// TellHus

New technology ensures lower costs and a better environment

Veidekke shall meet the climate challenge with innovation and development of new technology. The TellHus concept reduces energy consumption by 25 per cent and CO₂ emissions by 50 per cent.

The building industry has a special responsibility when it comes to handling the environmental and climate-related challenges faced by the world today. We know that a large share of the total energy consumption in Scandinavia can be related to the building and use of dwellings, non-residential buildings and public buildings. Veidekke is convinced that the solution to the challenges lies in innovation and the development of new, socio-economic and sustainable solutions which will contribute to reduce energy consumption, and thereby CO₂ emissions.

We must export more environment-friendly energy to Europe

CO₂ knows no borders. This makes the climate and environmental challenges a global problem. In other words, there is no point in reducing emissions in the Scandinavian countries alone. We must also reduce emissions in Europe and the rest of the world. Part of the answer to the climate problem is to develop solutions that will reduce energy consumption, particularly in housing. If we reduce our own power consumption, we will be able to export more environment-friendly energy to Europe. Hydropower produced in Norway may be regarded as pure energy, compared with the energy produced at the coal-driven power plants which still dominate in Europe and large parts of the world. By replacing climate-hostile sources of energy such as coal, with pure energy sources, CO₂ emissions can be significantly reduced.

Contributing to a more sustainable society

Reducing CO₂ emissions is an aim in itself, as a step in the process of reducing global warming. But by cutting back on our energy use, we will also contribute to a more sustainable society. In 2008, the world's population consumed an average of 1.4 times more resources from the Earth than is sustainable. This means we are in the process of draining the Earth of more energy than it is able to regenerate.

A special responsibility for reducing consumption

Through its extensive operations in Scandinavia, Veidekke has a special responsibility for finding solutions which will reduce the use of energy at building sites, and which will enable us to provide low-energy housing. One possible solution for cutting back the energy consumption in dwellings, is to introduce strict insulation requirements in order to minimise heat loss. But a one-sided focus on minimising heat loss through building housing with extreme insulation capacities, will lead to a considerable increase in building costs. We do not believe this is the way to go. We need to find solutions which are socio-economically sound, and which cover all considerations and requirements relating to project economy, private economy and environmental economy. There is no point in building dwellings which do not accommodate all these considerations.

The TellHus concept entails considerable reductions in consumption and emissions

Low-energy housing is a good alternative to existing and future building regulations and requirements. The TellHus concept combines the use of district heating or equivalent heat sources, with heat recovery, energy-efficient windows, good insulation and controlled power consumption. According to our calculations, these measures will reduce the energy consumption by approx. 25 per cent and CO₂ emissions by all of 50 per cent in relation to the new building requirements. Our estimations show that the costs of building a TellHus building is only marginally higher than those of building according to today's standards – a mere 1.5 per cent. And these costs will quickly be recovered through energy cost savings. In other words, it is possible to achieve both lower costs and a better the environment by building TellHus housing.

Veidekke is planning to put the first TellHus dwellings up for sale in Stockholm during spring 2009. The TellHus concept has now been extended to include office buildings and renovation of older buildings.