Buildings Active House are the houses, where people live longer, happier and more economically.
How is this possible and how is it achieved?
Active House– is the embodiment of the most advanced technologies in three areas:
- comfort
- energy efficiency
- еcology
At the same time, Active House is the simplest and most effective rating system in the world, which leads you to create projects worthy of the era of sustainable development. The headquarters of the International Active Alliance are located in Brussels.
(photo of the first active building in Ukraine, 2017)
(photo of the first active building in Ukraine, 2017)
All applied Active House solutions are displayed on a special radar with the appropriate scores.
Principles Active House is a holistic approach to the design, construction and renovation of buildings that have a positive impact on human health and well-being, focusing on quality, indoor / environment and renewable energy.
(holistic approach photo)
In other words, the Active House concept allows us to develop modern solutions and achieve certain points in the following sections.
1. Comfort
Here the key parameters oblige the architect to work with the design of the building, which is 2-3 times more than natural light (KEO 3-5%), this allows you to achieve illumination of more than 500 lx naturally. Comfortable temperature in winter and summer is achieved by the right spatial planning solutions, modern building materials, building tightness and engineering based on alternative energy sources. The architecture of the building makes it possible to provide effective ventilation and maintain the standard quality of fresh air for all rooms (CO2 ≤900 ppm), which allows you to organize a more comfortable stay of people.
(placement of windows in a special way gives an additional effect for ventilation)
(good ventilation saves energy in the building and does not exceed CO2 levels)
(large area of glazing provides additional lighting and energy to the building)
(good natural light creates comfort and vitality for a person during the day)
2. Energy efficiency
The use of special design solutions, modern building materials and engineering systems at the construction stage allow in the future, during the operation of the house to reduce the cost of utilities to a minimum or even 0! Today, such modern solutions as: correct orientation of the building, windows, doors, insulation, heat pumps, solar stations, heat recuperators and automation) allow you to passively and actively accept and save free energy of nature. Energy consumption in an active house is usually no more than 35-40 kWh / m2 per year!
The main heating and cooling of the premises in the active house is performed using a heat pump. It can be geothermal, water or air.
(scheme of heat transfer by heat pump “air-water”)
(photo of outdoor and indoor air-water heat pump unit)
The main energy in an active house is produced by a solar power plant (SPP).
(photo of the exterior of the SPP)
(photo and principle of recuperation)
These solutions easily open the way to the status of an autonomous house (ie without utilities), and the monitoring and management of the house will be carried out from a smartphone.
(control of sun protection systems)
(solar station control from smartphone)
(air quality control and heat pump control)
It is important to remember that the most sustainable energy is stored energy, not produced.
A mandatory condition for the Active House, and recently for all new buildings in Ukraine, is the presence of a thermal energy passport or energy certificate of the building.
3. Environmental friendliness
Many people do not even think about the air we breathe in our homes. Distraction, drowsiness, headache and other negative effects can develop when inhaling air with high content of CO2 and other harmful substances contained in many building materials. The use of environmentally friendly materials that do not emit carcinogens, as well as a ventilation system that maintains the level of CO2 in the premises at least 800 ppm, allows you to always get a good night’s sleep and feel refreshed.
The use of materials with the appropriate certificates reduces the impact on the environment and ensures the safety of your health.
The environmental certification of construction takes into account many parameters, one of them is the environmental declaration of the EPD product, based on the ISO 14025 standard.
Regardless of the overall design of the building and the main structure can be made of:
- Concrete
- Brick/Gas block
- Wood-frame system
An important element of the construction of Active House buildings is the certification of the ready-to-use object, which checks the initially declared parameters actually obtained. After certification, this object receives an official international label and has a different market value.
Capital costs for the construction of buildings according to the concept of Active House is not much more expensive than usual, but much cheaper to operate. Especially capital costs are reduced during the construction of an apartment building.
(Example of an Active House apartment building in Vienna, Austria)
(Example of an Active House apartment building in Stabio, Switzerland)
(Example of an Active House apartment building in Milan, Italy)
Active House is an international rating system for the design and evaluation of environmentally sustainable buildings. At the same time, this system is one of the most advanced and accessible for the architect, engineer, builder and customer for implementation.
The combination of only three basic principles in the implementation of buildings of the future will solve a huge number of economic and environmental problems without compromising human comfort and health.
The experience of other countries has long shown the effectiveness and prospects of such an approach.
During the construction of social facilities, the effect of an Active House increases many times over. Schools, kindergartens, hospitals and office buildings give a great aesthetic and economic effect. And they can be an order of magnitude more energy efficient than older homes.
(kindergarten, Denmark)
(school, Denmark)
Alteco company provides services for the design, construction and commissioning of buildings according to the Active House concept in accordance with the best solutions from Ukrainian and global developers. Having 10 years of experience with renewable energy sources allows us to use our own developments, adapted to the Ukrainian market, which significantly optimize the cost of construction and create an additional effect from future operation.
