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A new era of energy: district heating and cooling that uses CO2
CategoriesSustainable News

A new era of energy: district heating and cooling that uses CO2

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Almost 25 per cent of the energy produced worldwide is used to heat and cool homes and commercial buildings. And the process of generating this energy is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. District heating and cooling systems are one potential solution. These generate heat centrally and distribute it across a network of buildings in the same neighbourhood, which is more efficient than heating or cooling buildings individually. Usually, such systems use water to transfer heat, but now, Swiss cleantech startup ExerGo is using CO2 as an energy transfer fluid for its closed-loop system.

The CO2 is the basis of a thermal network powered by renewable resources and waste heat. By using liquid and vapour CO2 as a working fluid, the system increases energy transport efficiency over conventional water-based systems. This greater efficiency, in turn, allows for the use of small and more flexible piping, which can save up to 60 per cent in installation costs and time, while reducing noise and air pollution. ExerGo claims that its compact network can save up to 80 per cent in primary energy consumption over comparable fossil fuel-based systems.

In October last year, ExerGo won the European Heat Pump Association‘s Heat Pump City of the Year Award for the successful implementation of its technology in Sion, Switzerland.

Springwise has spotted other technologies that are helping to decarbonise the energy-intensive cooling and heating systems used around the world, including a heat pump that is powered by sound and affordable geothermal heating and cooling systems.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Energy innovation via underwater wave tech
CategoriesSustainable News

Energy innovation via underwater wave tech

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: There is a lot of energy embedded in ocean waves. In fact, according to the US Energy Information Administration, waves off the coast of the US alone have a theoretical energy potential of 2.64 trillion kilowatt-hours – enough to meet around 64 per cent of the country’s 2021 energy demand.

Hoping to tap into this abundant but underexploited energy source is Finnish company AW-Energy with its WaveRoller wave energy converter. WaveRollers are hinged panels that harness the power of ocean waves as they move back and forth. Interior hydraulics and an integrated power storage system convert the movement of the waves to electricity.

Company CFO Matthew Pech told Springwise, “The original inspiration for the technology was when the inventor, Rauno Koivusaari, was diving into a shipwreck. He saw a cargo hatch moving with the motion of the water, and tried to stop it with a plank of wood, which shattered. This sparked the idea that there was a large amount of energy available that could be tapped into.”

The zero-emissions devices are mostly or completely submerged in the water. They are fixed to the ocean floor anywhere from half a kilometre to two kilometres away from shore, at depths ranging from eight to 20 metres. That near-shore location makes the technology particularly useful as it minimises the chances of faults in the subsea cables used to connect WaveRollers to the on-shore grid infrastructure. One WaveRoller generates 350 to 1,000 kilowatts of energy depending on the size and strength of the waves in each location, and multiple devices can be used together to boost energy generation.

Video source AW-Energy

The devices complement existing renewable energy sources by providing additional power and filling in gaps in provision from the more intermittent renewables of wind and solar. WaveRoller’s power storage system comes in a variety of sizes, for utility-scale use and to provide rapid response support for fluctuations in grid supply. AW-Energy also created a smaller-scale WaveRoller-X. All components of the smaller device fit within a single shipping container, and the fully built device is small enough to be suitable for remote locations and those with limited sea access.

AW-Energy is currently developing projects with customers, with a goal of deploying its first commercial array of WaveRollers within the next couple of years.

Springwise’s library contains a number of innovations that harness the power of water, including technology that harnesses the power of raindrops and IoT software that improves hydropower plants’ efficiency by automating certain tasks.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Occupancy Intelligence for Energy Savings
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Occupancy Intelligence for Energy Savings

By Zarkon Group,

Approximately 28% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions are generated by the operations of buildings. And heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems alone contribute to 40% of the average commercial building’s energy consumption. More and more, high performance buildings are turning to data to curb energy use with cost-effective, easy-to-implement energy conservation measures. Feedback Solutions uses third-party people counting sensors, with a patented software platform, to optimize ventilation rates seamlessly, in real-time, based on actual occupant demand.

