| Year | 2013 |
| Municipality | Changxing County |
| Location | Changxing, China | OSM |
| State | Zhejiang Province |
| Area (TFA) | 2200 m2 |
| Dwellings | 46 |
| Cost | None EUR/m2 |
| Consumption | 93.4 kWh/m2/year (primary energy) |
Landsea, a property developer, had decided to build an energy efficient passive house, the Passive House Bruck, to showcase what is possible as well as being able to provide living quarters for their staff. This is part of their future development strategy in developing and introducing energy efficient sustainable buildings to the Chinese market. It was planned by Peter Ruge Architekten in cooperation with the Landsea team of engineers and the German Passivhaus Institut. The Passive House Bruck is part of an ecological research and development centre in Changxing.
The Passive House Bruck is the first Passive House building built in a hot humid climate in south China (the climate being a temperate one with a short mild heating period and longer cooling period, with a very high (>80%) relative humidity). The 5 storey building was built as a show house and consists of 36 single room staff apartments, 6 two room executive apartments and 4 three room show apartments; these 4 apartments can be used by prospective clients to test living in Passive Houses. In all it covers a total construction area of 2200 square metres and is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
Note: All Data and Pictures are copyright © Peter Ruge Architekten GmbH http://www.peter-ruge.de/
The project has set the stringent target of the German Passive House standard in contrast to conventional less stringent domestic standards for residential buildings in China. The useful energy demand for cooling lies under that of that for ta Passive House at 15 kWh/m2a. The building has set out to construct an exemplary building envelope and integrate it with efficient thermal comfort systems. The building has a 60% reduction in energy consumption over conventional apartment buildings built by the Landsea group and a savings of 95% when compared against other conventional buildings.
| Year of completion | 2013 |
| Number of units | 46 |
| Number of occupants | 80 people |
| Elevation | 6 m |
The building features efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems with heat recovery; highly insulated and airtight building envelope; details preventing thermal bridges; solar hot water collectors for domestic hot water. Charging stations for electrical scooters.
Peter Ruge Architekten, Passive House Institute
The local climate dictates the building design. The building has a compact form and the envelope is heavily insulated. The core of the building is a concrete skeleton construction (columns, beams and floors). This was specially designed in accordance with Passive House requirements.
Brick construction is used for the eastern and western façades. The building envelope is insulated with 20 cm thick batt mineral wool insulation. The U-Value of the wall is around 0.20 W/m2K. The U-Value of the roof is given as 0.15 W/m2K. Special care was taken to ensure that the air tightness of the building was maintained. All interior walls are made from drywall and adhere to the local fire and acoustic codes. All materials were considered for their sustainability as well as their durability and ease of maintenance
The building envelope is protected from solar insolation on the east, west and south facades through vertical-coloured Terracotta shading elements. On the northern façade the vertical-shading elements shade the hallways and stairwells. Here the open configuration allows the hallways and stairwells to act as breezeways. A large canopy overhanging the ground floor entrance as well as set backs on the eastern façade provide adequate shading, eliminating the need for extra shading. This allows for uninterrupted views to the outside and gives the ground floor a certain transparency. The effectiveness of the solar protection was simulated and physically modelled to optimize the design.
| Type of construction | Heavy |
| Average U-value of building | 0.520 W/m2K |
| Thermal bridging | Detailing for thermal bridge free design was carried out according to Passive House criteria. |
| Air tightness | Certified pressure test (blower door) |
| Air tightness value | 0.60 1/h |
| Shading | External fixed solar shading |
| U-value | 0.900 W/m2K |
|---|---|
| Total thickness | 23.00 cm |
| Total area | 572 m2 |
| Material | Thickness | Thermal conductivity λ |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete | 20.00 cm | None W/mK |
| EPS Insulation | 3.00 cm | None W/mK |
| U-value | None W/m2K |
|---|---|
| Total thickness | 40.00 cm |
| Total area | m2 |
| Material | Thickness | Thermal conductivity λ |
|---|---|---|
| EPS Insulation | 20.00 cm | None W/mK |
| Concrete | 20.00 cm | None W/mK |
| U-value | 0.163 W/m2K |
|---|---|
| Total thickness | 40.00 cm |
| Total area | 1400 m2 |
| Material | Thickness | Thermal conductivity λ |
|---|---|---|
| Brick Wall | 20.00 cm | None W/mK |
| EPS Insulation | 20.00 cm | None W/mK |
From outside to inside.
