Sustainability - it is a way of life.
Surplus energy homes
Vauban is a new major development of a sustainable city district near the town center of Freiburg in Germany. It was purchased by the city in 1994 with the goal of converting it into a environmental and social experiment. It has 2,000 homes to house 5,000 people as well as business units to provide about 500-600 jobs. The project is currently nearing completion and is widely seen as one of the most positive examples in Europe of environmental thinking in relation to urban design.
The impossible dream of every eco-friendly architect was a 'passive house'. In it no active system is needed to maintain a comfortable temperature. This was achieved by German architect, solar energy pioneer and environmental activist Rolf Disch in Vauban. His creation of a passive house is "super-insulated with foam and lagging up to 30cm thick, the flat is triple-glazed and externally sealed. Fresh air enters at ceiling level and is sucked out through a funnel on one wall." 'The heat from the warm air going out is transferred to the cold air coming in,' says Meinhard, Freiburg's chief architect and a world authority on passive houses. So far, his company has built about 100.
The flat is kept warm by simply using warmth from coking, lighting, and even warm blooded animals. Humans' temperature provide around 100W each, and 20W for a dog. This amazing technology cost 10% more to build then the average Freiburg house, it reduces energy loss and utility bills by a staggering 90%.
In Freiburg, passive houses like this are relatively few, but energy-saving houses are the norm. "Elsewhere in Germany, the law states that every new house built must waste no more than 75kWh/m2 per year (roughly a quarter of the energy lost from a typical Victorian house in Britain)."
Vauban is a new major development of a sustainable city district near the town center of Freiburg in Germany. It was purchased by the city in 1994 with the goal of converting it into a environmental and social experiment. It has 2,000 homes to house 5,000 people as well as business units to provide about 500-600 jobs. The project is currently nearing completion and is widely seen as one of the most positive examples in Europe of environmental thinking in relation to urban design.
The impossible dream of every eco-friendly architect was a 'passive house'. In it no active system is needed to maintain a comfortable temperature. This was achieved by German architect, solar energy pioneer and environmental activist Rolf Disch in Vauban. His creation of a passive house is "super-insulated with foam and lagging up to 30cm thick, the flat is triple-glazed and externally sealed. Fresh air enters at ceiling level and is sucked out through a funnel on one wall." 'The heat from the warm air going out is transferred to the cold air coming in,' says Meinhard, Freiburg's chief architect and a world authority on passive houses. So far, his company has built about 100.
The flat is kept warm by simply using warmth from coking, lighting, and even warm blooded animals. Humans' temperature provide around 100W each, and 20W for a dog. This amazing technology cost 10% more to build then the average Freiburg house, it reduces energy loss and utility bills by a staggering 90%.
In Freiburg, passive houses like this are relatively few, but energy-saving houses are the norm. "Elsewhere in Germany, the law states that every new house built must waste no more than 75kWh/m2 per year (roughly a quarter of the energy lost from a typical Victorian house in Britain)."
By: Mabel Cheung 11.2