Passivhaus
The most energy efficient buildings in the World
An Online Seminar
Discussing Global Passivhaus Buildings
+”The First Ultra-Low Carbon Hospital
Built to Passivhaus standards in the world”
Your Online Presenter
Raphael VIBERT
Click to visit Herz & Lang GmbH
Raphael is a highly qualified Passivhaus designer, consultant and Passivhaus certifier for Herz & Lang GmbH. He has worked with this company since 2011. The list of Passivhaus new constructions and refurbishments which he has gained experience with through his company Herz & Lang Engineering Company is as long as your arm.
Herz & Lang Passivhaus experience in construction and design stretch from Passivhaus private residential builds, public nursery schools, apartments, office buildings, an Olympic sports village, swimming pools, sport halls, prisons, supermarkets, court houses, through to the now iconic Passivhaus (PH) Frankfurt Hospital which Raphael will concentrate on in this presentation.
Raphael’s technical expertise includes, building physics for thermal behaviour and moisture proofing, Passive House planning certification, calculations on thermal bridges, accurate dynamic simulation of a building envelope and mechanical systems, hydrothermal simulation, optimisation of cooling and sun protection concepts, evaluation of ventilation systems with heat recovery, quality management and tendering process, certified airtightness measurements, and qualified thermography.
Hosted by
CI Renewable Energy Group
&
The Channel Islands Group of Professional Engineers
Anybody attending this presentation should expect a very vibrant, fact fulfilling presentation and we feel very privileged to host this event and wish to give thanks to Raphael and Herz & Lang, for taking time to give this informative lecture to the Channel Island Group of Professional Engineers, the Channel Island Renewable Energy Group and all the other interested parties and individuals in the Channel Islands.
Introduction
Although the Channel Islands has de-carbonised its electrical power supply systems, it has not managed to transition to low carbon heating for all its housing stock.
In the Channel Islands many properties are still heated with oil. Retrofitting our private sector higgledy-piggledy homes is so expensive that it will take a lot of effort and design changes to decarbonise. Also our old Victorian hospital in Jersey and many other Channel Island public buildings fall into this category.
If the Channel Islands are to meet their commitments to address climate change then we must make all our buildings low carbon and energy efficient.
The Channel Islands should play its part by retrofitting its old buildings to become much more energy efficient and, in future, construct highly energy efficient new builds.
However, this is easier said than done! The Passivhaus certification process could help the Channel Islands meet the highest possible standards.
Therefore, it would also be highly appropriate if Jersey could take its cue from this event by ensuring that its future hospital is energetically the most efficient in the British Isles.
Focused Discussion of the first Passivhaus Hospital in the World
As Jersey is in the process of designing its Future Hospital, we thought it appropriate to spend a little extra time focusing on the Frankfurt Hospital, the world’s first hospital built to Passivhaus standards. This is a remarkable achievement as it is also the world’s most energy efficient hospital.
Can the Channel Islands build to this standard and, in particular, can the Future Jersey Hospital match this?
Brief Overview of what is entailed constructing a Passivhaus Hospital
Due to their intensive 24-hour use, hospitals consume large amounts of energy. From the accident and emergency department and operating theatre to patient rooms, numerous technical devices are in continuous use and the lights are on practically all the time.
Hospitals have got to be designed with energy efficiency in mind. This is where the new hospital built in Frankfurt comes into its own. This hospital was constructed to full Passivhaus standards.
The core focus of Passivhaus is to dramatically reduce the requirement for space heating and cooling, whilst also creating excellent indoor comfort levels. In a Passivhaus building, thermal comfort is achieved through use of passive measures. These measures can be applied not only to buildings in the residential sector but also to commercial, industrial and public buildings.
Such buildings are called "passive houses" because a major part of their heating demand is met through "passive" sources such as solar radiation and the waste heat from occupants and technical appliances. A Passivhaus building thus consumes about 90 percent less heating energy than existing conventional buildings and 75 percent less energy than an average new construction.
In all modern hospitals it is desirable that the temperature of patient rooms and wards should remain at 22 degrees Celsius.
The Passivhaus design can meet its lower energy requirements because it incorporates triple-glazed windows, higher levels of thermal insulation, and recycles waste heat.
Generally speaking, the electricity consumption in a conventional hospital is three to four times higher than that of a residential building. Hence it is vital that every part of a hospital design should be well thought about.
It is clear that hospital equipment has a major influence on energy demand and that this must be taken into account when designing a new hospital e.g. the computers and magnetic resonance imaging devices alone account for eight and seven percent respectively of the energy demand, whilst the energy required in sterilising medical equipment accounts for a good four percent.
Conventional hospitals studies have shown that these are normally equipped with more devices than necessary and that these devices often also have not been optimised for energy efficiency.
Hence, a Passivhaus Hospital, by design, uses only the most energy efficient devices. This will also reduce the need for cooling.
Every Passivhaus building is equipped with a ventilation system that has a heat recovery mechanism that ensures that fresh preheated air constantly flows into the rooms.
Of course, it will still be possible to open the windows in the Passive House hospital.
Despite the higher indoor temperature and the higher air exchange rates, the energy requirement can be limited to 15 kilowatt hours per square meter of treated floor area per year (kWh/(m2TFAa).
Image Gallery of Passivhaus Buildings. A Passivhaus Hospital does not have to be ugly!