Achieving Zero-Energy Housing in Afghanistan: an Integrated Life-Cycle Assessment and Retrofit Model for Ghazni Province

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Provides a validated socio-technical retrofit model integrating LCA and ZEH for a data-scarce region, useful for comparative studies in similar contexts.

🏢実務担当者:Offers a practical blueprint for designing zero-energy retrofits in low-income settings, emphasizing insulation, fenestration, and solar PV integration.

🏛政策担当者:Demonstrates the need for building code reform, financial incentives, and community engagement to enable housing decarbonization in developing countries.

The residential building sector in Afghanistan (AFG) is a significant contributor to energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, exacerbated by non-adherence to architectural standards and a critical lack of localized energy-efficiency (EE) research. This study bridges this gap by developing and validating a novel, socio-technical retrofit model for Zero-Energy Housing (ZEH) tailored to the specific context of Ghazni Province. The novelty of this work lies in the rigorous localization of global ZEH principles to AFG’s low-income, post-conflict context and the pioneering integration of a full lifecycle carbon assessment within this localized framework. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates computational energy simulation, embodied carbon assessment, and primary socio-technical data from household surveys and expert interviews. This integration allows for a holistic diagnosis of the existing housing stock, identifying profound inefficiencies such as inadequate insulation, non-energy-efficient fenestration, and reliance on carbon-intensive materials. In response, a localized four-pillar (Awareness, Building Envelope, Clean Energy, Policy) design framework is proposed and rigorously simulated. Results for this context demonstrate a 33% reduction in Energy Use Intensity (EUI), a 64.4% decrease in heating demand, and a 27.9% reduction in cooling demand. Furthermore, the model achieves a 35% reduction in embodied carbon and, through integrated rooftop solar photovoltaics (PVs), meets 102% of annual energy demand, realizing a net-zero operational energy balance. An initial economic assessment indicates a payback period of 13-15 years for the integrated retrofit package, underscoring the critical role of financial mechanisms for feasibility. This research provides an evidence-based, integrated blueprint that advances global ZEH principles by grounding them in local socio-economic and climatic realities. It offers actionable recommendations for policymakers, architects, and builders, focusing on building code reform, lifecycle carbon mitigation, and community engagement, thereby establishing a foundational pathway for sustainable housing transition in AFG and similar regions.

• semanticscholar https://doi.org/10.15627/jd.2026.8first seen 2026-05-15 17:49:43 · last seen 2026-06-16 05:05:26