A Low-energy Building under Arctic Conditions - Experiences After Five Years of Operation

• Main Authors: Rode, Carsten, Vladyková, Petra, Kotol, Martin
• Format: Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Tapere University of Technology 2011
• Subjects: /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/affordable_and_clean_energy; SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy; Arctic; Greenland; Sisimiut; greenlandic
• Online Access: https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/a0f5a42d-87ba-48b5-8acc-9182c4500010

In 2005, a low energy house was inaugurated in Sisimiut, Greenland. The house and the plans with it were presented at the third International Building Physics Conference in 2006. The house is characterised by having a highly insulated building envelope which is almost free of thermal bridges, advanced windows, a ventilation system with heat recovery, and a solar collector that supplies a significant proportion of the domestic hot water. A very ambitious target was set for the annual energy consumption for heating, which was less than half of the value for permissible heat consumption according to the Greenlandic Building Regulations. The house has been the base of a number of research and student activities which have studied the house and evaluated how well it has performed. These investigations have clarified how the weather influences the hygrothermal performance of the house, and whether the house matches the expectations regarding low energy consumption and a high indoor climatic standard. The house did not meet the anticipated low target for energy consumption, and some reasons have been found which could explain why. Insufficient air-tightness of the building envelope, malfunction of some building services, insufficient insulation of ventilation ducts, and higher indoor temperatures than anticipated were among the main reasons.