As part of Expo 2000, Siedlungswerk Stuttgart in Ulm built a residential complex with a total of ten terraced houses in passive construction. In addition to urban planning aspects, the design was determined by the orientation of the houses towards the sun. The buildings respond to the south-facing slope with a split level to make optimum use of passive solar heat gains.
For the first time in Germany, a solar local heating concept was implemented here in combination with the passive house standard. Two geothermal probes - 70 and 100 m deep - are used as a heat source to cover the heating requirements. Hot water is produced decentrally.
A 4 m² solar collector area and 400-liter storage volume cover the domestic hot water requirements in the summer months and during the transitional period. A heat pump covers the demand in the remaining months.
The heating requirement for all houses on the estate is limited to 15 kWh/m²a. The primary energy limit for heating, hot water and electricity is 120 kWh/m²a.
In a research project, a metrological investigation of the ten passive houses was carried out to check compliance with the target limit values.
A 3-stage concept was developed for efficient metrological monitoring:
Stage 1: rough recording of electrical energy consumption in all ten houses
Stage 2: Investigation of system behavior and hot water consumption in four houses
Stage 3: detailed energy analysis in two houses
The investigations have shown that the values targeted in the planning largely correspond to the actual consumption data.
The innovative concept for supplying heat to the buildings not only works in theory, but also in practice. Architectural aspirations and innovative technology were successfully implemented - resulting in low energy consumption and high living comfort.