulation and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. The results showed that due to some economic limitations such as high interest rates and low energy prices, improving the performance of the building envelope has played a crucial role in determining the cost-optimal options for a nearly zero energy building design in Kabul city. For the optimal options, the payback period is two years, and the total energy consumption is reduced by 83%.