Case Study: nZEC - New construction of 9 dwellings in Kapelaan Francklaan, Pijpelheide, Belgium

Short Description

One of three demonstration projects social passive housing subsidised by the Flemish Government to evaluate the feasibility of building - on a large scale - certified passive house social dwelling.

The nine passive houses are part of a larger project on the same building site with regular buildings and low-energy building. Energy consumption will be monitored in de next years and the different types of dwelling will be compared.

Key Elements

Certification

• Passive House (Flemish Passive House Platform)
• EPB-certificate
• Air pressure testing
  
  
  

Project Management

Monitoring of energy use with ICT-tools.

Capacity Building

Training of staff, architects, building company.

Work with Residents

Tenants guidance and evaluation of tenants experiences. Providing guidance to tenants in the practical use of the passive building.

Funding

Total building costs (excl vat):                            

• Vmsw max cost standard (‘regular project’) = 914.600 € (100%)
• Total building cost passive house project = 1.735.167€  (157%)
• Grant = 216.691€
• Total cost – grant = 1.518.476€ (174%)
  
  
  

Thermal Insulation

Exterior wall 1: 0,11 W/m²K

• 20 cm PUR

Exterior wall 2: 0,11 W/m²K

• 21 cm PUR

Roof:  0,09 W/m²K

• 40 cm glaswool

Floor: 0,12 W/m²K

• 2 x 6 cm rigid PUR + 8 cm in situ PUR foam
  
  
  

Air Tightness

Measured N50 value ≤ 0,6 ACH (air changes per hour). One of main dilemma’s of the project (ventilation rate less than 0.6). Lack of know how in Flanders.

Heating and Hot Water

Collective hot water production: Solar water heating (54 m²) and condensing boiler.

Windows and Shading

Windows:

• Wooden profile, triple glazed
• Ug : 0,5 W/m2K
• Uf : 0,82 W/m2K
• g: 0,48

Shading devices and hatches for south and west oriented windows.

Ventilation

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (PAUL Novus 300).

Cooling

Natural ventilation (windows). Ground-coupled heat exchanger.

Solar Thermal

Domestic hot water (collective).

Solar Photovoltaic

Small units installed.

Main Results

Certified passive houses are – at the moment - too expensive for social housing. As the yearly total budget for new buildings and renovation is limited, the number of new dwellings will be less if the passive house standard is imposed, while there is an urgent need for more social dwellings.

Lessons learned

Building sector (design, engineering, contractors, building suppliers,...) not ready yet for large scale passive housing projects. Need for synchronising all important partners.

Additional Information

Mr Bernard Wallyn
VMSW - The Flemish Agency for Social Housing
E-mail: bernard.wallyn@vmsw.be
Web: www.vmsw.be