| U-value | 0.110 W/m2K |
|---|---|
| Total thickness | 50.00 cm |
| Total area | 572 m2 |
| Material | Thickness | Thermal conductivity λ |
|---|---|---|
| EPS/XPS Insulation | 30.00 cm | None W/mK |
| Concrete | 20.00 cm | None W/mK |
| U-value window | 0.85 W/m2K |
|---|---|
| Total area | 608 m2 |
| Glass infill | Argon |
|---|---|
| Coating/Tint | Solar Control |
| Solar heat gain coefficient | 0.25 |
| U-value glass | 0.73 W/m2K |
| U-value window frame | 0.73 W/m2K |
Compact building form, east – west orientation, shading of windows in hottest months, use of solar gain in winter.
The building is pre-conditioned centrally with mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) unit on the roof. The MVHR Unit has a heat recovery of 75% and a humidity recovery of 60%. Dehumidification is to maximum 12 g/kg if needed. The central pre-conditioning is to ca. 22°C. In summer the outer air is cooled to 20°C if needed (with a dew point below 16°C). The MVHR consist of controlled rotating sorption and condensation rotary heat exchangers. Dehumidification is through an active groundwater fed cooler with rotary heat exchanger for cooling and reheating of the supply air. Exhaust air is removed via a central duct system to the energy recovery unit. The central unit compensates for pressure losses in the system. The central unit is located on the roof.
If needed the air can be further conditioned in each apartment through an auxiliary cooling unit for circulating air. Adjustment of room temperature is through a small decentralised heating and cooling unit in each dwelling with a circulation rate of 2/h. The re-circulated air for each apartment is to avoid odour nuisance.
Hot water is provided by a solar hot water heating unit on the roof. The solar thermal collector units consists of 25 OKP 20 units with a total area of 81.75 m2 . The buffer storage is of two 1500 l tanks. The hot water booster is electrical with a 100kW unit. The hot water system is able to provide 3000 l per day at 60°C
| Indoor design temperature summer | 26 °C |
|---|---|
| Indoor design temperature winter | 20 °C |
| Type | Heat pump (air) |
|---|---|
| Heating capacity | 30.00 |
| Annual final energy consumption | 5000 |
The building is pre-conditioned centrally with a central air preconditioning with mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) unit on the roof. The MVHR Unit has a heat recovery of 75% and a humidity recovery of 60%. Dehumidification is to 12 g/kg. In summer the outer air is cooled to 20°C if needed (with a dew point below 16°C). Exhaust air is removed via a central duct system to the energy recovery unit. The central unit compensates for pressure losses in the system. If needed the air can be further conditioned in each apartment through an auxiliary cooling unit for circulating air.
In summer the cooling load is 215 W pro apartment, the dehumidification load is 110 W. Simulations show that in summer indoor temperatures will reach a maximum of 26°C and a humidity below 65%
| Type | Electric Chiller |
|---|---|
| Cooling capacity | 35.00 kWth |
Hot water is provided by a solar hot water heating unit on the roof. The solar thermal collector units consists of 25 OKP 20 units with a total area of 81.75 m2 . The buffer storage is of two 1500 l tanks. The hot water booster is electrical with a 100kW unit. The hot water system is able to provide 3000 l per day at 60°C.
| Type | Evacuated Tube |
|---|
To optimise temperature and humidity mechanical ventilation systems were used throughout the building. Direct ventilation via windows was reduced to a 30 cm adjustable panel ventilation panel in each room.
| Type | Mechanical |
|---|---|
| Annual final energy consumption | 9730 kWh/year |
| Primary energy consumption | 205430.00 kWh/year |
| Primary energy consumption (ref. building) | kWh/year |
| Specific primary energy consumption | 93.40 kWh/m2/year |
| Specific primary energy consumption (ref. building) | kWh/m2/year |
Please note that the costs and thus the savings are at present not available. This information will follow soon.
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