Single family houses with surplus energy
(Baden-Württemberg)
Source: www.solarsiedlung.de
The settlement at Schlierberg is in direct vicinity of the Vauban area, approx. 3 km from the city centre of Freiburg. On the site of the former French Vauban barracks, a new, mixed use urban neighbourhood with a total of 2,000 flats and community needs facilities for approx. 5,000 people has come into existence since 1997.
On the 38 hectare area, housing and living space for different social groups is being created in compacted construction. Among the main measures of the so-called “Model Urban District Vauban” are: mobility concept reducing the number of cars, sustainable water management, energy-conscious construction, building waste management, promotion of joint building projects and cooperative building and the design of a cooperative planning process.
Photography: Gerhard Fehl
The energy-optimised new settlement has been in development on the former sports area of the Vauban barracks since 1999.
“In the solar settlement at Schlierberg, the future of solar building and living in harmony with nature is already reality” - this is the slogan of the building and project organiser “Solarsiedlung GmbH” (Solar Settlement GmbH) for this settlement which produces solar energy. The measures include 58 surplus energy houses. 43 of these had been built by the beginning of 2003.
The solar settlement is a trend-setting pilot project for solar building and living. The 2 to 3-storey wood construction buildings are in rows aligned to the south and are built in accordance with the high requirements of passive house standards. An individual design, the use of natural building materials and striking colours give the settlement a distinctive look.
The project organiser speaks of a “Surplus energy house” construction, since photovoltaic facilities on the buildings’ roofs generate more energy than the inhabitants of the houses consume. The surplus energy is the fed into the general electricity network.
The optimised passive house standard and the additional power generation lead to a reduction of the supplementary expenses for the users. Energy saving costs of at least 500 euros/year in comparison with a conventional house are aimed for.
According to the information from the project organiser, the houses are not more expensive than houses in a comparable location in Freiburg, despite the additional efforts. Half of the houses are occupied by their owners, the other half is rented. An exclusive real estate investment fund, the “1. Freiburger Solarfonds” (1st Freiburg Solar Fund) with 15 terraced houses of the settlement as fund property, was founded as an incentive for this capital investment.
To shield the settlement from the main road, the so-called “Sonnenschiff” (Solar Ship), a living and business house, is planned (begin of construction in the spring of 2003). The heat supply is currently covered by the wood chip fuelled power plant of the urban district Vauban. With the erection of the “Solar Ship”, heat generation through solar panels and a combined heat and power unit fuelled by biomass is planned.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| March 1994 | Statutes for the urban planning development measure "Vauban" |
| 1996 | Set-up of the legally binding land-use plan with ecological criteria |
| April 1998 | Foundation of Solarsiedlung GmbH |
| 1999 | Start of construction |
| 2000 | Key project of the EXPO participation of the solar region at the Upper Rhine |
| 2005 | Planned completion of the whole settlement |
Source: www.solarsiedlung.de
Photography: Gerhard Fehl
This solar settlement supplies the proof for the feasibility of a “Surplus energy house settlement” - an ecologically oriented, energy-efficient construction in modern solar architecture enables a positive energy balance. Passive house standards and the most modern energy technology are combined with the commercial operation of solar power plants.
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 79100 - town: Freiburg - street: Elly-Heuss-Knapp-Straße.
Record inserted on 01.02.2003 by Lehrstuhl für Planungstheorie und Stadtplanung, RWTH Aachen and updated by theFederal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
Last update: 31.07.2008
