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include transport emissions. Sustainability and energy efficiency position as the leader in energy-efficient
of our built environment are of crucial importance when trying built environments. The ambitious goal is
to mitigate climate change. to reach the efficiency requirements set
for 2020, already in 2017 that is Finland’s research communities, industry and
Compared to some other countries, the Finnish building stock centennial year. service sectors. VTT Technical Research
is relatively young, well-maintained and energy-efficient. Due to Centre of Finland is a globally networked
the long and cold winters, Finns have been constructing energy- Sitra, Tekes and V T T have been multitechnological applied research
efficient buildings already for decades. Today, Finnish know-how challenging business and academia organization actively developing and
is on a world-class level. to innovate solutions for a sustainable, implementing sustainable solutions in
energy-efficient built environment. Sitra, Finland and internationally.
Sustainability is also good for business. Several construction the Finnish Innovation Fund promotes
companies, manufacturers and engineering companies have the stable and balanced development In this publication we present Finnish
developed solutions and models that are not only ecologically in Finland, the growth of its economy, state-of-the-art cases: areas, buildings
excellent, but they make sense also economically. and its international competitiveness and solutions that all contribute to
and co-operation. Tekes, the Finnish sustainability. With world-class expertise
The demand for sustainability is also changing the market. Funding Agency for Technology and Finland has set a target to become the
Customers, as well as decision-makers support the transition Innovation is the main public funding world’s best built environment by 2050.
towards low-carbon society. Building codes guide towards low- organisation for research, development Where do you want to be then?
energy buildings and local renewable energy production assists and innovation in Finland, boosting
in cutting the CO2 emissions. wide-ranging innovation activities in
sitra.fi/en
tekes.fi/en
vtt.fi/en
era17.fi/en
5
Sustainable Urban Development
7
Eco-Viikki – Finland’s first ecologically
designed neighbourhood
Located 8 kilometres north of central Helsinki, Eko-Viikki has been a pioneer in ecological Guided by ecological criteria
In planning Eco-Viikki, the main goal
building and sustainable urban planning in Finland. The planning of the area started
was to create a sustainable, healthy
already in the 1970s, the construction in 1999, and today it is home to 12,000 people. and comfortable living environment
The number of inhabitants will grow by several thousand more once the new residential with solutions that save energy and
areas are completed. reduce the amount of waste generated.
Construction of the area was guided by
a special set of ecological criteria and
has implemented many pioneering
solutions and practices.
9
Reclaimed harbours become
an eco-efficient living environment
The harbours of downtown Helsinki have been relocated beyond In recent years, energy efficiency and
sustainable construction have become
the city centre. Reclaimed shorefronts of the inner city are being developed an integral part of town planning and
into a new urban residential environment. new area development. These are
also the main criteria in the rebuilding
of Jätkäsaari and Kalasatama, two
former harbour sites in Helsinki.
Sustainable solutions in
Jätkäsaari
In Jätkäsaari, people will live and work
in an urban environment in which they
enjoy easy access to a wide selection
of services, as well as effective public
transport and convenient bicycle routes.
The goal is to develop and demonstrate
energy-efficient, innovative solutions
for low-carbon urban design and
construction. Jätkäsaari will become the home for 16,000 people
and workplace for 6,000.
Waste management in the entire Jätkäsaari area will be carried Kalasatama showcases
out using an automated pipe collecting system that transports ecological solutions
sorted waste underground at high speed. Kalasatama is being developed into
a sustainable modern residential and
Low2No directs city planning business district on the waterfront.
to sustainability The maritime milieu is ideal for living Kalasatama’s smart grid will allow the
In a block in the heart of Jätkäsaari, Sitra has launched the with effective public transport, while its energy consumer to be a producer,
Low2No project, designed to have as small a carbon footprint central location makes it an easily too. The area will be a testing ground
as possible. The project will guide construction, operation and accessible workplace. When completed for future smart energy solutions of
maintenance of the mixed-use block, to meet strict specifica- in the 2030s Kalasatama will house global significance: Helsingin Energia,
tions for sustainability. The block will have residential buildings, 18,000 residents and offer 10,000 Helen Sähköverkko, ABB and Nokia
office space and shopping malls. Sitra has far-reaching goals to workplaces. Siemens Networks are collaborating
use the results of the Low2No project for promoting low-carbon on technological innovations in energy,
residential development and city planning nationally and inter- Kalasatama will be built in the middle information and telecommunication.