Continuously calculating highly accurate occupant counts within each HVAC zone in a building, Feedback Solutions communicates occupancy to the existing building automation system (via BACnet, cloud platform, or DDC controller). Then real-time adjustments can reduce the HVAC-related energy consumption by as much as 40%. This can save money, significantly reduce carbon emissions, and result in less wear and tear on critical HVAC equipment—all while meeting important ASHRAE standards for maintaining occupant health and comfort.

Feedback Solutions has completed multiple successful installations for universities (New York University), commercial landlords (Manulife Financial/John Hancock), and progressive municipalities throughout the US. This technology also attracts significant incentives from a number of utility companies. For example, Con Edison recently approved an incentive application—covering 50% of the project costs—implementing Feedback Solutions in a large New York library building.

Diagram of Feedback Solutions system for HVAC optimization

Retrofit solution

The over-ventilation of campus, municipal, and commercial buildings is both a prevalent and longstanding issue. The results achieved with Feedback Solutions tools produce compelling payback periods and ROIs for organizations seeking immediate greenhouse gas reductions without doing deep retrofits.

A building’s automation system is normally designed to bring in outside air, which it then heats or cools and circulates, based on the number of people in an HVAC zone. In the absence of accurate real-time occupant counts, the building automation system typically brings in the amount of outside air assuming “full” occupancy. This is almost never the case (even before the introduction of new trends like the hybrid back to work model).

As occupancy goes up and down in a zone over the course of a day, Feedback Solutions cues an automatic ventilation response. The significant savings and emissions reduction are produced by both fan energy reduction and thermal conservation. At the same time, Feedback Solutions also provides for a data-driven indoor air quality strategy that prevents under-ventilation.

How Feedback works

  1. Feedback selects the most appropriate and cost-effective people-counting sensors according to site conditions at the building.
  2. Next steps include hardware installation, appropriate zone creation, and assurance of the accuracy of the data. (Feedback is able to produce highly accurate real-time occupant counts, even where there are multiple entrances and exits, via their proprietary intelligent algorithm running on an Intel IoT edge device.)
  3. Zoned, real-time occupant counts are then delivered to the building automation system. Then once the sequence of operations has been defined, the HVAC equipment is optimized automatically, and seamlessly. This patented solution integrates easily with all the major building management systems.

Screenshots of Feedback Solutions dashboard showing occupancy patters as value-added info

Cleantech and proptech converge

The space utilization data that Feedback Solutions creates, can also be used to inform numerous operational decisions. Feedback provides customers with up to 10 customized reports—including analytics such as a comparison of peak occupancy over the course of a day, week, or month—providing visibility to how many people use a given facility and when. Thus, operations, security, marketing, and planning groups within a campus, municipality, or commercial real estate portfolio gain valuable insights custom to their operations.

USGBC-LA Net Zero Accelerator

Feedback Solutions joined the 2023 cohort of the Net Zero Accelerator (NZA), to benefit from learning from subject matter experts in marketing, business development, and networking. The NZA, a program of the U.S. Green Building Council–Los Angeles (USGBC-LA), focuses on piloting projects in real-world, trackable implementations, to drive measurable adoption of net zero solutions, today.

Since its founding in 2018, the accelerator has guided the success of 85 growth-stage companies in the cleantech and proptech space across the US and Canada. The program bridges the gap between net zero building policy and current technologies in use in both commercial and affordable housing sectors. The NZA builds awareness of viable solutions and market-ready innovations through marketing, media, events, and curated networking. Then shepherds the tech to market through onsite pilots with committed green building leaders, accelerating scaled adoption. The goal? Make net zero carbon, energy, water, and waste a reality for Los Angeles and beyond.

