Bioclimatic House : Evaluation of solutions to develop a selfsustainable dwelling in Nordic countries

Abstract: In  European  countries  houses  represents  36  %  of  CO 2   emissions.  To  reduce  these  emissions Bioclimatic  housing  is  proposed.  A  series  of  solutions  are  studied  in  this  project  to  acquire  a  low energy consumption building. Viability studies and guidelines of bioclimatic houses are given for the realization of this house in the Nordic countries.  A study of insulating materials and composition of the enclosures of the bioclimatic house is carried out  complying  with  the  Swedish  norm.  To  achieve  the  building  envelope  criteria  of  high  insulation and passive house construction are followed. Calculations of thermal transmittance, considering the geographical situation of the house, in a Nordic country, like Sweden are performed. One  method  to  obtain  the  energy  demand  of  buildings  is  to  use  computer  software.  A  graphic interface called DesignBuilder v 3.01. This software is utilized to study the importance of insulation and orientation in relation to the energy demand in a bioclimatic house. In  accordance  with  the  bioclimatic  construction,  renewable  energy  sources  are  chosen  to  supply electricity to the dwelling. This is to reduce the environmental impact and the ecological footprint of the household. To achieve this, three different alternatives are chosen. In addition, another goal is to study economic viability and possible agreements with an energy company in order to sell excess of energy.  A final result of the study and evaluation of the three different systems to provide energy and passive house strategies is obtained. According to the economic aspect, the Bioclimatic house should have a passive house envelope, facing south and a system combining of windmill turbine, solar photovoltaic panels and geothermal energy. The construction of bioclimatic houses helps to reduce the anthropogenic CO 2  emissions. In addition, the construction of bioclimatic houses is one way to achieve an ecologically sustainable future.