nationally. Sitra is developing the block in partnership with the of an existing compact urban structure,
construction company SRV and the housing company VVO. and will make the urban structure of A possible rise in the sea level and
Helsinki even more compact. Effective unusual weather conditions have
In this block named Airut, greenhouse gases will be reduced public transport is one of the benefits been taken into account in planning
with energy efficiency and on-site production measures, of the area. The light traffic network will Kalasatama. The streets will be built
wooden materials, smart controls and reporting expected to be extensive, with numerous bicycle at least 2.6 metres above the sea level
enable behavioural change, and with special services and paths and pedestrian zones leading to and the lowest floor level will be
mobility design. In 2009, an international Sustainable the centre of Helsinki. There will also be approximately 3.5 metres above sea
Development Design Competition was organised to formulate an automobile-free block, for ecological level.
a concept for combining sustainable development with social living for residents without a car.
and economic viewpoints as well as with high quality architecture.
On-site and district energy services
Development work is ongoing and construction will start in are being piloted in order to test en.uuttahelsinkia.fi
2012. electric car integration with the grid.
low2no.org
11
Community development
facilitating sustainability
City planning solutions depend on many factors: energy supply, food production, Skaftkärr – an energy-efficient
traffic and transport, the effects of an ageing population, services, commerce and residential area
Skaftkärr is a new residential area un-
competitiveness. They also play an important role in facilitating sustainability. der construction in the town of Porvoo.
It will provide housing for at least 6,000
people. Energy efficiency is the leading
principle in planning and building
the area. This means that all buildings,
services, living conditions, traffic
arrangements and waste management
will be set up and run in an energy-
efficient and sustainable way.
skaftkarr.fi/en
sibbesborg.net
13
Off the grid,
carbon neutral community
In the model community of locality, a group of inhabitants of the same area form an entity to invest in a shared
ownership for off the grid, carbonneutral energy generation. The area may possess attractive energy resources, for
example wind or biomass that can be locally exploited. Studies show that locally owned projects bring more local
benefits in the construction stage because more sub contracting and services are purchased locally.
Kempele Eco-block, far in the North biomass plant is consumed in the block,
A good example of a community of locality is the Eco-block and all the heat produced is used for
in Kempele, a municipality in northern Finland near the Arctic heating the houses in the block.
Circle. All of the energy needs of buildings in the block are met
by a small-scale CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plant and The heating network is implemented as
wind generator. The plant delivered by Fortel Components Oy, a low-temperature system to minimize The block has shown that it is
produces 30 kilowatts of electricity and 90 kilowatts of heat by heat losses. The Eco-block consists of possible to live off the grid without
burning locally available biomass, such as wood chips to cover ten detached houses – all them are built compromising comfort, even in a harsh
all energy need of the houses in the block. to meet the low-energy level. All the climate. The last houses in the block
households are equipped with energy- were completed in summer 2010. Its
The households in the Kempele Eco-block live off the grid, efficient domestic appliance to keep the district heating network has been in
meaning that they are totally independent of electricity energy consumption low. operation since 2009.
produced elsewhere. All the electricity generated by the
15
Easy living and well-designed
public transport, core goals in urban planning
Dialogue and open competitions for development are the driving forces in planning Renewal of Peltosaari
The town of Riihimäki in southern
and designing modern urban areas. Transforming an old urban neighbourhood
Finland has actively sought new
into a modern attractive environment takes more effort. solutions for renewing one of its
neighbourhoods. Peltosaari was built
rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s, when
Riihimäki’s population was growing. It
now faces socio-economic problems,
and the value of the property has
decreased. There are many energy-
wasteful apartment buildings requiring
renovation. It has ceased to be an
appealing and attractive place to live,
although its location is excellent, with
good public transport.