The author:

As Chief Marketing Officer of Feedback Solutions, Karen Smith focuses on helping facility operators understand and evaluate Feedback’s hardware-enabled software platform. Smith has extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry, both private and institutional owners, specializing in leasing, marketing, asset management, and capital budgets. She believes that property owners and managers engaging with cleantech initiatives seek easy-to-implement solutions that produce immediate results.

Reference

Using disused mines and gravity to store energy
CategoriesSustainable News

Using disused mines and gravity to store energy

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: As coal mining winds down, innovators are coming up with some novel ways to repurpose disused mines. One of these is Australian startup Green Gravity, which is using vertical ventilation shafts in decommissioned coal mines to store clean energy. 

Green Gravity stores energy using the principles of gravity and kinetic energy. Ultra-heavy weights, made from 30 tonnes of steel coil, are lifted and then lowered in the shafts. As the weights are lowered, the cable holding them passes through a device called a ‘winder’, which is used to turn a motor, generating energy. The weights are lifted using excess renewable energy, then remain at the top of the shaft, holding potential energy, until demand rises, when they are lowered to generate energy to meet that demand. 

While gravity energy storage is not new, Green Gravity aims to save money and resources by using old mine shafts, rather than purpose-built towers. This makes the company’s technology lower cost than similar options. In addition, because it is installed using existing equipment and sites, it uses fewer resources and is thus more environmentally friendly. 

In September 2022, the company announced a partnership with leading Australian artificial intelligence (AI) and automation company xAmplify. Under the partnership, Green Gravity will use xAmplify’s AI to enable digital simulation, data processing, deep learning, and automated operations. In the words of Green Gravity CEO Mark Swinnerton, “Deploying advanced AI platforms will accelerate the rollout of Green Gravity energy storage, bring down the cost of renewable energy, and reduce carbon emissions from the electricity grid.” 

Springwise has previously spotted energy storage systems such as a hi-tech fluid that makes pumped hydro storage more affordable, underground storage for hydrogen, and the world’s first large-scale sand battery.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

AI-powered micro-climate forecasting for the energy and agriculture sectors
CategoriesSustainable News

AI-powered micro-climate forecasting for the energy and agriculture sectors

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: As the climate becomes more unpredictable, the importance of precise weather forecasting is more important than ever. Accurate forecasting plays a vital role in industries such as transportation, agriculture, management, and insurance. Benchmark Labs is one of those working to make weather forecasting much more accurate. 

Benchmark collects data from site-specific sensors and analyses it with its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) software. The result is accurate forecasts tailored to its customers’ precise locations, instead of the regional or grid level. Company CEO and co-founder Carlos Gaitan says that, unlike traditional approaches, “Benchmark Labs offers location-specific environmental forecasts to high-value asset managers to increase … operational margins.” 

The company claims its platform offers an improvement in the accuracy of weather forecasts by as much as 85 per cent relative to the National Weather Service. This improved accuracy translates into better planning and reduced operational costs. 

Benchmark Labs is now serving customers around the world, and over the next year will be working with leaders in the renewable energy sphere to help them obtain more accurate weather forecasts at their installations. 

Climate change is leading to the creation of a wide variety of forecasting products. Benchmark joins other innovators spotted by Springwise in the archive, including a system that uses high-resolution imagery to forecast climate risk and a platform that focuses on helping financial services with climate risk.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Lab La Bla uses local stone and recycled materials for energy operator HQ
CategoriesSustainable News

Lab La Bla uses local stone and recycled materials for energy operator HQ

By Zarkon Group,

Local studio Lab La Bla sourced diabase rock from a nearby mine and created seating from MDF and recycled cork for the interior of energy company E.ON’s headquarters in Malmö, Sweden.

Lab La Bla designed the headquarters’ reception area, coat room and lounge area, while also creating furniture, sculptures and other accessories across nine floors of the 22,000-square-metre building.

The studio aimed to create a sequence of space that had variety, while taking inspiration from sources including airport terminals.

