The sustainable approach from Germany

Our Rhine-bound coach set off early from London one grey Saturday in
October, with plans to visit the home country of modern methods of
construction, and the solar city of Freiburg. On arrival at the Channel
Tunnel some ninety minutes later the quality of services at the first of many
refreshment stops en route were tested.

Passing through the umbilical cord that links Britain to the rest of Europe,
we paused for a moment at the motorway toll to pick up two fellow
students. Emerging from nearby woods, clutching their bags, they looked
not dissimilar to the stereotypical Sangatte refugee.

Late that evening, our weary group

arrived at the massive Ehrenbreitstein
Fortress, now a German Youth Hostel.

Built by the Prussians in the 19th

century, it towers 118m above the
Rhine and overlooks the city of
Koblenz (left).

HOME-BUYING, GERMAN STYLE

In Germany, the proportion of homeowners (42%) differs significantly to that

of the UK (69%). But, when purchasing a home, Germans can visit a show
home collection, such as found in Mülheim-Kärlich, to view, select and then
tailor a house to meet their needs. These sites may contain 50+ designs from
a wide range of companies: some of which meet PassivHaus standards.

With land costing from as little as 15

euros per m2, and planning applications
being granted within three weeks, a
self-build home is favoured by many.
Manufacturers of pre-fabricated homes,
such as HufHaus, offer a construction
and installation service, so there’s no
need even to get your hands dirty!

Moving on, our group visited Baufritz,

founded 1896, at their factory at
Erkheim. Widely perceived as the
Mercedes of self-build, they deliver and
construct your house on a specified date
http://www.baufritz.co.uk/movie.asp
Producing 250 homes a year, they
employ 200+ people on site. Their houses have high levels of insulation, and
offer flexible living spaces.
Panels at Baufritz are constructed using CNC-controlled equipment to ensure
optimum use of materials and build quality: glulam beams with accurately
cut mortice and tenon joints internally ensure a tight fitting structure.
Insulation (left) is made from factory
waste wood-shavings, treated with
whey and soda as fire and mould
retardants. Thermal bridging at
module corners is avoided by using the
construction technique shown below.

Solar architecture and shading is

widely employed in the houses to
maximise solar gain and prevent
overheating, with manual or electric
controls. The factory itself uses solar
power, generated from arrays on the
main factory roof.

Respecting traditional skills, the external woodwork is painted by hand. But

21st century issues are also high on the agenda – Baufritz utilises X & e-
protection board in construction panels to provide protection against EMF
(electro-magnetic fields). With iron chips in gypsum board, and carbon
coating to one side to permit the passage of low frequencies only, 50% of HF
is reflected, with the remainder being
absorbed (and producing heat).

One of the houses at Erkheim,

Musterhaus (right) covers 150m2, uses
350 litres of oil per annum, and
includes among its features a
mechanical heat recovery ventilation
system, central hoover unit, self-
cleaning glass, wi-fi, and graywater
recycling. Yours for around 550K euros
plus land and groundworks.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Through the introduction of its Renewable Energy Law, with the support for
small generators through a feed-in tariff per KWh (guaranteed for up to
twenty years), Germany leads the world in the use of wind and solar-
generated energy, while its market for biomass in the form of wood pellets
has also increased significantly. 450 plants are operating now, compared
with 142 only four years ago, and our trip took us to Holz Pellets, operated
by Mann Energie, in the Westerwald area. 300,000 tonnes of pellets are
manufactured at this plant annually, with users including the UN in Berlin,
and Deutsche Post. In addition to pellet-making, the company also runs a
local windpark (with community involvement).

At the factory, waste heat from steam

engines running on spent oil from local
restaurants is used to reduce the humidity in
sawdust from the company’s timber yard
from 50% to 10%. The compression of the
sawdust through the stainless steel die (right)
generates heat which enables the lignin in
the sawdust to ‘glue’ the particles together.

On average, a hectare of land will produce

10 tonnes of dry mass: land availability in
Germany would indicate that 7% of their
heating oil requirements could be supplanted
by wood pellets. The calorific values and ash
content of pellets are affected by factors
such as species and soil structure; ultimately
influencing the cost, appearance, and saleability in the marketplace. On
average 1 tonne of pellets will produce 117KWh, with an average house
using 5 tonnes annually. At the same time, arguments as to whether timber
should be used for paper, pellets, or building boards are being had.

FREIBURG – SOLAR CITY

Germany manufactures 20% of solar PV panels

worldwide with Freiburg being famed as the
centre of solar energy in Germany. Having a
well-developed integrated transport system, and
two districts focused on energy-efficient living, it
was an essential stop on our trip. First call was
to the Vauban District to see Dr Rolf Disch’s
Heliotrop – which can track the sun to maximise
energy generation from PV and solar thermal
installations.

Capable of rotating 400o on 240 steel ball

bearings, the building, which is 14m high,
generates 5x more energy by turning to face the
sun than it would by remaining stationary. With solar thermal collectors and
a highly insulated sunfacing side, the building has been constructed with
materials of high embodied energy. It was mentioned that the embodied
energy v operating energy of a building is normally in the ratio of 1:5 or 6 –
so its overall impact may be less than we might initially have thought.
SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION

In Freiburg, the district of Vauban, formerly a military base and home to

French soldiers until 1992, was redeveloped following community
consulation, the land costing 25m euros in 1997 when purchased from the
Government. Another district, Rieselfeld, housed a
sewage plant for 90 years: its redevelopment
includes housing on 78 hectares, with 320 hectares
being retained as a nature reserve.

The design of Freiburg excludes vehicles from the

residential area, having a multi-storey carpark with
solar panel roof at
the edge of the
development.

Facing the main

road is Sun Ship
(Sonnenschiff), a
large building that houses shops,
commercial offices and residential
penthouse, and which acts as a road noise
barrier for the homes that lie behind it.

In Vauban
residential areas, a mix of tenures, property
sizes, lack of traffic and open spaces give a
sense of a place of peace – the homes can be
categorised as either low energy, PassivHaus, or
energy surplus (which generate and sell power
back to the grid). Passive technologies in house
construction are widely used i.e. lightweight
wooden pre-fabricated sections, with concrete
floors, triple glazing, heat recovery, solar
shading and suspended metal balconies to avoid
cold bridging (which results in heat loss).

Towards the end of the war, large parts of the

city were laid waste by bombing. The authorities
decided to rebuild on the medieval plan, which
has allowed the incorporation of tram and cycle
networks, with traffic speeds restricted to
30km/hr in home zones and 5-7km/hr around play
areas.

Transport hubs comprising secure cycle parking,

car pool clubs, interchanges for train/tram/bus
encourage modal shift, as does rationing of
parking for private cars.
Schemes such as the Regio card (44
euros/month) permit unlimited travel on
public transport networks covering
3,000km, and includes Sunday travel for
up to 2 adults and 5 children.

Moving on, we visited local company Solar

Fabrik, foremost manufacturer of solar
panels. The factory is constructed with a
passive solar façade, using solar panels to
provide solar shading in summer, and having a large thermal mass in the
concrete floor and granite walling.
Automatic window openers at the top of this
space maintains the airflow and moderates
overheating. Underground pipework allows
pre-warming (winter) and pre-cooling
(summer) of air being drawn into the
building – this technique is widely used in
hot, dry climates but works equally well
when designed as part of an overall strategy
for heating and ventilation.

As a concession to weary travellers, our final

stop was at the thermal pools of Baden-
Baden spa on the way back to the UK. A
highlight of the trip – enjoyed without
concern as to the energy impact – the luxury
of geothermal mineral waters!