In July and August 2024, VELUX Group invited nearly 100 architects, entrepreneurs, designers and journalists from 12 countries to live at Living Places Copenhagen as part of an experiment that builds on years of research led by VELUX Group in scientifically monitoring different model homes to better understand how building design impacts residents' comfort and satisfaction while assessing indoor environmental quality and its effects on human well-being.

Living Places explores how to build homes with an ultra-low CO₂ footprint and an optimal indoor climate using standard materials, methods and technologies available today.

Using 17 environmental sensors strategically placed in the two houses, a questionnaire as well as personal testimonies, VELUX Group examined the houses' indoor comfort performance in terms of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, natural light levels and noise as well as guests’ perceptions of the houses’ functional comfort, such as the layout, their experiences with the community and atmosphere, and their overall satisfaction with the houses.

Five key conclusions from the Living Places Living experiment

1. Living Places can inspire and showcase how to build sustainably
For over 20 years, the VELUX Group has initiated and participated in more than 30 demonstration buildings exploring the future of healthy buildings through full scale experiments. In 2021, VELUX Group launched an open innovation process to change the way we build today towards more sustainable practices and to decarbonize buildings. The result, Living Places, shows that it is possible to build more sustainable and healthy buildings using standard materials, methods and technologies that are available today.

2. Healthy buildings that are good for people and the planet can be achieved by applying a holistic approach focusing more on comfort, energy and environment parameters
Advocating for the well-being of people and the planet requires a holistic approach to sustainable living and building practices that looks at the entire life cycle of a building, from design and construction to use.

3. The way we design our homes can significantly influence residents' well-being and their way of living
Our homes are an important part of our overall health. We spend 90% of our time indoors, yet 1 out of 3 Europeans is exposed to at least one indoor climate hazard such as lack of daylight, cold, damp or noise, according to the Healthy Homes Barometer 2022 and Healthy Buildings Barometer 2024. The way we build and live directly impacts our physical and mental health. The design of the house and indoor environment has a strong positive impact on residents' well-being, with over 70% of Living Places guests reporting improved mood, increased relaxation, and a sense of connection to nature while experiencing minimal negative effects.

4. The design of Living Places Copenhagen, which optimizes daylight and natural ventilation, has been well-received by guests
Designed to optimize daylight and natural ventilation, 83% of all guests favoured spending time in rooms with more natural light while 90% also found it easy to adjust the shadings to ensure an optimal indoor environment. As part of creating well-being at home, functional factors like design, layout, temperature, lighting, and indoor climate can invoke immediate feelings of physical comfort in a building. During their stay, 85% of the guests perceived the houses to fit their functional needs.

5. Living Places Copenhagen has achieved an indoor thermal environment within the comfortable range according to the European Standard
On a conceptual basis, Living Places had been awarded a first-class indoor climate. The results indicate "comfortable ranges" which reflect the actual performance during the experiment period which included the indoor temperature being within the best level of the European Standard (EN 16798-1:2019 standard (Category I)) 89% of the time in one house and 90% of the time in the other and within the comfortable range of the European Standard (EN 16798-1:2019 standard (Category II)) 98% of the time in both houses.

To learn more visit: Build for Life - Living Places Learnings 

Living Places Copenhagen, built by the VELUX Group, EFFEKT architects, Artelia engineers and Enemærke & Petersen contractors, has been awarded with two international awards by the American Institute of Architects. The AIA has just announced that the Danish design studio EFFEKT has been awarded the Sustainable Future Award and the Merit Award for Architecture.

With the Sustainable Future Award and the Merit Award for Architecture, Living Places Copenhagen is recognized for its outstanding design and for demonstrating that it is possible to improve human health and energy efficiency and manage our dwindling resources in a sustainable way through meaningful, sustainable, and integrated design. More about the awards: www.aiainternational.org/design-awards-2023-winners.

The news of the two international awards was also received with great enthusiasm by EFFEKT, the architects on the project.

In September 2023, Living Places Copenhagen won the EY Sustainability award in the innovation category for its groundbreaking and innovative concept for future housing, and in November Living Places Copenhagen received the design award of the Bo Bedre magazine in the Innovative of the Year category.

About Living Places Copenhagen
In April 2023 the VELUX Group, EFFEKT, Artelia, and Enemærke & Petersen opened the doors to Living Places Copenhagen in the Railway District in Copenhagen. It is the first prototype of the overall Living Places concept, and the vision is to lead the way in the building industry and show how rethinking buildings can help solve some of the global climate and health challenges. The groundbreaking project demonstrates that it is possible to build homes with a CO2 footprint that is 2/3 lower per m2/year than the Danish standard while ensuring a first-class indoor climate.