Lounge designed by Lab La Bla
The studio used recycled materials for the interiors

“Creating work for an office that houses 1,500 employees is both challenging and inspiring,” co-founders Axel Landström and Victor Isaksson Pirtti told Dezeen.

“It’s about creating spaces and functions that cater to the many while offering a mix of focus, creative and social environments, so it’s really about designing for the masses without making it boring or generic,” they added.

“There’s a current fascination about airport interiors in the studio, so for the reception area we drew from that source of inspiration.”

Reception area at E.ON
Seating was made from MDF

In the reception area, the studio created a set of sunny yellow furniture made from medium-density fibreboard (MDF) covered in nylon fiber.

“The overall project for us is sort of a reaction to dysfunctional and non-sustainable processes inherent within our industry,” the studio explained.

“For the reception area MDF and screws have been coated with repurposed nylon fiber using a technology commonly seen in the automotive industry, resulting in furniture that celebrates leftover material but without compromising on durability.”

Atrium of E.ON headquarters
A bench features a “melting” diabase stone detail

For the building’s central atrium, Lab La Bla designed an unusual bench that features a gloopy stone decoration resembling an oil spill.

This was created using diabase stone, which is famous for its blackness and was mined nearby in southern Sweden. The process of creating it was informed by its setting at an energy company headquarters.

Gloopy bench designed by Lab La Bla
Lab La Bla sourced local materials for the project

“Since electricity and magnetism are essentially two aspects of the same thing – and E.ON being an electric utility company – we thought it suitable to introduce magnetism as a modelling tool,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti explained.

“The shape of the piece comes from dropping a lump of magnetic slime on top of a conductive material,” they added. “The slime seemingly randomly slump and drapes over a metal bar before settling in its final shape.”

Lab La Bla then scaled this shape up and hand-sculpted the shape from a single block of diabase, which was finally sandblasted and polished.

“We see this process as an adventurous exploration in making a physical representation of the invisible force that shapes our world,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti added.

Decorative glass panel at E.ON headquarters
Mouth-blown glass panels form a three-metre-high sculpture

The studio also turned brick beams, left over from the construction of a school in Malmö in the early 1900s, into umbrella stands, and sourced mouth-blown glass panels from one of the few remaining producers of the material.

This was used, together with dichroic glass, to create a three-metre-high glass sculpture with a graphic pattern that depicts a CT-scan of a wood-fibre material.

Vase shaped in tree trunk
Glass sculptures were formed inside hollowed-out tree trunks

Lab La Bla also created decorative vases and glass sculptures using molten glass blown into tree trunks that had been hallowed by fungal decay. The trunks were sourced from E.ON’s own local heating centre.

These trunks “serve no industrial purpose, but are burnt for energy by E.ON and used for teleheating for Malmö,” the studio said.

“We borrow these tree trunks to blow glass in them, before returning them to their final purpose.”

Sofas made from cork
Lounge sofas were made from ground-down wine corks

In the headquarters’ lounge areas, the designers created modular sofas made from ground-down wine corks sourced from restaurants.

“The modular cork sofa uses a unique process where 100 per cent recycled cork is sprayed onto a foam structure, proudly incorporating signs of imperfection into the design while bringing superior durability and sustainability to your furniture,” Landström and Isaksson Pirtti said.

Glass table detail by Lab La Bla
A table has an office-style glass relief with a keyboard

To the designers, the aim of the interior design was to use disused or forgotten materials, as well as ones that were recycled and recyclable.

“We took a conscious decision of picking hyper-ordinary materials such as MDF and aluminium to pinpoint and educate people about cyclic and sustainable qualities inherent in the processes of creating these materials,” the studio said.

“We often try to celebrate the beauty and intrinsic qualities of everyday, industrial materials otherwise consigned to temporary or low-cost construction solutions,” it added.

“We wanted to design objects which require significant time and skills from craftspeople, usually reserved for expensive, rare and high-quality materials – to some of the very inexpensive and found materials that we used throughout the project.”

