Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is a major priority within the context of the European objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (nZEBs) offer a promising solution to significantly reduce energy consumption and promote the use of renewable energy sources. There is a significant gap in the scholarly literature regarding systematic reviews focused on the advancements in European legislation related to energy efficiency. Consequently, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the key legislative norms targeting the energy efficiency of buildings and the necessity of utilizing renewable energy sources for electricity generation, with a particular focus on the forecasts for the year 2030. The objective is to offer valuable reference resources and to support the global expansion of nZEB implementation in a sustainable and resilient manner. This research thoroughly evaluates the development of nZEBs, emphasizing design concepts, technological innovations, and their impact on energy efficiency. An analysis of the main barriers to implementation highlights high costs, limited technological feasibility, regulatory constraints, and insufficient stakeholder engagement. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on building energy efficiency and the European trajectory from passive to zero-energy buildings.

Off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems represent the most modern and flexible solutions that can cover a wide range of energy efficiency needs for household consumers. In the current context, these systems must be taken into account by most household consumers, given the fact that the price of energy has increased. This paper proposes an experimental analysis of the behavior of such a system, in real operating conditions, considering two renewable energy sources, wind and photovoltaic sources, using an experimental stand. It can be considered a testing platform for hybrid energy production systems, in that the power installed in the two sources can be scaled up. The platform has the advantage of allowing the implementation of different load and wind curves through a programmable logic controller; in this way, it is possible to evaluate the degree of coverage of the energy consumption produced from renewable sources, in the north-east of Romania, in the Suceava County region. The experimental study also involves an analysis of the storage capacity in relation to the consumption and the electricity produced by the two renewable sources. In this regard, three scenarios differentiated by the state of charge (30%, 50% and 70%) have been established. The results indicate that, for each of the imposed scenarios, the energy required to cover consumption is produced by renewable energy sources (42%, 47% and 53%), to which the energy stored in batteries (39%, 28% and 18%) is added.

Solar air heater systems are equipment that uses energy captured directly from the sun to heat an existing airflow through the module. The technology to operate these systems is based on clean, renewable and free energy. Solar air heaters absorb thermal energy from the sun using an ab-sorption surface and achieve a transfer of heat from the absorption surface to the air flow supplied by one or two fans. This type of equipment can be used for space heating, drying, or ventilation processes. In addition, the equipment is capable of operating in cogeneration with other systems, e.g., preheating the air used for drying wood, preheating the air used to heat industrial premises, or preheating the water used in different heating systems. This scientific work is meant to reveal the current research context and the future opportunities in the case of cogeneration applications of solar air heaters, which are analyzed in light of their actual evolving dynamics. On this basis, we highlight expectations regarding the main problems that the regenerable energy is currently facing in this specific research and development environment as well as focusing our direction on the eventual solutions that are considered in the present and on their shortcomings in the future with evolved necessities.

As conventional fossil fuel systems release toxicants into the atmosphere, humanity is increasingly moving towards sustainability, towards using products that do not cause negative effects on the environment, have a long service life and offer multiple benefits. Solar air heating systems are increasingly used in household applications, even in industrial ones at times. The principle of operation of systems of this type is established on the existence of solar radiance, without this the panels have little or no efficiency at all, so they are limited to sunny periods. One of the methods of increasing the impact and performance of these systems is the realization of hybrid systems that offer several benefits with regard to heating the air in rooms, heating water and ventilating spaces. The meaning of this article is to present a summary of the existing literature, in the sphere of solar hybrid air heating systems, on the methods of improvement and the performance achieved.