An indoor climate with sustainability in focus
This was a challenging project with a clear focus on sustainability, but we identified our VITA HCV 460 E1 as an ideal option to meet set targets.
Background
UN17 Village in Ørestad, Denmark, was a 35,000-square-metre project aimed at becoming an eco-village designed with environmental, social and economic sustainability at its core. From construction through to providing 500 rental properties and additional buildings, this housing project was going to raise peoples’ physical and mental quality of life.
The high ambitions were not only spoken words, but were also translated into real targets related to UN’s 17 Sustainability Development Goals and DGNB Platinum certification.
Sustainability in every detail
UN’s SUSTAINABILITY DEV. GOALS
The UN17 Village was devised several years ago by NREP, one of Denmark’s most forward-thinking real estate developers. NREP is strongly committed to a better future for real estate and has pioneered the push for greater sustainability. This includes:
- Committing to being carbon neutral by 2028
- Creating the world’s first building made entirely with recycled concrete
- Developing the largest rooftop solar panel system in the Nordics
This dedication was also the driving force behind UN17, aptly named as it aims to bring all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into one community. Under each category of the UN goals, NREP selected approximately 100 initiatives to help achieve these objectives. As an example, CG Jensen delivered the construction site as fossil-free. Everything ran on biofuel and electricity, saving more than 60 tonnes of CO2.
DGNB PLATINUM CERTIFICATION
In accordance with The DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) System, the UN17 village aimed to achieve not only the Platinum certification, the highest standard, but also DGNB Heart, which carries extremely high requirements for health and wellbeing:
One of the main aspects of achieving this esteemed certification is ventilation. The benchmark required the project to go beyond an adequate level of ventilation with a solution that was fully controllable, energy efficient and powerful enough to deliver fresh, clean air throughout the buildings.
More in our indoor climate guide
More about the challenge at hand
The presented solution needed to:
- Come with enthalpy heat and moisture recovery exchangers
- Adjust air for both relative humidity (RH) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Provide additional filtration in the form of ePM1 55% filters
- Increase basic air-exchange according to BR 18 (Danish building regulations)
- Have seasonal set points for bypass free cooling and demand control
- Provide a much higher standard of ventilation control
Furthermore, it was important for NREP that the supplier was based geographically near, minimising the travel and CO2 emissions associated with manufacturing and transporting products to the site.
Understanding of the precise needs led to great cooperation
MOE, the consulting engineer behind UN17, had previous experience with our solutions from a healthy home renovation project involving three older buildings.
The effectiveness of our products in that project led them to reach out regarding UN17 as well. After many meetings to understand the precise needs of this project, we worked closely with MOE to devise a unique solution that met the demanding requirements.
A previous case as the benchmark for UN17
Using our HCV 400 E1 units for ventilation in the previous project, it was found that these alone resolved over 50% of the indoor climate issues thanks to:
- Improved overall comfort thanks to both heat and enthalpy recovery
- Managed level of VOCs in the indoor environment
- Reduced presence of pollen, bacteria, dust, mould, odours etc
- Reduced rate of deteriorating materials and structural damage
It reached a level where the air inside the buildings was healthier than the air outside. The success led us to become MOE’s first choice to also design and engineer an indoor climate solution for UN17.
Our solution – HCV 460 E1
We identified the HCV 460 E1 as the ideal option for the UN17 project. This highly efficient air handling unit was powerful enough to meet the specific airflow requirements of the spacious UN17 homes, while still being compact enough to minimise the living space these solutions occupy.
The HCV 460 E1 also offers advanced control strategies. Rather than adjusting only according to the temperature and humidity, the units also monitor the presence of VOC levels and other parameters to ensure optimal air quality.
Prior of our first delivery of units, we visited the site to perform tests on a 1-to-1 scale model. This helped to identify and address any issues well ahead of actual installation.
Adaptation to meet the challenging requirements
HUMIDITY
Prior to this project, the HCV 460 (E1) air handling unit was solely fitted with a heat exchanger to maximise heat recovery. To meet the high ambitions in this case, we adapted the units to include an enthalpy exchanger, which recovers both heat and humidity from the extract air and transfers it to the fresh supply air.
This is crucial in the winter, as outside air can become very dry, negatively affecting the indoor climate. Conversely, in summer, moisture in the air will rise noticeably. Maintaining healthy humidity levels is important not only for occupants’ health and comfort, but also for the building itself, helping reduce moisture-related issues, material deterioration and long-term structural damage.
ENTHALPY HEAT EXCHANGER
By using an enthalpy exchanger, humidity is recovered from the extract air in winter, keeping this at a consistent and healthy level. In summer, supply air is dehumidified when passing through the exchanger, producing cool, fresh and comfortably dry air.
Learn more about humidity
More than just a supplier
While our products were key to solving the indoor climate challenge, we also take great pride in delivering successful projects from start to finish, supporting the installers, engineers and housebuilders in any way we can.
The UN17 project was, and still is, no different. We are in regular communication with PRO|VENTILATION, the company selected to manage the installation of the indoor climate solution. We have conducted regular training sessions to ensure they know our unit as well as we do.
Beyond this, we have also worked closely with NREP, supplying them with videos, guides and other references that they can pass along to eventual homeowners to ensure they fully understand their ventilation solution.