Applicable ideas
by competition
A competition for ideas on renewing
Peltosaari was organized by Riihimäki in
the beginning of 2011. The competition
produced around 60 entries that now
serve as a basis for decision-making
and planning. Pilot buildings have been
used to show technical alternatives to
improve eco-efficiency, overall performance and architectural university campus. There will also be residential buildings, the largest one in
solutions. good access to surrounding forests Finland with 500 to 700 apartments.
and high-tech business parks. The area
VTT calculated the costs and benefits of the building stock, will contain innovative energy pro- Dialogue and various competitions
demolition and reconstruction of buildings in poor condition duction systems and new housing have helped promote cooperation
and development of services. The refurbishment and devel- solutions. In Vuores, cutting-edge in high-quality planning, design and
opment is calculated to cost 80 to 90 million euros. Improve- technology is being integrated into construction.
ments are estimated to bring annual savings of approximately 2 the environment.
million euros in energy costs, and a value increase of 100 The first residential buildings are being
million euros. Technology will cut the heating need by at least The residential buildings are being built for 1,000 people, and the attractive
70 percent and will utilize renewable energy sources. The designed to be energy-efficient and boulevard was inaugurated in the
rise in value will result from extensions to buildings and infill their lifecycle to be long. Several summer of 2011.
construction, as well as new jobs and services created in the research and development projects are
renewed, attractive urban area. underway in Vuores, ensuring energy When completed in 2020, the area will
efficiency and promoting the use of house 13,500 inhabitants and offer
Good practices from the Peltosaari urban area will be utilized as renewable sources such as wind, solar 6,000 jobs. The Finnish Housing Fair in
a model in urban planning also elsewhere in Finland. and geothermal energy. The buildings 2012 will be arranged in Vuores with the
will meet the new code requirements themes of garden city and eco-efficient
Vuores, a forerunner in urban planning in advance and be nearly zero-energy living.
Vuores is a new urban area in Tampere, Central Finland that is buildings. New possibilities in timber
planned to showcase a high quality of life and good accessibil- construction are also being explored: vuores.fi
ity by public transport to downtown Tampere and the nearby there will be a whole block of wooden
17
ECO2 leads Tampere
towards a carbon neutral city
The city of Tampere has launched ECO2 – a programme for an Eco-efficient Tampere
in 2020. It aims at avoiding the increase of greenhouse gas emissions that would
otherwise result from the growth of the city’s population. The programme will
promote a low-carbon and carbon-neutral urban structure.
ECO2 not only coordinates and supports the implementation of of category A of the energy performance rating of BREEAM, a leading green
climate and energy objectives in Tampere, but also encourages certificate. building design and assessment method.
growth in the environment business, with the emphasis on
cleantech, energy saving, renewable energy and eco-efficient Several passive and nearly zero-energy The city will also launch a new
construction. houses will be constructed for the Sustainable Building Centre that will
Housing Fair 2012 that will showcase provide information and guidance
One of the key goals is to get decision-makers, management and modern eco-efficient housing solutions. on energy-efficient construction and
employees in Tampere urban planning to generate solutions that housing.
support low-carbon and carbon-neutral structures. The new district of Vuores will contain
Finland’s largest block of wooden Accurate facts behind
Tampere to spread good practices residential houses. Eco-efficiency has the decisions
Tampere has taken a long term commitment to be a forerunner been the leading force in developing To assist in taking far-reaching decisions,
in climate policy and participate in national and international the district. Tampere has launched several research
networks that spread good practices. studies in the ECO 2 programme to
Suburbs of Nurmi-Sorila, Niemenranta support future urban development,
The city has taken concrete decisions that aim at an eco-efficient and Härmälänranta target at carbon planning and decision-making. ECO2
urban life: neutrality. cooperates with a wide network
• It will decrease emissions by more than 20 percent by 2020 of partners, such as VTT, Tampere
and by more than 40 percent per capita by 2030. Tampere will star t a renovation University of Technology, Aalto
• The Tampere Power Utility, owned by the city, has resolved programme in old residential areas to University, Tekes, Sitra, Skanska, YIT,
to cut the use of fossil fuels and increase the share of renewable improve their energy performance. NCC, Tredea and Hermia.
energy resources to 80 percent by 2040.
