Active House: The Principle Behind Rhome - The House That Reacts to Its Environment | The Plan
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Active House: The Principle Behind Rhome - The House That Reacts to Its Environment

Active House: The Principle Behind Rhome - The House That Reacts to Its Environment
By Editorial Staff -
Velux has participated in the project

In the last years the focus on buildings in the cold and continental climates has mainly been on energy savings and it has quite naturally now involved into a holistic view like the active house: an extremely energy efficient building able to create good indoor comfort and adapt actively to summer and winter conditions and its external environment. The Active House Alliance, a non-profit association grouping sector-specific companies (providing the financing), universities and research bodies (including the Milan Polytechnic), has developed a joint regulatory framework for new-build and regeneration briefs based on a holistic approach to project design. The guidelines take into account how a building’s energy efficiency, its environmental impact and occupant health and comfort are all related. An Active House is highly energy efficient, enjoys abundant daylighting and natural ventilation so that its (minimum) energy requirements can be met with non-CO2 emitting renewable energy sources. The Active House planning and assessment checklist is a tool taking into account many parameters in 3 main interdependent areas: comfort, energy and environment. It is the Active House’s radar. This radar is an interactive support system helping practitioners find the right balance and performance levels in the three areas on the basis of specific demands and desired results. It entails dynamic software that is loaned out on a temporary basis to architects if they sign up to the association.
Europe already has several residential buildings classified as Active Houses and the association is gaining ground in the North America. In Italy, as well, with the examples of Milan VeluxLab and several residential projects ongoing in Sicily and one in Lombardy, of particular significance is the RhOME project of the Roma Tre University team led by Professor Chiara Tonelli.
Winner of the 2014 Solar Decathlon held in Versailles, RhOME is a prototype home designed in...

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