A building in Bavaria has become the first to achieve the high standard of ‘Passive House Premium’, making it one of the most sustainable buildings ever constructed, according to the Passive House Institute.
The mixed residential and commercial building (pictured) in the town of Kaufbeuren has an annual heating requirement of just 8kWh a year for every square metre, and a 250-sq-m photovoltaic system on its roof that is expected to generate more than 120 kWh, or two to three times the house’s annual consumption.
The three storey, 900-sq-m building, officially known as The House of Energy, was developed by German building services company Airoptima, which will use the building as its headquarters. Â
It also has offices for architecture and home automation companies, as well as the operations manager’s flat, a training centre, and a permanent exhibition on sustainable construction.
The building’s smart energy systems were installed by the North Rhine-Westphalian company Jung and the scheme was certified by Herz & Lang.
On 14 November, the building will be opened to the public as part of the international Passive House Day 2015.
For Passive House Plus accreditation, a building must not consume more than 45 kWh per square metre of renewable primary energy a year and must generate at least 60 kWh; the premium standard required a maximum use of 30kWh and a generating capacity of 120 kWh.
As well as the PV roof the building has a ground-source heat pump and was built using a thermal composite structural panels. Intelligent building control minimise the use of lighting, heating and ventilation.