The city centre will have a sports and
Tampere is tackling climate goals in many ways.The city concert arena with the world´s highest eco2.fi/en
requires that all new buildings meet, or beat, the requirements
Making
the impossible possible
Five Finnish municipalities have resolved to act as pioneers in curbing their greenhouse Measures for curbing emissions must
extend to all municipal sectors and
gas emissions ahead of the schedule set by the European Union. This ground-breaking decision-making. Enterprises need tools
initiative involves Mynämäki, Uusikaupunki, Kuhmoinen, Padasjoki and Parikkala. for improving their energy efficiency and
reducing the carbon footprints of their
products. Enterprises and citizens alike
In 2008, five municipalities decided to cut their greenhouse Devoi Ltd. was one of the driving need reliable information on suitable
gas emissions by more than the EU target. By 2010, they have forces to launch CANEMU project in 2008. energy solutions. One good example is
taken over 70 initiatives to enhance energy efficiency, save energy, Yara Suomi Oy in Uusikaupunki that
use renewable energy sources, and make sustainable investments. Good results by has been able to reduce greenhouse
A further 60+ measures are being planned. wide collaboration gas emissions by 90 percent in the plant
Alongside a broad network of experts that produces fertilizers.
They aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. At that time their from other research institutes and
greenhouse gas emissions will be at least 80 percent less than enterprises, the Finnish Environment All five municipalities are deeply
in 2007. Institute SYKE is supporting the CANEMU committed in the project. They have
project. Work previously carried out improved energy efficiency in their
In the CANEMU project (Carbon Neutral Municipalities, HINKU separately is now viewed as being part premises and area lighting. Uusikapunki
in Finnish), researchers, businesses, politicians and residents are of a larger entity, while contributing to a has shown the best results by reducing
working together to devise and adapt solutions that will reduce common goal. emissions by 14 percent by 2010
emissions, especially in housing, transportation, as well as in food compared to the level in 2007.
products and processing. All the municipalities are seeking to Tens of companies are ac tively
increase the use of renewable energy and to improve material participating in the initiative. The municipalities have converted their
and energy efficiency. own fossil-fuel-fired heating and power
The project has identified a number plants to renewable energy, and at
of factors that contribute to successful the same time they have encouraged
emission reduc tion. One is the households to utilize renewable energy
commitment of municipal leaders, who solutions, such as geothermal heating.
understand that emission reduction
is an opportunity for the municipal
economy and business life. The town of
Uusikaupunki informs that the project environment.fi/canemu
has created 150 new jobs.
devoi.fi
19
Sustainable Buildings
Sustainable Buildings
include measures to reduce energy use.
21
Energy-efficient houses in
a cold climate
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive recast by the European Union requires Latitude 62° – Perfect place for
that all new buildings need to fulfill the principle of a nearly zero-energy building as a solar house
The IEA5 Solar House, located in
of the beginning of 2021. Such buildings, and even net zero-energy buildings, Pietarsaari in the northwestern coast
are achievable in the cold Finnish climate. of Finland was built already in 1994,
in connection with the International
Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and
Cooling programme. The aim was to
build a house with as low energy use
as possible, by utilizing the best
technology available at the time.
Good indoor climate and comfortable
living conditions headed the list of
requirements for the design.
house is 166 m2. The building has an extremely well insulated 12,000
timber frame envelope. All necessary technical systems are in the
8,000
centre of the two storied house, thus making it possible to utilize
the heat loss of the equipment in the heating of the house. The 4,000
heat distribution system is water based underfloor heating.
0
Madrid Espoo Mäntyharju
The inhabitants of the house are able to monitor and control
the performance of the house via internet even when travelling Net energy consumption
Net energy generation
abroad. cept is the first passive house concept
certified by VTT according to these re-
The building’s photovoltaic system consists of 45 amorphous sili- quirements.
con solar panels with a capacity of 2 kW. The produced electric-
ity is fed to a local grid. When the plans to replace the existing Zero-energy in Helsinki, both net energy balance targets can be
system with a similar 8 kW capacity system are realized, the elec- plus energy in Madrid met with average solar gains.
