Denmark – If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live in a house without any energy bills, you may want to consider becoming a test subject for the Energy Flex House—Denmark’s first energy neutral residence. Developed by Henning Larsen Architects in conjunction with the Danish Technological Institute and Buro Happold Engineers, the Energy Flex House actually features two identical homes: the first is a lab that monitors building elements (walls, floors, envelope) and the second houses a test family, whose interactions with the energy-saving technologies are observed. We look forward to visiting this home just outside of Copenhagen, which produces all the energy required by the test family—for climate control, water, lighting, electronics, and even an electric car—through photovoltaic and solar heating system, but also adopts a number of energy-efficient systems to reduce the overall energy consumption. This remains at an astounding 0 kWh per year!
These advances don’t detract from the building’s appearance however. In fact, with its pitched roof and double storey height, the house emulates the appearance of a typical single-family home while maintaining a number of technological advances. The designers and researchers invite others to participate in development, demonstration, testing and documentation, within a project that demonstrates that green buildings can be great examples of architecture too.