Lab La Bla’s designs have previously been shown at the Moving Forward exhibition at Stockholm Design Week and as part of the Metabolic Processes for Leftovers exhibition in Malmö.

The photography is by Lars Brønseth.

Reference

Used EV batteries for on-site energy storage
CategoriesSustainable News

Used EV batteries for on-site energy storage

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: When it comes to on-site renewable energy, a key challenge facing many businesses is that sources such as solar and wind are intermittent, generating power only when the sun shines and the wind blows. Energy-storage solutions are therefore crucial for ensuring sufficient power is available when it’s needed most. 

Enter Connected Energy, a UK startup that has created E-STOR, a commercial-scale, energy-storage system that leverages 24 second-life Renault EV batteries. Easily installed at modern commercial and industrial sites within a 20-foot shipping container, E-STOR can optimise a site’s energy use, reducing costs and carbon emissions.  

Another key benefit of the system is that it’s completely modular. Units can be installed individually or as multiple systems working together, meaning storage can be scaled-up as the client requires. Servicing businesses across the UK and Europe, the company even offers free feasibility studies to ensure that battery energy storage is the right solution for any given site. 

Clients use E-STOR for active load management. The system can be charged from existing building supply or from solar panels and on-site wind, flexibly storing surplus energy generated when demand is low for use at peak times. Companies can also use E-STOR to generate revenue by offering load-balancing services to the grid.

Springwise has spotted other energy storage solutions in the archive, including one designed for homeowners in the event of a power outage, and another made from recycled batteries.

Written By: Rachel Ward

Reference

Cost-Effective Retrofits: 7 Steps to Zero Energy
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Cost-Effective Retrofits: 7 Steps to Zero Energy

By Zarkon Group,

How to use the 7 Steps

Building professionals can use the resource to inform clients and help explain sustainable design-build processes that maximize energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness. All eight pages are easily integrated into PowerPoints, and are free to share with colleagues. A builder’s or architect’s website can reference the steps as a proven methodology that is part of their corporate mission. And it’s easy to write and post case studies that show how a project successfully followed the steps.

The design and construction team work together to integrate each step’s purpose and strategies. So the 7 Steps spur discussions on where additional evaluations and expertise may be required, and how the different trades can be impacted. There are reminders that existing buildings are all different and that upgrades will interact with each other, so sequencing and phased implementation require careful consideration. Future maintenance requirements and expected lifetimes of different systems are major factors in determining the lifecycle cost and carbon accounting.

Think globally, act locally

Construction Worker Installing New Windows In apartment

The ZERO Coalition unites businesses, nonprofits, and local governments to propel our shared goal to change how we build and retrofit our homes and businesses. We seek to reduce buildings’ carbon footprint and electrify them with clean energy. As a coalition, we are accelerating the transition to a decarbonized building sector in Oregon. But builders, designers, policymakers, and other members of the sustainable building industry can use the 7 Steps to advance building decarbonization anywhere in North America, and beyond.

Buildings in Oregon account for about 30% of Oregonians’ energy use and 40% of our GHG emissions, the most significant chunk after transportation. According to Rocky Mountain Institute, buildings also account for 40% of global energy GHG emissions. Architecture 2030 found that “To accommodate the largest wave of building growth in human history, from 2020 to 2060, we expect to add about 2.6 trillion ft2 (240 billion m2) of new floor area to the global building stock, the equivalent of adding an entire New York City to the world, every month, for 40 years.” This is why building decarbonization is finally getting wider attention. The time is now.

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Low Energy, Big Views: OKALUX Reimagines Insulated Glazing
CategoriesArchitecture

Low Energy, Big Views: OKALUX Reimagines Insulated Glazing

By Zarkon Group,

Architizer’s new image-heavy daily newsletter, The Plug, is easy on the eyes, giving readers a quick jolt of inspiration to supercharge their days. Plug in to the latest design discussions by subscribing. 