tricity generation of the building will exceed its electricity use The Aalto University team designed
– turning this northern nearly-zero energy house into a net-zero and constructed a solar-powered zero- The Luukku house presents a concept
energy building. energy house for the Solar Decathlon for a net zero-energy building in the
Europe 2010 competition. The target northern climate, using the sun as
Certified house concept for the cold climate was to create a grid-connected house, the only source of energy. The results
Paroc Passive House concept is a Northern European concept which would function as a net zero- are useful when evaluating the
for a cold climate. The development project has been run by energy building in Finland and as a net challenges set by the European Energy
Paroc and VTT. The goal was to set passive house requirements plus-energy building in Madrid, where Performance of Buildings Directive
for northern buildings based on the requirements set by the the final of the competition was organ- (EPBD), which sets a target that all new
Promotion of the European Passive Houses project. The Finnish ised in June 2010. The Luukku house construction should be nearly zero
project includes a number of pilot buildings in Finland, Sweden was awarded the first prize in the Solar energy in the member countries of the
and Lithuania. The pilot buildings will be monitored for several Decathlon Europe Competition 2010 European Union from 2020 onwards.
years in order to verify the simulated values. for Architecture. The final location of the
house is in Mäntyharju, Finland.
The project has also contained the development of a certifica-
tion scheme for passive houses for cold climate. This includes The energy is generated in 60 m² of
energiaviisastalo.fi/
requirements for the energy efficiency of the building envelope: photovoltaic panels and 5 m² of solar
air-tightness, heating energy need and total delivered energy thermal collectors, installed on the roof. energywise/en
use, and excellent indoor air quality. Paroc Passive house con- According to the simulation results, sdfinland.com
23
Green concepts in
snow-white surroundings
Recent experiences in Finland prove that it is possible to build zero-energy Low-energy building concept
buildings at high latitudes. And this does not apply to single-family houses only: hooks up with wood
Construction company Reponen Oy
at the moment public buildings, commercial buildings as well as apartment built its first low-energy apartments in
houses are being built. They are both energy-efficient and cost-efficient. The most 2005. Today, the company is one of the
northern example of green buildings can be found in Lapland, 150 kilometres above leading experts in constructing energy-
efficient apartment buildings in Finland.
the Arctic Circle. The company has developed its own
concept for passive house construction
in close co-operation with, VTT. The
concept brings up to 70 percent savings
in total energy consumption, compared
to a normal high-rise building.
25
A glimmer of light
The new Pilke House in Rovaniemi is an
example of top expertise in ecological
wood construction and a masterpiece
of Finnish architecture. The building
houses Metsähallitus, a state enterprise
responsible for managing and using the
state-owned land and water areas in
a way that benefits Finnish society to the
greatest extent possible. The word “pilke”
refers to small firewood or the glimmer of
sun – or to a twinkle of humour in one’s
eye.
30-year
total emissons
tCO2eq
12,000
9,000
6,000
30-year
3,000 life cycle costs
known as SYKE (Pulse in English). The building project is led 55 60 65 70 € mill.
by Senate Properties, which provides workspace services for
state organizations. Apila Pikkukampus
Valaistus 191910
Solaris Pastorale
The environmental experts and the whole personnel of SYKE have One of the innovations of the
participated in determining the aims and design solutions for the competition was to sum up the energy
building. The overall aim was to design an ecologically sustainable performance and material efficiency data
building that forms an excellent working environment, as well as in kgCO2/m2 in the assessment process.
to create good practices for the public building sector in Finland.
The massive wooden construction for over 600 employees will The competition results showed that
have a low carbon footprint and the objective is to achieve an the inclusion of quantitative energy
nearly zero energy building applied to the location. The scheduled performance, material efficiency and
completion is 2014–2015. economic efficiency targets will direct
the design and selected concepts from
Synergy Building is based on the winning entry in the the very first steps of the design teams. Emission-free shopping
international design competition in which six teams prepared Best entries were able to sum up high Äkäslompolo and Ylläs may not be
the comprehensive design of approximately 20,000 m 2 office architectural quality, good functionality, the easiest place names to pronounce
and laboratory building. energy and material efficiency as well as for a visitor to Finland, but the places
cost efficiency. themselves are worth visiting. Not only
The assessment criteria had four main categories with equal for skiers, but also for those interested
importance As concluded by the jury, there was no in environmental issues and low-energy
• Ecological sustainability including energy need to select between ecologically commercial buildings. The village of
performance and material efficiency efficient and cost-efficient entries – Äkäslompolo, next to Ylläs fell, is namely
• Urban and architectural quality moreover the selection was made the home for Jouni’s Store, a northern
• Usability within the group of entries being both mall with a supermarket, restaurants,
• Feasibility ecologically and cost-efficient. gift shops, cafes – and fresh green ideas.
