Houses can be small power stations. A Danish family is among one of the first in the world to test how it is to live in a house, which produces more eneregy than it uses.Sverre Simonsen shows a couple of journalists from the Danish home and lifestyle magazine ”Bo Bedre” around his house. At the same time, 20 journalists from all over the world are ringing the doorbell. All the visitors are the only drawback to being a test family in the plus energy house, says Sverre Simonsen.
He is the father in the test family of four, who have moved into the ”Home for life” house in the Aarhus suburb of Lystrup. They will spend the next year testing how it is to live in a house that produces more energy than the occupants consume.
The family have lived in the house for a few months and so far they have enjoyed their stay. The house, which is 195m 2 ,has a panoramic view of the sea, but that it not the only advantage.
”Our conscience is a little better living here compared to living in a normal house with greater energy consumption,” says Sverre Simonsen, who previously lived in a 1970s single-family house.
He is enthusiastic about showing people around the house, which uses solar cells, solar panels on the roof, heat pumps and special energy windows to produce all the energy for ventilation, heating and warm water and lighting.
The perspective for the plus energy house is very good, according to the Velfac company who have built the house in Lystrup. 40 percent of all European CO2 emissions come from buildings. Building new energy-friendly houses or energy renovating existing houses therefore has great potential.
The house in Lystrup costs approx 200.000 Euros more than an ordinary single-family house in the same area. On the other hand, the house will pay for itself within 40 years due to the energy savings. Velfac would, however, like to develop the concept further, so that the house can become a standard house, with a purchase price that is within the financial reach of middle class families.
gy than it uses
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Major companies are getting on board with electric cars
Denmark is aiming to be the leading country for electric cars. And major industrial enterprises, car manufacturers and energy companies are all helping. The most recent example is the German car rental company Sixt, who have decided to send 200-300 Citroen C1 electric cars onto the Danish market.
The company will both sell and hire out the C1 cars. If on a particular day you need to drive further than the 120 km that the car’s battery can manage, you can exchange the car for a petrol-driven car at Sixt.
Europeans very rarely drive more than 60 km a day and Sixt’ Danish Managing Director Kasper Gjedsted does not think that having to visit a Sixt rental location before driving a long way will stop car-owners being spontaneous.
- If you are driving 200 km, you already need to have talked to your aunt and have taken care of various things before leaving home. We have 24 hour service and by the end of the year we will have a total of 20 offices around Denmark, explains Kasper Gjedsted.
The car can be attached to a conventional 220 volt socket at home. There is very wide-ranging interest in electric cars – extending from individual motorists to municipalities and companies.
Major industrial enterprises are also keeping an eye on the electric car market. Danfoss has recently developed components for the cooling and management of the electricity in electric cars. And Danfoss say that they are in talks with just about all car manufacturers regarding components for electric cars.
- You won’t find a car manufacturer who does not have a project concerning electric cars or hybrid cars, but it is difficult to say when this will become mainstream, says Claus A. Petersen, Director of Danfoss Silicium Power in Germany, to the Danish magazine Ingeniøren.
The company will both sell and hire out the C1 cars. If on a particular day you need to drive further than the 120 km that the car’s battery can manage, you can exchange the car for a petrol-driven car at Sixt.
Europeans very rarely drive more than 60 km a day and Sixt’ Danish Managing Director Kasper Gjedsted does not think that having to visit a Sixt rental location before driving a long way will stop car-owners being spontaneous.
- If you are driving 200 km, you already need to have talked to your aunt and have taken care of various things before leaving home. We have 24 hour service and by the end of the year we will have a total of 20 offices around Denmark, explains Kasper Gjedsted.
The car can be attached to a conventional 220 volt socket at home. There is very wide-ranging interest in electric cars – extending from individual motorists to municipalities and companies.
Major industrial enterprises are also keeping an eye on the electric car market. Danfoss has recently developed components for the cooling and management of the electricity in electric cars. And Danfoss say that they are in talks with just about all car manufacturers regarding components for electric cars.
- You won’t find a car manufacturer who does not have a project concerning electric cars or hybrid cars, but it is difficult to say when this will become mainstream, says Claus A. Petersen, Director of Danfoss Silicium Power in Germany, to the Danish magazine Ingeniøren.
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