- Paroc's passive house building concept and know-how is raising interest on an international level. Passive building sites in Finland and Sweden have been presented to, e.g. the Russian and American ambassadors along with a group of corporate and media representatives, tells Development manager Pekka Haikonen from Paroc's Building Insulation division.
Paroc's passive house concept was presented at the end of September to a group of corporate representatives from the Pays-de-la-Loire area, who are part of the Green Building Cluster. Green Building Cluster is a network that gathers together building experts, professionals, institutes, and universities in the EU area. The group that visited Paroc consisted mainly of manufacturing industry professionals, but also representatives from Pays de la Loire's chamber of commerce and research institute CETE Ouest were present.
Paroc Building Insulation's development managers Pekka Haikonen and Kim Bärlund explain to the visitors the background of the Paroc passive house concept: why energy efficiency of buildings needs to be focused on and how significant is the saving potential underlying improved energy efficiency in buildings. The background information was followed by a presentation of the Paroc passive house concept as a whole. – We wanted to convey to them, that a passive house is not luxury but an energy efficient building solution alternative in anyone's reach. A passive house owner acts energy wisely and can obtain significant cost savings in the energy bill, Haikonen explains. The participants were also told, that according to the calculations made in Finland's first passive house in Tikkurila, the cost savings during 25 years can be up to 50 000 Euros.
The visitors paid special attention to the energy efficiency of a passive house by focusing on how little energy a passive house consumes in Finland's climatic conditions. The pleasant and even indoor temperature, despite Finland's drastic seasonal temperature changes, also evoked discussion.
The Innova project – multi-storied building into a passive house – which makes the renovation of old multi-storied buildings to reach a passive level possible aroused interest. Questions invoked, e.g. how to renovate a building without having the residents move out for the duration and how in practice would the renovation be executed.
Following the briefing, the group travelled to Tikkurila, where they got to familiarize themselves with Finland's first passive house. Attention was drawn to the "ordinary" architecture of the passive house and its affordable building costs and running expenses. – The ventilation system and the super-efficient heat recovery of the house were new to the visitors. As was the fact, that the indoor temperature in the house can be adjusted according to the preferences of the occupants, Bärlund reveals.
The visit was organised by the commercial department of the French Embassy Ubifrance, whose role is to help French companies with exports (corresponding organisation in Finland is Finnpro). |
