A brand new dormitory, named the Grundfos Dormitory, in the Danish city of Aarhus is not just the residence of more than 200 students. It is also a living laboratory where Grundfos can test new energy-saving technologies in a real environment – and gain valuable knowhow on how to minimise the water and energy consumption in the12-storey building.
When Grundfos was asked to enter the dormitory project it didn’t take long to say yes. Not only does the building comply with the ambitious low-energy class 2015, demanding a 25% reduction in energy consumption compared to standard regulations. The dormitory’s board is also dedicated to reducing the energy consumption to an absolute minimum in the coming years by actively involving the residents.
Grundfos has fully instrumented the dormitory with sensors and monitoring systems to allow for detailed monitoring and analysis of the building’s performance. Every apartment is equipped with several sensors that monitor the resident’s consumption of water and energy around the clock. An estimate of more than 1 tera byte data is to be collected every year and continuously analysed to enable selection and implementation of new energy saving technology.
It is the first time Grundfos has the opportunity to monitor a complete building – that even comes with a test panel of more than 200 students. Year 1 is dedicated to monitoring and analysis to establish a baseline for the building’s energy consumption. In the second year of operation, the residents will be actively engaged and motivated to change the behaviour related energy consumption. Data on both consumption and comfort will be continuously measured to be able to observe and document the effect of the optimisation efforts.
Once Grundfos has a solid knowledge of the performance of the building, the implementation of new initiatives and technology will commence. Through continuous monitoring and analysis Grundfos expects to gain valuable knowhow on how to minimise the water and energy consumption in the dorm. Knowhow that will also benefit other green building projects around the world.
About the Grundfos Dormitory
The Grundfos Dormitory is owned by a self-governing institution founded by Aarhus School of Engineering and Aarhus School of Machine Engineering. The 12-storey tower block consists of 159 apartments and is the home of 206 students. The dorm was officially opened in October 2012.