Insulated glazing revolutionized architecture as we know it. Throughout history, windows let in light but also cold and heat. In the 1930s, a refrigeration engineer created the Thermopane window, featuring two panes of glass with a layer of air in between, it could better control temperature. From that moment on, architects began to utilize larger glazing, eventually creating the modern glass skyscrapers we see today.

Known for innovations in architecture and materials, OKALUX has been a leader in the glass manufacturing industry for more than 50 years. OKALUX originated from Heinrich Otto KG, a weaving and textile spinning company based in the South of Germany during the 1960s. Now headquartered in Marktheidenfeld, Germany, with an office in New York, OKALUX continues to redefine materials for a wide range of applications. They continue to develop and supply insulating glass for daylighting, shading and insulation. Featuring products that enhance the efficiency of facades and interiors, the following projects represent OKALUX glazing around the world. Together, they showcase how glazing can help make the most of light, reducing energy consumption and creating more comfortable places to live, work and unwind.

Des Moines Library

Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, Des Moines, IA, United States

As the centerpiece of the Des Moines Western Gateway Park urban renewal project, this public library was sited between the center of the city and a newly designed public park. As well as library facilities, the building contains a flexible activity space, education facilities, children’s play areas, a conference wing and a cafeteria. In plan, it responds to the orthogonal nature of the city blocks to the east while stretching out into the park to the west. This plan is extruded vertically with a glass-metal skin, which gives the building its distinctive appearance.

The triple-glazed panels incorporate a sheet of expanded copper mesh between the outer panes. The three-dimensional quality of the copper mesh reduces glare and solar gain, ensuring that views from the inside into the park are maintained at all times. The project uses OKATECH, an insulated glass unit. A wide variety of metal meshes can be placed within the glass cavity for a distinctive aesthetic. At the same time, the mesh faces the sun and screens out high solar gain.

Halley VI Antarctic Research Station

Designed by Hugh Broughton Architects and AECOM, Antarctica

Harkening back to the beginning of insulated glazing itself, the Halley VI Antarctic Research Station was designed for polar research. As the world’s first re-locatable research facility, it was constructed by Galliford Try for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The project aimed to demonstrate ground-breaking architecture characterized by a compelling concept, but also a structure that’s executed with careful attention to detail and coordination.

As the team explains, the Antarctic Research Station sought to push the boundaries of design in a life critical environment. The designers created a beacon for sustainable living in the Polar Regions to draw attention to some of the most significant science conducted on our planet. The central module accommodates the majority of the stations social areas; it consists of double height space with a large east-facing window made of OKAGEL. The insulating glass system features an inter-pane cavity filled with translucent Nanogel, a special noncrystalline solid.

Damesalen

Designed by MIKKELSEN Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark

Extending an existing university gymnastic hall with a testing laboratory, the Damesal project was designed with a new building on top. The project offered an opportunity to explore an architectural concept where the geometry of the additional floor is designed with a simple box shape in glass. The architectural and functional variation happens as the glass façade responds to the program and functions within the building. The building’s envelope embodies design and performance as a collaboration between the architect and the supplier of the customized glass solution.

Working closely with Dow Corning led to a strategy that deals with the local energy frame, and at the same time takes orientation and solar exposure into account. Both horizontal and vertical layouts were studied and calculated, as well as solutions integrating OKALUX components redirecting daylight while creating a level of shading. By positioning an insulating material in the cavity of the triple glazed units, there was an opportunity to experience the same material inside and outside.

Greenpoint EMS Station

Designed by Michielli + Wyetzner Architects, Brooklyn, NY, United States

The Greenpoint Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Station was designed as a two-story facility that supports FDNY ambulance crews and vehicles. The project was made with a strong, distinctive form occupying a prominent site in the rapidly developing neighborhood. The station’s requirements led to a four-part division of the facility. Because the space for housing vehicles called for a higher ceiling height than the rest of station, one side is taller than the other. This change organizes the building’s functions.

