Next Generation Zero-Energy Model House Debuts in Asahikawa, Hokkaido

Misawa Homes Co., a major house builder in Japan, announced on March, 17, 2008, that it has completed a model house called the "Next Generation Zero-Energy House" in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido. The house is equipped with new devices that not only provide the power required for daily life, but also recoup the energy consumed during construction.

Taking its basic design from the "Smart Style O" launched in October 2007, the model house aims to keep household energy consumption to a minimum by using improved materials for insulation, airtightness, sunlight absorption during winter, sunlight shading during summer and ventilation. Particularly with regard to insulation, efficiency is twice the value specified by the national government's New Energy-Saving Standards.

The model house is designed to achieve a better than zero annual energy balance, even in the severe winter of Asashikawa City, with various energy-saving technologies: a remodeled heat pump system for cooling and heating water; original wall-mounted panels through which chilled or heated water passes for air conditioning; and a 9.5-kilowatt highly efficient photovoltaic power generation system covering the whole rooftop. As the house is expected to maintain a favorable energy balance for years, it will achieve a surplus in its life-cycle energy balance, recovering the energy consumed during its construction.

Misawa Homes, which released the world's first zero-energy house in 1998, will examine the validity of the next generation zero-energy house. By realizing better thermal insulation performance and energy efficiency than the conventional zero-energy house, the company expects the new model house to do better than break even on its annual energy budget, even in cold climates.

http://www.misawa.co.jp/en/info/

Posted: 2008/07/16 06:12:45 PM