Living Places houses are now tested in real life
This summer people are living in the Living Places Copenhagen houses in the railroad district in Copenhagen as a part of real-life testing of the concept. The purpose is to monitor how the houses perform when people live in them and to gather indoor climate performance data to document the positive impact on people.
One in four Europeans live in buildings where indoor air quality falls below national standards. Since we spend 90% of our time indoors, how we build and live directly impacts our physical and mental health. Living in a building with a poor indoor climate can result in severe health issues with ill effects ranging from respiratory and skin problems, headaches, and allergies to serious mental health concerns and life-threatening heat or cold[1].
The Living Places concept explores how to create an optimal indoor climate with the lowest possible carbon footprint using readily available and tested products, materials, and technologies. On a conceptual basis, Living Places has been awarded a first-class indoor climate, but now the time has come to test how the houses perform with real people living in them.
The Living Places project demonstrates how to build with an ultra-low CO2 footprint and now it is time to focus on the indoor climate and the benefits for people living in the houses. In VELUX, we have a long history of experimenting with healthy buildings and have carried out more than 30 demonstration projects in the past 20 years, so we know a lot about how to create a good indoor climate. With the project, we want to test how the Living Places Copenhagen houses perform when people are staying in the homes for a longer period and we are very much looking forward to hearing what people think about their stay in this new type of home.
Since July over 20 architects, influencers, and families from across Europe have lived in the Living Places Copenhagen houses in the railroad district in Copenhagen.
Live monitoring of indoor climate performance
The indoor climate performance of Living Places was predicted during the design stage using simulations and compared synthetically against a benchmark Danish house through the Active House Radar.
Living Places is an experiment that shows that it is possible to bridge the knowledge gap between simulated and actual building performance. We do this by verifying the indoor climate data via live monitoring to better understand how occupants interact with the space and environmental control systems, such as thermostats, lights, and our VELUX products to restore a comfortable indoor climate.
The health impacts of Living Places Copenhagen on its occupants are measured through the data from spatial sensors tracking temperature, relative humidity, C02, barometric pressure, particles, light, sounds, occupancy, and some VOCs and the learning will be shared during the fall of 2024.
See the virtual tour of Living Places Copenhagen and read more about Living Places
[1] Healthy Buildings Barometer 2024
About the VELUX Group
VELUX roof windows have been bringing daylight and fresh air into peoples’ homes around the world for more than 80 years, creating better living environments. We offer a range of products including roof windows and modular skylights, decorative blinds, sun screening products, and roller shutters, as well as installation and smart home solutions. They help create bright, healthy, and energy-efficient places for people who live, work, learn, and play under the roof. We work globally – with sales and manufacturing operations in 37 countries and around 11,700 employees worldwide. The VELUX Group is owned by VKR Holding A/S, a limited company owned by the Villum Foundation and members of the Kann Rasmussen family. In 2023, the VELUX Group had a total revenue of EUR 2.91 billion while VKR Holding had a total revenue of EUR 3.97 billion. The same year, the Villum Foundation and the VELUX FOUNDATION donated a total of EUR 184.6 million in charitable grants.
For more information about the VELUX Group, visit velux.com