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Healthy home townhouses - more comfort for less money

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“The unique feature of these townhouses is a range of exclusive details and Active House standards that come at a square-metre price, similar to that of a traditional newbuild townhouse in the same area.” - Torstein Nordby, real estate agent of Stjørdal

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case study
Design: Ketill Skogholt, Photos: Anniken Zahl Furunes
Cozy high-tech

Located in the Stjørdal Active House residential complex outside the Norwegian city of Trondheim, the six townhouses form two rows of terraced houses are surrounded by nature. Wood - one of the main materials used in those houses (used as a building material in Norway for centuries) was sourced locally.
Each townhouse has a floor area of 138 square metres distributed between two floors on a narrow, deep plot. While the depth enables an economical layout and energy savings, roof windows are crucial for ensuring enough light and a healthy indoor climate.
Equipped with VELUX Integra climate control system and hybrid ventilation, the house responds by itself to changing weather conditions, always guaranteeing highest comfort in terms of daylight, air quality and temperature.

Full of light from top to bottom

With three bedrooms, a convenient laundry room and a spacious terrace, each unit has a range of facilities for families of different sizes and lifestyles. The focal point of the house is the large kitchen-dining room on the upper floor. Here, roof windows provide daylight from above and facade windows ensure a great view to the Trondheim fjord. Also in the ground floor living room, residents can enjoy sunlight from above. Thanks to a sun tunnel in the ceiling, natural daylight is led into the room, thereby reducing the need for electrical lighting. 
The VELUX Daylight Visualizer 2 design tool was used in the design process to measure and ensure optimal daylight conditions. Illuminance renderings were prepared to measure the daylight factor - a recognized performance indicator to evaluate the amount of available daylight in the room.

case study

Design: Ketill Skogholt, Photos: Anniken Zahl Furunes

Torstein Nordby, real estate agent of Stjørdal

Thanks to the collaboration with VELUX, a light design tool was used from the concept design phase, which enabled adjusting floor plans to let some of the light from the high-positioned roof windows to reach the ground floor through an open staircase

case study
Design: Ketill Skogholt, Photos: Anniken Zahl Furunes
High comfort with little energy

Active Houses focus on the fact that the most sustainable energy source is the energy we do not use. So, the main focus in the design phase of the Healthy Home Townhouses was to reduce the energy demand by choosing the right shape and orientation of the house and active use of daylighting to reduce need for energy for electricity.
Healthy Home Townhouses have several heating sources. Floors are equipped with additional insulation and, in the bathroom floor, electrical heating cables. Domestic water is heated by solar collectors on the roof, while primary room heating is provided by electric radiators and a very well-proven technology: wood stoves. They provide pleasant and efficient heating on cold days, and sustainably sourced wood is carbon neutral. 
Annual energy consumption is estimated to be around 51 kWh/m² per year. For comparison, an average terraced house in Norway consumes approximately 140 kWh/m² per year.

"Living in an energy-efficient building doesn’t have to be a complicated or expensive challenge. Nor do you have to sacrifice appealing architecture or fresh air quality indoors."
Torstein Nordby, real estate agent of Stjørdal

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case study
case study
Design: Ketill Skogholt, Photos: Anniken Zahl Furunes
Home automation

The Healthy Home Townhouses have a hybrid ventilation solution that provides excellent indoor air quality throughout the year. Fresh air is supplied by natural ventilation through the VELUX INTEGRA® roof windows. The roof windows can be programmed to perform automatic, natural ventilation when needed, operated with a remote control. The natural ventilation is combined with a balanced mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, which saves both energy and money.
The principle provides an efficient and ecological energy performance for new-build houses and works well with VELUX INTEGRA® roof windows.

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