27
During the recent extension project, the village shop was fitted station to places where it is needed – and
with a state-of-the-art heating and cooling system. The system just the right amount. If there is no need
operates solely with renewable energy and with heat recovered for heating, extra heat will be directed
from the store’s own refrigeration equipment. Geothermal energy underground for storage. This will boost
for both heating and cooling comes from boreholes drilled into the building’s overall energy efficiency. home for the elderly, Onnelanpolku
the bedrock. Internal and external energy sources are channelled (Path of Happiness) based on VTT’s
into the premises through a low-energy centre. The integrated A new home equipment store for concept solutions will be built in stages
building services system was supplied by Are. Kodin Ykkönen department store in 2012–2014. The energy solutions will
chain is now in the planning phase be based on district heating, demand
The refrigeration equipment and freezers inside the store use only in southern Finland. This pilot project reduction measures, effective heat
clean CO2 as a coolant. The CO2 is recovered from other processes, will develop guidelines for the design recovery and on-site renewable energy
before it has a chance to burden the environment. and construction of a very-low-energy production.
commercial building. The selected
The inventive system reduces emissions that cause climate change, energy saving measures include an This project will produce a model and
saves up energy and helps to cut back energy costs. In addition, energy-efficient lighting system, efficient design principles for very-low-energy
it allows comfortable indoor temperature and good indoor air heat recovery from the outlet air and buildings for elderly people. Moreover,
quality inside the store. increased air-tightness of the building it will provide information about the
envelope. The project will also examine dynamics of energy use in large building
Two other low-energy commercial buildings on a much larger the utilization of renewable energy entities.
scale are in process in other parts of Finland. In Pori, an old cotton sources. The research partners are VTT
factory is being turned into an emission-free shopping mall and and Kimmo Lylykangas Architects. vaisala.com
culture centre by the real estate invesment company Renor Ltd.
The new mall called Puuvilla (Finnish for “cotton”) will use available Homes for the elderly, sciencecentre-pilke.fi
natural resources, thermal and solar energy, for both heating and moulded to energy efficiency environment.fi/eco-officebuilding
cooling. Energy is distributed evenly through a central energy Typically homes for senior citizens are kauppakeskuspuuvilla.fi/en/
buildings of high energy use. When
reducing their use of heat and electricity, kuopas.fi
it is very important that air quality and are.fi
living comfort remain high.
renor.fi
In the centre of Lahti, a nearly zero-energy senaatti.fi
A nature-friendly
logistics centre runs on geoenergy
Big is beautiful at SOK company’s new and huge logistics centre, the size
of ten Finnish parliament buildings put together. The big centre will host
the country’s biggest hybrid heat pump plant built so far.
29
Sustainable Solutions
Sustainable Solutions
LED applications, solar energy systems, advanced
heating and cooling…
31
Strong expertise in
interdisciplinary LED applications
There are approximately 30 companies specializing in LED applications in Finland. First in the world
Obelux Oy was the first company
Most of them provide solutions that require interdisciplinary expertise, and special
to release a LED Aviation Obstacle
competence and know-how in application management. Finnish companies represent Light System in 1996 and to set a new
globally the cutting edge in LED applications for greenhouses, aviation obstacle lights, standard for the whole industry. Today,
architectural lights, parking garage and street lights. the company is installing the first high
intensity obstacle lights using LED
technology in the television mast of
Tiirismaa. With 327 metres, the mast is
the highest structure in Finland.
Trends towards energy savings and sustainable development The company has several public
bring radical changes in lighting applications in the near future. building references in Sweden. In 2009
obelux.com
It is not only energy savings, but road safety that efficient LED Greenlux supplied first LED lighting
lighting solutions can improve significantly. systems to the Stockhom-Arlanda Airport valoya.com
lumi-group.fi
greenlux.fi
33
New swimming pool
has more under the surface
Sun and water mix well in the new public swimming complex in the city of Pori The west coast is one of the sunniest
regions in Finland. No wonder, then, that
on the west coast of Finland. This is the first indoors swimming pool in the country to Pori, a city of some 83,000 inhabitants,
use solar energy on a larger scale. The project has given guidelines for future solar comes up with bright ideas on how
energy building schemes in the city. to utilize solar energy in buildings. The
new public swimming pool, opened in
September 2011, is an example of the
city’s new approaches to fighting climate
change.
