Home for Life in Danish Aarhus by AART Architects

“Home for Life” is the first implementation of the “VELUX Model Home 2020” project. This project aims to be an active part of the development of sustainable buildings, define future requirements for construction structures, and initiate discussion on the further development of building production.

The project includes the design and construction of six houses in five countries in Europe. These houses - experiments are built on the principle of the “active house” - a house with low energy consumption, a healthy indoor environment, plenty of light, and quality architectural solutions. They serve as testing laboratories where individual parameters, principles, and processes will be studied in a real-life environment. The houses are based on knowledge from the construction of passive houses, but in addition to energy consumption requirements, they emphasize maximum user comfort for residents and consideration for the environment (the overall carbon footprint of the building). Each house will respond maximally to the environment (country) in which it is created, with some focusing on the issue of renovations.

This experiment - “energy machine” - is built in the form of typical residential construction in Denmark. The house is environmentally friendly and facilitates a comfortable life for its residents.
The dynamic envelope of the house allows it to adapt to the life of its inhabitants as well as the changing seasons. The house is maximally lit, with window area representing 40% of the floor area. All rooms in the house have windows oriented to at least two cardinal directions to actively utilize all potential from sunlight and fresh air. The house is equipped with automated control for shading and ventilation, connected to a home weather station to achieve thermal comfort, resident comfort, and energy savings. The house is built as a wooden structure. All materials used in the construction were selected with regard to the CO₂ emissions required for their production.

Overall energy consumption is minimized and is covered by renewable sources installed within the building itself. The energy balance of the house ends in surplus and will return approximately the amount of energy required for its construction and the production of the materials it is made from back to the grid after about 30 years.

Energy equipment of the house

• Photovoltaic cells, solar collectors, heat pump.
• In winter months (approximately three months a year), a controlled ventilation system with heat recovery will be utilized; for the rest of the year, natural ventilation is used, resulting in energy savings.
• The house control system reduces energy consumption and ensures a good indoor climate.

The use of daylight has been optimized to ensure the health and well-being of residents as well as to minimize electricity consumption for lighting during the day. The area of windows constitutes 40% of the floor area, with windows located on all four facades (compared to the usual 20–25%), as well as on the roof to ensure sufficient daylight distributed into the depth of the layout.

Calculations versus reality
“Home for Life” has had its residents since July 1 - a family of four, the Simonsens. The Simonsens emerged as the winners of a selection process aimed at finding a suitable “test family.” For one year, the house will be monitored regarding energy consumption, and our test family, three members of whom are asthmatics, will observe whether living in a house built on the requirement of a healthy indoor environment will affect their health. These results will then be available on the project website www.velux.com.