Austria has the largest number of passive houses in the world
It could be any kind of conventionally constructed building, but the student hall of residence in Molkereistrasse in Vienna is anything but: It is a passive house, which means that its use of energy is many times lower than in a conventional building. 278 international students are living here enjoying the comfort that a passive house offers them. And since most students come to study in Vienna for a period of less than a year, around 800 students from all over the world live in the house every year.
- In this way information about living in a passive house is spread to lots of countries worldwide. Though it was not the original purpose, it is actually a very positive thing, since I am convinced, that passive houses have come to stay, Günther Jedliczka explains. He is manager of the ÖAD Housing Office that administrates the residence halls belonging to the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research. He explains that while the house in Molkereistrasse is the first residence hall built as a passive house, 3 more residence halls will open in 2009 and 2010 in Vienna and Linz. Based on 4 years of successful experiences.
Austria has the largest number of passive houses in the world after Germany and counted per person, the country actually by far has the largest number. The development is skyrocketing. In 2007 Austria had 1,670 passive houses This year the number has reached 4,500 and is expected to double in 2 years. Most of the houses are private property, since public buildings haven’t been part of the boom until now. As always somebody needs to lead the way. The town of Wels (16,000 people), for instance, has got 1 m2 of passive house pr inhabitant. The town has decided that all new buildings and existing houses to be renovated must follow passive house standards. Vorarlberg, one of 7 Bundesländer in Austria, has 1.5 m2 pr person. But also the capital Vienna is moving fast forward and in Innsbruck 350 new flats following passive house standards have recently been made. In Tirol 1,200 flats are well on the way and supervised by the same building custodian.
- I think district heating makes good sense in combination with passive houses. But district heating systems and the needed technologies must be modernized, so that they fit to the much lower supplies of heat that low energy houses need. The whole point of passive houses is that they use a very low amount of extra energy - up to 90% less than conventional buildings. But especially in blocks of flats, where a lot of m2 are put on top of each other, it is a good idea to supply with district heating, what the building cannot generate by itself. In single-family houses you have to look at each case, Günther Lang, Director of IG Passivhaus (a network promoting the construction of passive houses in Austria), says.
If district heating is to have a future in a low-energy society a few recommendations should be met, in his opinion. If not he doubts, that it will be cost-effective to connect low-energy houses to DH networks.
Read about his recommendations and more details about this case story in the below PDF.