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world%u2019s raw materials are used in buildings, while most of them are non-renewable. In fact,buildings are responsible for releasing more than 46% of the total greenhouse gas producedworldwide (Osman, 2014). According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) report, from the industrial revolution until the end of the 20th century, the Earth%u2019stemperature has increased by 0.5%u00b0C and on average, the ozone layer thickness has decreased by20% in different parts of the world (IPCC, 2016). In Iran, as a developing country, residentialbuildings include 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions (Eshraghi et al., 2014). With rapidconstruction development in Iran and electrical energy shortage, energy-efficient buildings andsustainable development of buildings have become the focus of the society (Amani, 2017; Amani,2018). In the report published by the Public Relations of the Center for the Islamic ConsultativeAssembly studies, the Energy Studies Bureau, the construction sector with an averageconsumption of 41.42%, had a high share of energy consumption in the country. Meanwhile,given the figures published, Iran has ranked 11th of the countries with the highest energyconsumption (Center for the Islamic Consultative Assembly studies, 2017; GES, 2020). Based onthis information, efforts to lower fossil fuel consumption, construction of buildings with optimalenergy consumption, the use of devices with high energy rank and the use of renewable energyresources are essential. The measures taken in this regard in the macro-scale programs in thedeveloped countries account for the construction of zero-energy buildings (ZEBs). Advantages ofnet-zero energy buildings included a reduction in thermal fluctuations in these buildings, whichresults from adequate isolation and well provides the comfort conditions; energy supply, even inthe event of shutting down in the global energy distribution network; protection against the everincreasing rise in energy prices; reduction in greenhouse gases and saving in energyconsumption (Mahdavi Adeli et al., 2020). The basic scheme of a Net-zero building design is toprovide thermal comfort with less energy consumption. Sudhakar et al. (2019) examined thevarious building designs in hot and humid climates. It was found that it is most important toconcentrate on all possible passive energy-saving actions before adopting active measures. Thesemeasures included using the natural ventilation systems in places with high wind speeds; usingdifferent design strategies to achieve comfort performance in different seasons; as well as windtower dehumidification design and ventilated attic building design for the hot and humidregions. To achieve an integrated nZEB standard, during designing and constructing based onthe relevant geographic location, factors such as building envelope, window type, optimum airinfiltration and tilt angle of PV panels and their proper orientation must be considered (Al-Saeedet al., 2020).These programs practically apply the standards in the investigation of sustainablearchitecture such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and BuildingResearch Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) with high qualityin terms of reducing energy consumption and environmental compatibility and usingefficient and modern technologies, provide the ground for the development of technologyand technical knowledge in this field (Wang et al., 2009). The Energy Performance ofBuildings Directive (EPBD), approved by the European Parliament and Council in relationto the energy efficiency of buildings, pledges the European Union, including 28 Europeancountries, to lower the energy consumption of residential and commercial buildings to nearzero in all new public buildings by 2019 and all new buildings by 2021 (Arbabiyan, 2001;Osmani and O%u2019Reilly, 2009). In the USA, based on a law passed in 2007 to support theconstruction of ZEB, the net energy consumption must reach zero in half of the commercialbuildings by 2040 and all commercial buildings by 2050 (Crawley et al., 2009). The best wayto improve the performance of existing buildings toward zero energy performance is anintegrated approach of different energy strategies, running in parallel, that tackle behavior,the efficiency of equipment, on-site renewable energy generation and energy storage.IJESM