“A brilliant example of what a company can achieve when it is determined to solve a problem. Another welcome example of how Stockholm – thanks to these companies – is able to set a good eco-example.”
Ulla Hamilton, Environmental Commissioner, Stockholm
Stockholm’s Environmental and Traffic Commissioner Ulla Hamilton was an enthusiastic speaker when Byggvesta organized a well-attended press conference to present its new energy and building concepts in the Kajutan quarter in Hammarby harbour.
“In order for Stockholm to keep its position as a world leader in environmental efforts, companies must continue to come up with new ideas,” she feels.
One such example is ByggVesta’s new technological concept used in 59 apartments in the Kajutan quarter which halves energy consumption from the current building standard of 110 kW h per square meter to 55.
In addition to Ulla Hamilton, ByggVesta’s MD Gunnar Nordfeldt and Business Development Director Marcus Svensson spoke at the press conference about how unconventional thinking can achieve energy efficient housing that meets the vision of sustainability without surrendering economy, aesthetics or quality. Johan Eriksson from Kraft & Kultur, who developed the Voltair heat exchanger, talked among other things about lower installation and operating costs, and new exciting materials that increase efficiency to entirely new levels.
New method reduces costs with existing technology
The Byggvesta concept used in the Kajutan quarter is a self-heating building with a well-insulated outer shell without cold bridges. The building envelope is based on a sealed, insulating frame, the latest generation insulating glass and energy recovery through the ventilation system. All heat-energy generated in the apartment is exchanged to incoming fresh air at an efficiency of 90 per cent.
The actual heat exchanger, a Voltair FTX unit, consists of plates made from a plastic material – polycarbonate – in a simple, highly efficient, robust system with few moving parts. The basic principle has been around for twenty years or more but the high level of efficiency has not been achieved until now with the development of the new material.
The air ducts are run vertically through the stairwell and enter each apartment at only one point, which is very space efficient. The apartments need no radiators but are heated through air exchange and requirements for additional energy are covered by district heating. All of the apartments have individual heat, electricity and district heating water metering. In this way tenants are able to influence their own individual housing costs.
