Requirement-orientated
planning in advance and basic decisions
The planning in advance
already starts with the layout of the building site. A cellar, e.g., is only
economically buildable if situated on the hillside or on very small or
expensive premises on which the necessary rooms used for household chores cannot
be located in the basement/ground floor or on the north side of the house.
Various facts have to be taken into consideration when arranging the rooms,
like natural weather protection by trees and hills, sky directions, active
and/or passive use of solar energy. Among other things, for climatic regions
like Germany this means having no or only small windows facing north, but large
windows and utility rooms facing south.
Intelligent
technology
Intelligent technology is to
be understood as approved, energy efficient and therewith persistent building
materials and methods, e.g. wood frame building as carrying structure for
ceilings, walls and roof top. What makes wood frame building so interesting, is
the fact that mainly resource-saving material like wood is being used. But also
the high level of prefabrication under ideal conditions which leads to a good
quality of the product and efficiency of work. By using multiple layers of
insulation in the inside and on the outside of exterior walls and ceilings, at
a relatively low thickness of building components, a very high magnitude of
insulation can be reached (up to 0.09 W/m K). With this, more space and heating
energy is saved. The façade of the wood frame building can be shaped
individually.
Utilization
of locally available alternative energy sources
The utilization of locally
available alternative energy sources is a fixed part of our concept. It is
important to make use of the energy which is actually available, and that the utilization
of it is useful and connected with low costs. wind power is not important for
regular housing areas (cities, communities, etc.), because it is not available
everywhere. It is inconsistent and connected with very high investments and
need for space. Solar energy is also only partly economically useful. Active
utilization by means of sun collectors or photovoltaic arrays is only
regionally economical. Passive utilization with large windows facing south,
however, is possible everywhere, but not necessary everywhere. The same applies
to warmth pumps. They can generate energy from the surrounding air, soil or
groundwater and so there are practically no zones in which warmth pumps cannot
be used.
Environmental
compatibility and living space climate
Since most building owners
have not only an energetic but also an ecological consciousness, in low-energy
houses the latest results of research in the fields of environmental
compatibility and health compatibility are used. Wood preservation is only used
where necessary. And instead of chemicals, biological natural materials (brine
solutions) serve as replacements.
Preventive wood protection in
constructions, however, is the priority. For gluing purposes water-soluble
substances are used. Where this is not possible, modern glues with solvents
which are not hazardous are used; for the paintwork, where necessary, solvent
free, water-soluble and respiration capable paints (glazes, water varnishes,
oils, etc.). Barrier layers (steam brake) within the multiple layers of walls
and ceilings prevent a penetration of microscopic particles from the insulation
to the inside of the room. Studies have shown, that microscopic particles from
natural insulation materials like sheep wool or cellulose can also cause
allergic reactions. Chlorine-free plastic pipes for the drinking water
installations. Researchers have pointed out that in Germany many of the people
who offer so-called eco-houses use chlorine-free pipes for the waste water, but
for the drinking water still use hazardous copper pipes. Utilization of environmentally
friendly heating technology and renewable sources of energy, e.g. warmth pumps.
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Conzept 
