Buildings or developments that are verified and certified as “net zero operational energy and/or carbon.” The building should demonstrate the highest levels of energy efficiency with the use of either renewables generated onsite or renewable energy procured offsite.
The university city of Freiburg is home to an innovative city hall that is now the biggest surplus-energy building in Europe. The edifice boasts outstanding thermal insulation that allows for low-temperature heating and high-temperature cooling. To minimise energy demand, the building is fitted with a ventilation system that uses heat recovery. The building is heated and cooled efficiently by using energy in the ground water. A heat pump operates the heating system and a plate heat exchanger is used for cooling. The roof and areas of the facade exposed to direct sunlight are fitted with high-performance solar energy panels, which also shield the building from the sun. The overall result is an energy concept that enables the building to make good use of renewables and thus generate more energy than it requires for heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. This is because the photovoltaic units produce more electricity than the building needs. The building also reacts to network requirements, so it can feed surplus electricity back into the grid.
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“The university city of Freiburg is home to an innovative city hall that is now the biggest surplus-energy building in Europe.”
