The purpose of the Living in Light Box
The Mock up small scale demonstration is called the Living in Light Box. It is a CO2 neutral Active House test-housing unit demonstrating innovative Active Roofs and Facades technologies as well as the Living in Light solution. The Living in Light Box is a CO2 neutral prefabricated Active House test-housing unit that is realised in connection to the two Nordic Built projects “Living in Light” and “Active Roofs and Facades in Sustainable Renovation”. It is funded by two EUDP projects as well as the Nordic Built projects “Living in Light” and “Active Roofs and Facades”. It is also representing the result of a cooperation with the city of Copenhagen, first in the EU-Concerto project “Green Solar Cities” and later in the EUDP project “Smart Grid School Renovation”.
All projects are coordinated by the Kuben Management organisation and with technical coordination by Cenergia, which is now part of Kuben Management.
In connection to the Nordic cooperation, it has been possible, to realise important research and development work in connection to using the international Active House labelling standard and to make full scale testing of the Living in Light concept before full scale realisation in connection to the renovation and urban renewal of a small housing block in Valby in Copenhagen. Active House labelling has the benefit of a combined focus on Energy, Comfort and Sustainability.
In the Living in Light Box the glass facade solution are demonstrated and tested in small scale. Thereby it is possible to improve the solution before it is implemented in the full scale demonstration project at Gl. Jernbanevej in Valby. On the pictures below it is possible to see that the glass facade is made by two separate glass walls. The inner glass facade can be moved to the side – hide by the kitchen wall at the picture below. This solution increase the possibility of daylight in the apartment. Read more abort the full scale demonstration project here.
Products used in the Living in Light Box
Svendborg Architects has developed an outline design forming the basis for the mock up design concept. Each room is an architectural living lab where Living in Light and the different contributing suppliers can test their ideas and possible technical solutions.
The Living in Light Box test-housing unit includes important work concerning solar energy integration in practice, both with focus on building integration of solar thermal and PV into a CO2 neutral housing design. The relatively low cost solar thermal solution integrated in the south façade represents a strong architectural optimised technology from the Norwegian producer Aventa, which has made housing projects in Norway that, according to measurements by Sintef from Norway, performs better on a yearly basis than heat pumps. The Danish PV company, Racell has provided building integrated PV both for the facades and for the roofs, which together with a battery secures an overall CO2 neutral design for the building. Roof windows from VELUX secures together with façade windows from VELFAC a good daylight level for the house, and the company Ecovent International is responsible for a building integrated ventilation solution, which as an extra benefit also has a directly PV driven ventilation to secure against overheating in correspondence to natural ventilation provided from the roof windows. Visility has delivered the integrated energy management and survey system, while Husfabrikken, also working with Nordic Flexhouse has been overall responsible for producing/building the prefabricated housing unit.
Read more in the Living in Light Box brochure.
The mock up is located at ”Eik Skaløs Plads” close to Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole at Holmen in Copenhagen. In the autumn of 2017 the Living in Light Box will be moved to Valby in Copenhagen where it will be used by Københavns Kommunes Områdefornyelse.