Helitrop is the world's first active house
Recently, we are increasingly discussing the energy efficiency of our buildings and various energy concepts of buildings. Passive house, solar house, active house - terms that no longer sound strange to most of us. When building new facilities, we try to achieve minimum energy consumption and maximum use of renewable (green) energy. But 30 years ago the situation was completely different and only thanks to innovators who already then understood the importance of green technologies for our future well-being, the first energy efficient houses were created.
And today, we want to introduce you to the project of the German architect Rolf Disch - the house Heliotrop , which became the first active building in the world that produces more energy than it consumes. All the energy needed by the facility is obtained from renewable energy sources. The house, built in 1994 in Freiburg / Germany, became a private home for the family of architect Rolf Dich.
As the leaves and flowers rotate after the sun, so does Heliotrop follow its movement to achieve maximum efficiency in the use of solar radiation. The cylindrical building is located on a wooden rod equipped with a rotating mechanism. On the one hand, the house has triple glazing (U = 0.5), on the other hand - a well-insulated wall (U = 0.12). On winter days, the building faces south to let the maximum amount of solar radiation into the house and thus passively heat it. On hot summer days, on the other hand, the walls are well insulated to prevent the room from overheating.
The house is equipped with a solar thermal installation and a pellet fireplace with a Wodtke water circuit, which in combination with a system of ceiling panels provide space heating and hot water heating. Vacuum solar collectors are integrated in the form of enclosing railings of external spiral staircases and terraces.
Ventilation with recuperation is equipped with a geothermal heat exchanger, which due to the energy of the earth, partially heats or cools the inlet air.
Photovoltaic solar panels with a nominal power of 6.6 kW, placed on the roof of the house, provide five to six times more energy than the building needs, making the energy balance of the object positive (PlusEnergy). Photovoltaic installations are located on a special rotating structure, which is equipped with a solar tracker, which always guarantees the optimal location of the panels in relation to the sun and at the same time is able to adapt their orientation in case of strong winds.
The rainwater collection system is used for household needs and flushing water in bathrooms. Waste and faeces are decomposed in dry compost, and wastewater is discharged and treated in a cascading pond located on the premises.
While in Freiburg, you can book a tour of the house itself, where Rolf Dish and his wife will be happy to introduce you to this original project.
According to the materials: http://www.rolfdisch.de