Finland: houses with free heating and light

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In Finland, houses began to appear that are able to provide residents with free electricity. In the so-called "houses of zero energy", special equipment has been introduced that is capable of using the energy of the wind, the sun and the heat of the bowels of the earth to the maximum, converting it into free electricity and heat.

Innovative developments have already been tested by time and now we can say with confidence that such projects are the future, because power houses are able to generate so much energy that it is enough for the needs of residents and there is an excellent opportunity to sell it.

Saving energy resources is becoming an urgent problem for human society, so it is not surprising that unique projects appear that help to cope with this task.

In private households in progressive countries of the world, the introduction of innovative technologies to ensure complete energy independence is already commonplace, but apartment buildings are connected to this system with caution. And in vain, as the experience of the Finns shows, multi-storey power plant buildings do a very good job of this task, providing not only their residents, but also the adjacent areas with free electricity and heat.

The pilot project was launched 10 years ago, when two apartment buildings were built in different cities in Finland. The first powerhouse house called Luukku is located in the center of the country, on the shores of Lake Kallavesi, in Kuopio.

This is a student hostel with 47 full-fledged apartments, in which all the benefits of civilization are created. In addition to the living space, the house has two saunas (steam and infrared), common relaxation areas for social interaction of young people, a heated pool and a gym.

But it is still unusual that an innovative system of autonomous life support has been introduced in the house. The production of its own energy occurs due to the photovoltaic effect (solar panels), and a geothermal heating system is used to maintain a comfortable temperature in the premises in cold weather.

Interesting fact:The first "house of zero energy" was designed by the students themselves, who were studying at the Faculty of Architecture at the Aalto University. About a hundred people, including representatives of industrial enterprises and builders, participated in the development and implementation of the project before the final cycle.

All work was funded by the Finnish Innovation Fund under the Energy Program of Sitra under the personal supervision of the Minister of Housing, Jan Vapaavuori.

Before the construction of the first energy-independent apartment building in the history of Europe, a team of students and subcontractors carried out a number of studies with building materials and insulation.

Also, architecture students, together with representatives of partner educational institutions, calculated the location of the house and its surroundings, because in a harsh climate with few sunny days, this is a priority task.

Particular attention has been paid to the outer shell of the building, designed to minimize heat loss in the hostile north. For this, high-density heat-insulating elements were used, which reduced the heat loss of the outer layer of the shell, as well as airtight materials that were introduced into the inner space.

At the same time, a powerful ventilation and air recovery system was installed, which helps to maintain an optimal temperature and a microclimate favorable for human life.

But the building material alone will not be able to fight the cold. The structure of the building and its location play a fundamental role in this. To improve energy efficiency, architectural forms should be as simple as possible without protrusions and be distinguished by careful detailing of window / door openings. For such houses, frameless double-glazed windows are used, built directly into the building frame. This eliminates thermal bridges.

In addition, the object was positioned so that the main slope of the roof "looked" to the south side, which is not shaded either by canopies, or by nearby buildings or trees. It is on it that photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors are located, giving solar radiation to the conversion systems, safely hidden inside the building, so that non-volatile objects do not stand out from the usual structures.

Only canopies with photocells on the southern facade of the building will be able to tell that the tenants are very lucky and they are spared the need to pay a lot of money for utilities.

A more sophisticated “active house” is the second facility built in Järvenpää, near Helsinki. It provides 44 apartments for the elderly. Structurally, it is similar to a student dormitory with the same set of innovative implementations allowing to generate and maximally save heat and electricity.

But this does not mean at all that old people live in darkness and cold. As time has shown, they do not need to save energy resources in the usual sense, as we do in order to reduce the amount of bills in bills.

It's just that in their home the most unexpected equipment generates heat and energy. Even elevator braking systems and ventilation equipment are doing this, allowing 80% of the system's waste heat to be used for secondary heating.

It is predicted that the future belongs to "zero energy houses".

In the summer months, their house-power plant allows them to sell electricity to the city grids, and in the winter to buy the missing kilowatts. If you calculate the annual energy consumption, then the end result is always zero. Hence the name - "house of zero energy".