Thinking Structure and Energy Together: The Path to Net-Zero Buildings
Thinking Structure and Energy Together: The Path to Net-Zero Buildings
Türkiye’s building sector is responsible for approximately 32 percent of the country’s total energy consumption and 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. These figures make buildings one of the most critical battlegrounds in the fight against climate change. So, is it really possible to make a building “net zero”? And is it sufficient to consider structure and energy separately to achieve this?
In Türkiye, which has legally committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2053, the answer to this question is becoming increasingly urgent. As Koray Group, when we combine more than 70 years of construction experience with our energy generation capacity, we see that net-zero buildings are an engineering reality.
Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB): A structure that produces renewable energy equal to or greater than the total energy it consumes on an annual basis, thereby reducing its carbon footprint to zero.
Why Is “Integrated” Thinking Necessary?
In traditional construction processes, architectural design, civil engineering, and energy systems are handled as independent disciplines. A building is first designed, then constructed, and finally energy systems are “added.” This fragmented approach produces buildings that are not optimized but rather assembled through compromises.
The net-zero target fundamentally changes this sequence. Insulation of the building envelope, orientation, glazing selection, mechanical systems, and rooftop solar panels must be designed simultaneously as parts of a single equation. Energy production should not be a system “added later” but a feature embedded in the building’s DNA.
Three Layers on the Path to Net Zero
To achieve a net-zero building, it is necessary to work across three interdependent layers:
Passive Strategies: Reduce Consumption First
The first step toward reducing a building’s energy demand to near zero is not increasing production but reducing consumption. High-performance building envelope design, stricter thermal insulation requirements introduced by Türkiye’s updated TS 825-2024 standard, proper orientation, and natural ventilation strategies form the foundation of this layer.
As of January 2025, the requirement that all new buildings larger than 2,000 square meters be constructed in accordance with the NZEB concept shows that passive strategies are no longer “good intentions” but legal requirements.
• High-performance building envelope (low U-value walls, roof, floor)
• Thermal bridge solutions and high-performance glazing systems
• Architectural positioning optimizing solar orientation
• Natural ventilation and daylight maximization
Active Systems: Maximize Efficiency
The energy demand reduced through passive strategies is met with highly efficient active systems. Heat pump-based HVAC, energy recovery mechanical ventilation, LED lighting, and smart building automation systems are components of this layer.
Renewable Energy Integration: Establish Balance
The final layer is the integration of renewable generation capacity to meet the building’s remaining energy demand.
While Türkiye’s solar energy potential is estimated at 380 TWh per year, only 25 TWh is currently produced. This massive gap points to the opportunity for building-integrated solar solutions.
Koray Approach: Structure and Energy Under One Roof
Building a net-zero building cannot be achieved by assembling parts from different companies. Energy engineering must be present at the architectural design stage, solar panel placement must be planned simultaneously with structural calculations, and building automation must operate integrated with mechanical systems.
Koray Group brings together the decades-long construction engineering expertise of Koray Yapı with the renewable energy capacity of Koray Enerji and Hun Enerji under one roof. This is a rare vertical integration in the sector and provides a decisive advantage for achieving net-zero targets:
Dimension – Advantage of the Integrated Approach
Design: Energy simulations run simultaneously with architectural decisions; revision costs are eliminated.
Procurement: Panels, inverters, and storage solutions are supplied directly from group companies; intermediary costs and coordination time decrease.
Implementation: Construction teams and energy installation teams operate under a single project management structure; interface issues are minimized.
Operation: Building automation monitors energy production and consumption data on a single platform; optimization becomes continuous.
Economic Reality: Are Net-Zero Buildings Expensive?
The biggest perceived barrier to net-zero buildings is cost. However, data disproves this perception:
- Initial investment gap is narrowing: Declining panel costs and advances in heat pump technology bring NZEB construction costs closer to conventional buildings.
- Operating costs decrease: Savings of 40 to 96 percent in energy expenses offset the initial investment over the building lifecycle.
- Value increase: Buildings with high energy classes gain market premium and increase investment returns.
- Regulatory risk decreases: Mechanisms such as ETS and CBAM will increase the future cost of carbon-intensive buildings. Those investing today are prepared for tomorrow’s regulations.
According to McKinsey estimates, green business models in Türkiye could create more than 500 billion dollars in cumulative value by 2030.
The Future Belongs to Integrated Thinkers
Net-zero buildings are no longer showcase projects; they are the new normal required by Türkiye’s 2053 target and trade relations with the EU. Those who successfully achieve this transformation will be organizations that consider structure and energy not as separate disciplines but as parts of a single whole.
Koray Group, as one of the rare construction groups that has embedded this holistic perspective into its corporate DNA, believes that net zero is not only an engineering project but also a matter of vision.
Thinking structure and energy together means building the future together.