The Green Lighthouse is a new facility at the University of Copenhagen. It is carbon neutral, utilizes solar panels, district heating, natural lighting and ventilation. And it shows us that energy efficient buildings are not a thing of the future.
The carbon neutral Green Lighthouse might look futuristic and hi-tech, but the developers assure us that building an energy efficient building is "not rocket science". Just common sense. (Photo: Adam Mørk)
In 2007 the United Nations Environment Programme released a report on buildings and energy use. The report stated that 80 % of a buildings energy consumption takes place during the use of buildings, and that in Europe one fifth of that energy consumption could be saved by applying more ambitious standards to new and existing buildings.
- The savings that can be made right now are potentially huge and the costs to implement them relatively low if sufficient numbers of governments, industries, businesses and consumers act, said Achim Steiner of UN Environment Programme at the time of the report’s release.
Two years later, on October 20 2009, a building opened on the campus of Copenhagen University that can be seen as an answer to Steiner’s call to action. Denmark’s first carbon neutral building; a step in the right direction, showing what efficient public-private cooperation can accomplish. A green lighthouse that can lead the way for others to follow.
It has been dubbed “the sundial” because of it’s characteristic cylindrical shape and the flat and slightly slanted roof. The roof is tilted to the South in order to create the greatest exposure to the sun which is the house’s primary energy source. The roof is covered with solar cells and solar panels generating electricity. The electricity generated is used to power pumps, lighting etc.The house is 950 m2 and is constructed according to the active house principle, meaning that it generates energy. It is not just energy efficient, it is in itself a renewable source of energy. It has its own energy supply containing a combination of solar energy, heating pumps and a district heating never seen before. The district heating drives a heat pump, resulting in lower CO2 impact compared to electricity. The Green Lighthouse is an energy-efficient building of high architectural quality, allowing a great amount of daylight to enter.
ALL NATURAL. The central atrium allows sunlight to shine in, and the air to flow through (Photo: Adam Mørk).
Daylight is the primary light source in the Green Lighthouse. In technical terms, the daylight factor is at least 3% in all working stations and minimum 2% in hall ways. This means that daylight is evident in all rooms. The natural ventilation assures plenty of fresh air and a healthy indoor climate. Ventilation takes place through the upper part of the windows that open and close automatically in order to allow fresh air to enter; no electrical powered systems are therefore needed. The heated air rises through the centre atrium of the building and exits through the skylights.
Constructing a carbon neutral house does not necessarily require hi tech innovations and expensive solutions, according to Lykke Friis, chairman of the Green Lighthouse steering committee:
- It is not rocket science, but primary common sense to construct carbon neutral buildings. The design concept of the house alone contributes to an energy use reduction by ¾.The unique design involves the optimal use of daylight, an automatic ventilation system and an automatic cooling and heating system. The orientation of the building, with regards to the sun, means that we can take full advantage of solar energy. With Green Lighthouse we kill two birds with one stone; we combine futuristic carbon neutral construction with a modern study and research environment.
The building is the result of a cooperation between the Danish Ministry of Sicence, Technology and Innvovation, the University of Copenhagen, the City of Copenhagen and the window producers Velux and Velfac. CEO at Velux Jørgen Tang-Jensen is very pleased with the result:
- We have built a climate friendly house that offers fresh air and good daylight conditions. It is possible to build a climate friendly house with the standard building components that we already use today.
CHARACTERISTIC. It's shape has given it the nick name the sundial.
The building’s heating consumption is estimated to be in the order of 22 kWh/m2/yr. Green Lighthouse’s heating supply is expected to come from the following energy sources:
An Active House is a building that meets the future demands for sustainable buildings. It has been developed with focus on health and comfort for the users. It should interact with local conditions and to the widest possible extent use renewable resources to make the house CO2 neutral.
(www.activehousing.net)
