Great potential for using less energy
Forty per cent of the total energy consumption and twenty-five per cent of CO2 emissions in Scandinavia can be traced to the construction and use of homes, offices and other buildings. There is a great potential here for using less energy and thus reducing the emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere. Veidekke has taken this into account by investing in the TellHus concept. These are climate-smart flats, which reduce carbon emissions by about 1.5 tonnes per flat per year compared with flats in ordinary new buildings.
The idea behind TellHus is lower electricity consumption
The basic idea behind TellHus is to reduce electricity consumption in the flats with the help of some simple measures:
-
The insulation on the walls is increased by 5-6 cm compared with current insulation
-
Heating is provided by environment-friendly district heating (including underfloor heating in the bathroom)
-
Superinsulating glass is used in the windows
-
We steer deliveries towards low-energy white goods, low-energy lamps and energy-efficient, heat recovery ventilation systems
-
All flats have a display showing how much electricity and hot water the flat is using in real time and how much this consumption costs
-
Standby function on electrical goods can be switched off
These measures add up to significant energy savings, but have no dramatic impact on the building process or cost of materials. Unlike other alternative building concepts, we estimate about the same margins for a TellHus project as for our ordinary housing projects.
Although a TellHus has marginally higher heating requirements than a Passive House (where the walls are up to twice as thick), it is responsible for the emission of significantly less CO2. This is because TellHus flats are based on the use of environment-friendly district heating and less polluting electricity. The building process is also environmentally acceptable. The portacabins – which every building site has to have – are heated by environment-friendly district heating. Moreover, “green” electricity is used for machines on the building site in order to stimulate the market for this type of energy. However, this has no impact on CO2 emissions.
Construction begins in autumn 2008
Construction of the first 35 TellHus will start this autum in Västertorp in Stockholm and several local authorities in Sweden have expressed an interest in this building method. We hope that a large percentage of projects for our own account will be built on the pattern of the TellHus flats in the years to come. The future lies in developing climate-smart flats – and TellHus will therefore make an important contribution to our future profitability and position in the Scandinavian market.