Although solar energy can replace only a fraction of the total the absorber in a completely new way
energy need of the complex, the project is an indication of the – thus making it more energy-efficient
environmentally friendly building in full swing in Finnish cities and stronger. The new invention received
and municipalities. the Intersolar Award in the field of solar
thermal energy in Germany in June 2011.
More bright ideas on solar energy
The future of the growing solar thermal industry lies in new Savo-Solar ’s direct-flow collectors based in the town of Mikkeli in eastern
applications. Savo-Solar Oy is introducing to the market a top assure a superior heat transfer from the Finland, has an annual coating capacity
technology solar collector that produces more energy during its absorber to the fluid as well as uniform of one million square metres.
lifetime compared to any traditional collectors. heat distribution on the absorber surface,
which minimizes radiation losses. The
The patented vacuum nanocoating and coating process together collectors can be integrated in single-
make it possible to coat the complete absorber that is found inside family houses, industrial buildings and
a solar collector. Because of this the company was able to design in district heating plants. The company,
aurubis.com
savosolar.fi
35
Helsinki
– a cool city with a smart heating system
Helsinki has an impressive district heating network of over 1,300 kilometres. To top this, Helsinki has the world’s
largest heat pump that produces district
Add to that combined heat and power production, and you have the recipe for heating and cooling in a single process.
the world’s best energy efficiency in cogeneration. The unique system, situated in a rock
tunnel some 25 m underground, uses
both sea water and purified waste water
for cooling and heating purposes. As a
result, the CO2 emissions of the plant
are 80 percent smaller than those of an
alternative production solution.
37
Better data on buildings
and their environmental impact
Smart 3D for better quality BIM can also be used for assessing the
Construction group Skanska and its environmental impact of alternative
design partners are applying Building designs. For example, the carbon
Information Modelling BIM to their footprint of construction materials can
office construction projects. BIM is be defined at the design stage based on
a three-dimensional virtual model the carbon sequestered in them.
that contains detailed information
about the layout of the building, its Skanska is building an office centre
components and materials and their in Helsinki that will also house the
main characteristics. company’s head office in Finland. The
project is applying BIM to integrate
Virtual modelling results in a better construction design, building services
managed and fine-tuned construction and space planning.
process. It is a way of eliminating possible
errors during the design stages. Using BIM is applied for the first time in
BIM, construction can be simulated on energy-efficient urban planning in the
a computer before the building work city of Tampere. In this Härmälänranta
begins. case modelling performs alternative
calculations to estimate how size,
Modelling yields a wealth of data on height and location contribute to energy
building spaces and materials. This data efficiency.
can be utilised by all parties in the project.
Skanska uses BIM for visualising the Environmental classification
building, calculating quantities and costs, and sustainability assessment
procurement, scheduling and production in use
planning. Modelling brings better quality Environmental classification system
and efficiency. The customer can use the for buildings has been developed and
virtual model in applying for permits, implemented in Finland since 1998.
allocating floor space, marketing and When the development started, none of
post-construction maintenance. When the existing rating schemes was found
the building is complete, the model is applicable, and a national system, called
passed on to the customer. PromisE was developed. The first version
Eco-efficiency points
(total eco-efficiency)
applied for existing building stock, such as offices, residential accessibility, energy consumption, use
buildings and retail stores, was taken into practice in 2002. of renewable energy, carbon footprint points value category CLASSIFICATION
Three years later, a version for new buildings was introduced. of construction, sorting and recycling 110 or more top value A+
Today, also LEED and BREEAM are used, mainly for retail and office of solid waste, and water supply and
105–109.9 exellent A
buildings. sewerage.
