A real life example, the "Zener Heim," meaning "zero energy" in German, has been built in the city of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.
Located among the townhouses and apartments of Bansong-dong, Zener Heim uses solar, wind and geothermal energy, and minimizes energy waste, allowing visitors a first-hand look at an energy-efficient home.
The two-storey house, which opened in August 2010, has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, kitchen and roof garden. Also, unlike most other energy efficient houses in Korea which were built primarily as show homes, Zener Heim was designed for real-life use, and includes 70 environment-friendly technologies developed by Daewoo Engineering and Construction.
"Many people who visit here actually like this house very much and say it is more comfortable than they expected," said Lee Ji-yun of Zener Heim Housing Management. Those who are interested in visiting the house can apply through its homepage (Zener Heim) (Korean only).
Many aspects of the home have been designed to both save energy and provide an extra layer of convenience. For example, the taps in the kitchen use solar power to pump water, and are activated by touching a switch at the bottom of the sink.
The veranda on the second floor serves as a roof garden and offers a nice view. The added insulation from the garden helps raise the indoor temperature up to two degrees in winter. Special construction methods kept the weight of the roof garden and the rest of the house down, making the whole home lightweight.
Despite the strong winter chill earlier this year, Zener Heim used little energy for heating, according to Lee, who used statistical data as proof. The house uses both "passive" and "active" technologies to reduce energy consumption and produce renewable energy.
Passive technologies prevent the house from wasting energy. Daewoo Construction used low-emission glass for all the windows in the house, which also provides high levels of insulation and privacy thanks to a special film. To prevent energy waste, aerogel was used to cover the outer wall of the house. The ventilation system also helps people use less energy for heating and cooling by allowing ventilation only when and where it is needed.
Active technologies, including solar, geothermal and wind power energy production, were also used in Zener Heim. Hybrid lights in the garden shine at night from solar and wind power collected during the day. Solar panels installed on the roof provide electricity and hot water. "The temperature of the hot water is around 43 degrees and the boiler is operated only when needed," said Lee. Geothermal energy also helps maintain the temperature inside the house year-round through 100 meters of heating pipes in the floors.
Zener Heim produces 624 kilowatts of energy per hour and saves 230 kilowatts a month. Compared with a normal house, which uses 700 kilowatts per hour, it saves more than 150 kilowatts of energy every month.
Daewoo plans to apply many of the technologies it used in building Zener Heim to its apartment complexes in the next few years. The dream of zero energy houses may well come true for Koreans in the coming years, bringing about a greener and more sustainable housing market.
Source: Apec-vc