The first floor’s different ceiling heights create different levels at the second floor and that shift in levels repeats at the roof line. This shift and programmatic division is marked with a skylight extending from the front to the back of the building. The 90-foot-long, second-story translucent glass wall appears to float above the ground and contributes to the building’s strong identity. This works with the transparent staircase by OXALUX that connects the entrance to the second floor. It is framed by a glass façade with OKATECH Expanded Mesh. The aluminum inserts act as a design element while providing effective sun and glare protection.

David H. Koch Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital

Designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, New York, NY, United States

The Koch Center was designed to provide advanced integrative healthcare and complex outpatient services. Patient-centered and family-centered care is at the forefront of the building’s medical program, announced by a triple-height lobby that offers respite from the surrounding streets. Infusion and radiation oncology areas, as well as diagnostic imaging, typically found in basement areas, are located on upper floors. This gives patients and staff the benefit of natural light.

Functional and clinical program areas are set back from the building perimeter, so patients and families travel along light-filled corridors. This strategy also gives the curtain wall a consistent level of opacity across the facade, whose appearance subtly shifts in response to the changing light throughout the day. The curtain wall owes its rich architectural character to the OKALUX wood screen inserted into its triple-glazed assembly — the first such application on this scale — and to the undulating frit pattern applied to the inner surface of the outer pane.

Cité de l’Ocean et du Surf

Designed by Steven Holl Architects, Avenue de la Plage, Biarritz, France

SHA designed the Cité de l’Océan et du Surf museum to raise awareness of oceanic issues and explore educational and scientific aspects of the surf and sea. Centered around leisure, science, and ecology, the project was made in collaboration with Solange Fabião. The design includes the museum, exhibition areas, and a plaza, within a larger master plan. The building form derives from the spatial concept “under the sky”/“under the sea”.

A concave “under the sky” shape creates a central gathering plaza, open to sky and sea, with the horizon in the distance. The convex structural ceiling forms the “under the sea” exhibition spaces. This concept generates a unique profile and form for the building, and through its insertion and efficient site utilization, the project integrates seamlessly into the surrounding landscape. The project utilized KAPILUX by OKALUX, an insulating glass which incorporates a capillary slab within the glass cavity. This capillary slab is comprised of honeycombed, clear or white tubes.

Architizer’s new image-heavy daily newsletter, The Plug, is easy on the eyes, giving readers a quick jolt of inspiration to supercharge their days. Plug in to the latest design discussions by subscribing. 

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Recovering the energy from a warm shower
CategoriesSustainable News

Recovering the energy from a warm shower

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: In the average European household, showers are responsible for over a third of water loss and around a quarter of energy usage. And with rising energy prices across Europe, one 10-minute shower could cost almost €3. To help save people money and energy, a Swiss-based company, Joulia, has created technology to recover heat energy from a warm shower.  

The Joulia-Inline heat recycling technology uses a shower drain channel that is connected to cold water pipes. When someone takes a shower, the warm shower water runs over these pipes instead of going straight down the drain and preheats the incoming cold water. With the preheated cold water, the shower uses less hot water at the mixer valve. By reusing water heat, Joulia helps customers reduce their energy consumption, utility bill, and carbon footprint, while providing a comfortable shower experience. 

Video source Joulia

The technology is completely hidden, with the heat exchanger directly integrated into the shower area to recover energy. The line is also available in many lengths and efficiencies.

With its durable technology, Joulia says customers can save 60 per cent of their energy usage and because installation is quick, users can start saving on their bills immediately. 

Showers, while relaxing, can break the bank and waste a lot of water and energy, and Springwise has spotted many innovations to reduce these stressors. These include a brand that has introduced a recycling shower that reduces water usage by 75 per cent and a smart sensor that encourages users to save water in the shower.

Written By: Anam Alam

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