95–104.9 good B
Finland has been active in international standardization and A similar approach was developed for 86–94.9 normal C
development in sustainability of buildings. In the European Union, holiday resorts. The aim is to tackle a 75–85.9 sufficient D
VTT coordinates the SuPerBuildings project that develops and resort area as a whole. The environmental below 75 weak E
selects sustainability indicators and assessment methods as well classification of the area includes location
as benchmarks sustainable buildings. While present sustainable and transport, infrastructure, natural
building rating systems are applied in branding and for designers, environment, services in the area, and
there is a growing demand for more quantitative sustainability energy as assessment categories.
indicators.
HEKO to assess eco-efficient
VTT is also having an important role in number of other European urban development
sustainable building related research activities, e.g. in the areas of The HEKO tool is an urban development New ways of working and solutions
very low- and zero-energy buildings, sustainable renovation and assessment tool developed for the that support them should result in
performance and value measurement. City of Helsinki. The tool is based on improved employee satisfaction and
the interpretation of the hard core working conditions. More effective
At present, there is an increasing demand for quantifiable systems, of sustainable development, such as use of the space and reduction of the
such as carbon metrics. The goal is to pass from check lists towards ecological sustainability, environmental need to travel are expected to bring
values that can be benchmarked. Environmental estimator for imperative and eco-efficiency. The issues economic and environmental benefits.
building design (ILMARI) calculates the environmental impact with that are assessed by the HEKO tool
the help of quantity take-off and manually defined quantities. are land, water, energy, transport and VTT has launched a project with the
The estimation covers the “cradle to gate” phases, assessed services, as well as carbon and material target of transforming V T T ’s work
transportations, installation losses and the renewal periods during cycles. environment: building a “next genera-
the defined service life. The environmental impacts of materials tion” workplace with a diverse portfolio
are mainly based on the Finnish environmental declarations of Improved working conditions of renewed spaces and places to serve
building materials. The information is completed with generic A sustainable work environment is VTT professionals, tools and software
data developed by VTT. economical. It means that the space to facilitate communication between
available for the organisation is optimal different sites, partners and team
EcoPass calculates the sustainability of for its purposes and needs. Moreover, members, and management and
holiday homes sustainability requires flexibility and human capital practices to glue it all
EcoPass developed by VTT assesses the eco-efficiency of utilization of resources in a smart way. together.
holiday homes using six different indicators, such as location and
39
Finnish sustainability concepts in
international markets
Sustainable, modern
urban living in China
DigiEcoCity™, a unique Finnish city
concept, is being implemented in China.
The aim is to create cities that combine
the innovations of digital technology
with sustainable development.
41
Waste management by
smart pneumatic
collection technology
A good example is the automated waste
collection system developed by Mari-
Matic Oy. This novel system consumes
only one third of the energy of conven-
tional pneumatic waste collection so-
lutions, and even 40 percent less than
traditional truck and container based
collection method. This new technol-
ogy efficiently minimizes the problems
of odour, noise, and fine particles.
43
Revolutionizing
the urban transport
The modern Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) system based on state-of-the-art Public transport is a necessity in urban
areas, as it provides mobility to those
IT infrastructure will open a new avenue for urban transport. Positioned as a not using private cars. However, the
complementary service, the system does not compete with traditional public transport. problem is that a large number of urban
travellers do not see public transport as
a real alternative for private cars.
45
Photos: Academica, Ajelo, City of Helsinki, City of Tampere, DigiEcoCity,
Ecosir, Fortel Components, Greenlux, Pekka Huovila, Esa Kyyrö, Teemu
Lehtinen, Low2No, LUMI Group, Marimatic, Jyri Nieminen, Jakke
Nikkarinen, Obelux, Paroc, Peltosaari, PES-Architects, Olli-Pekka Pietiläinen,
Reponen, Jarmo Roiko-Jokela, Jouni Saaristo, Sarianna Salminen, Savo-
Solar, SOK, Kaarina Toivonen, Vaisala, Valoya and Taneli Varis.
Editing and graphic design: Teonsana RD
IC ECOLAB
NO
EL
Printer: Markprint Oy
October 2011 | 2,500 |
World-class sustainable
solutions from Finland
Sustainability is the key to well-being in the future. Sitra, Tekes and VTT have
been challenging Finnish business and academia to innovate solutions for
a sustainable, energy-efficient built environment.