Homes that breathe
Low-energy houses help Austrians stop sending money up in smoke
Though closed up at night, the air is fresh in the morning, and the constant ventilation prevents mould in the bathroom
By Albert Otti
DEUTSCHE PRESS-AGENTUR, Vienna
Temperatures may be falling and energy prices are still high, but an increasing number of Austrians living in low-energy houses have little to worry about this winter.
Martin Mueller, 40, his wife Barbara, 35, and his children have been living in a so-called “passive house” in Perchtoldsorf, just outside Vienna, since 2003.
Unlike conventional buildings, such houses need hardly any heating and cooling, but draw energy from sunlight, the earth and the people dwelling within.
The house’s air duct system draws fresh air from the outside and heats it up a few degrees as it run down a pipe to the ground and then on into the cellar.
There, it flows through a heat exchanger and permeates every single room in the house through holes near the ceiling, ensuring a near – constant temperature of 21 degrees Celsius.
The heat stays inside thanks to triple-pane glass windows and wooden walls that have been insulated with cellulose.
Extra warmth is proved by people giving off body heat, by household activities such as cooking and by sunlight coming through big windows on the south side of the building.
Although many passive houses have no additional heating, Mueller decided to install a small heater that burns itself on for short periods during the cold winter nights.
The family’s heating and electricity bills have dropped to a mere €400 bond annually over the €960 they use to pay when they lived in an 80 square meter flat.
The first passive houses were built in the early 1990s in Germany, where more than 10,000 such residential buildings have since been constructed, according to the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany.
With 4,000 such buildings, Austria has the highest per capital rate of low-energy houses in the world and regional governments are subsidizing low – energy houses, making the switch increasingly popular.
Austria’s westernmost province, Vorarlberg, now only subside the construction of apartment buildings if they are low – energy. In Vienna, 24 per cent of new housing constructed in 2009 will have no oil or gas – burning heating.
But although the financial incentives are important, passive house owners such as the Mueller family say they also enjoy other benefits.
Even if windows are closed at night, the air is refresh in the morning, and the constant ventilation prevent mould in the bathroom.
Though closed up at night, the air is fresh in the morning, and the constant ventilation prevents mould in the bathroom
By Albert Otti
DEUTSCHE PRESS-AGENTUR, Vienna
Temperatures may be falling and energy prices are still high, but an increasing number of Austrians living in low-energy houses have little to worry about this winter.
Martin Mueller, 40, his wife Barbara, 35, and his children have been living in a so-called “passive house” in Perchtoldsorf, just outside Vienna, since 2003.
Unlike conventional buildings, such houses need hardly any heating and cooling, but draw energy from sunlight, the earth and the people dwelling within.
The house’s air duct system draws fresh air from the outside and heats it up a few degrees as it run down a pipe to the ground and then on into the cellar.
There, it flows through a heat exchanger and permeates every single room in the house through holes near the ceiling, ensuring a near – constant temperature of 21 degrees Celsius.
The heat stays inside thanks to triple-pane glass windows and wooden walls that have been insulated with cellulose.
Extra warmth is proved by people giving off body heat, by household activities such as cooking and by sunlight coming through big windows on the south side of the building.
Although many passive houses have no additional heating, Mueller decided to install a small heater that burns itself on for short periods during the cold winter nights.
The family’s heating and electricity bills have dropped to a mere €400 bond annually over the €960 they use to pay when they lived in an 80 square meter flat.
The first passive houses were built in the early 1990s in Germany, where more than 10,000 such residential buildings have since been constructed, according to the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany.
With 4,000 such buildings, Austria has the highest per capital rate of low-energy houses in the world and regional governments are subsidizing low – energy houses, making the switch increasingly popular.
Austria’s westernmost province, Vorarlberg, now only subside the construction of apartment buildings if they are low – energy. In Vienna, 24 per cent of new housing constructed in 2009 will have no oil or gas – burning heating.
But although the financial incentives are important, passive house owners such as the Mueller family say they also enjoy other benefits.
Even if windows are closed at night, the air is refresh in the morning, and the constant ventilation prevent mould in the bathroom.
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11:31 AM
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