VELUX Group and BayWa r.e. today announce a groundbreaking dual-site deal to address the world-leading roof window manufacturer's European operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2024.

The Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) will drive the development of two new solar parks in Southern Spain, one close to Seville and the other in nearby Granada. The latter, called Alhendín solar park, includes BayWa r.e.’s first installation of innovative Agri-PV technology in Spain, which will allow for crops to grow in between the solar panels.

Bringing more renewable energy online

Connecting to the grid in 2023 and 2024, the two plants will generate 167 GWh of renewable electricity every year for VELUX, equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 45,000 European homes. Eighty per cent of the total electricity generated by the plants will be generated due to the PPAs with VELUX. The new PPA will reduce the carbon footprint of VELUX with approximately 40,000 tonnes of CO2e from the company's European operations and activities on a yearly basis.

Pioneering solar plant symbiosis

About 10% of the Alhendín solar park will be an Agri-PV installation, a new solar application that combines energy generation and food production, of which BayWa r.e. is a pioneer and leader. This installation will be specially designed with taller rows of panels, more widely spaced to allow farming to continue and modern farming machinery to pass between the panel rows, in this case to produce crops. The PV modules will also be used to collect rainwater, which will help the farmer manage the continuing risks posed by climate change and droughts in a very dry area.

This PPA is pioneering the concept of solar plant symbiosis – a concept integrating solar power production with nature and community for mutual benefit. The development of both the plants will include a comprehensive plan and suite of community and environmental measures that will enhance local biodiversity and foster community involvement.

To ensure that the parks will always prioritize their local environment and communities, BayWa r.e. will be partnering with nearby universities – namely Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Universidad de Córdoba – to form an interdisciplinary research group whose findings will ultimately inform a comprehensive and bespoke site strategy.

Helping to deliver on VELUX Group’s historic carbon capture commitment

Once connected to the grid, the new solar farms will enable VELUX to achieve its 2030 target to reduce emissions from its own operations and activities by 100%. This target is part of the company's 2030 sustainability strategy commitment to pioneer climate and nature action. The commitment also includes targets to capture its historical emissions since its founding in 1941 through forest conservation projects in partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) by 2041 and halving its value chain emissions by 2030.

Schneider Electric, the leading advisor on global corporate renewable energy procurement, supported VELUX in the selection of the projects and their negotiations.

Up to now, the combination of both roof window and solar panel installations on roofs has not always been without issues. Homeowners have typically either prioritised solar panels or roof windows, alone or dealt with clunky compromises. This often results in loss of potential solar energy use or less daylight and fresh air and a suboptimal indoor climate in the valuable space under pitched roofs. VELUX Solar Integrator is an aesthetically pleasing solution that fulfils homeowners’ energy, natural ventilation and light needs.

Capturing best of both worlds
This building-integrated photovoltaic solution means that what is on the roof works in harmony with what’s beneath it. In other words, it captures the best of both worlds - from an outside-in and an inside-out perspective. Whichever way you look at it, with VELUX Solar Integrator, you get green energy production plus daylight and fresh air and nice vistas of the sky. It allows for natural solutions for sustainable and healthy living.
 

Flexible and robust installation
The new roof window flashing system does not cover any active part of the solar panels. This ensures full utilisation of the solar panels and thereby maximum generation of energy. VELUX Solar Integrator’s unique side-section design allows for up to 25 mm sideway flexibility, allowing for easy installation and perfect positioning of solar panels and roof windows. It is flexible to suit multiple solar panel grid systems. The complete energy roof, integrated with VELUX roof windows, is tested to withstand extreme weather conditions (wind and water) over 50 years.
 

Highlights of 2016 report include:

• 98% of wood used in manufacturing sourced from certified, sustainable forests – three times higher than the global average and approaching our 2020 target of 99%

• 97% of production waste recycled or used for energy generation

• 1.9 work-related accidents per one million working hours – almost five times lower than a comparable industry benchmark

• 100% of manufacturing sites certified according to ISO 14001 (Environment), OHSAS 18000 (Occupational Health) ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 50001 (Energy)

The report also examines a broad range of initiatives and activities, including:

• VELUX’s work to promote better living environments for all, including the completion of its 27th demonstration building, a social housing renovation in Brussels, Belgium

• Ways in which the company is addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

• Charitable and non-profit grants donated by the VELUX Foundations totaling 155 million EURO.

View the full 2016 CSR Report here: www.velux.com/csrreport

90 per cent of the existing building stock in Europe will still be in use in 2050. And 75 per cent of those buildings are energy inefficient. The VELUX Group has constructed a series of experimental buildings throughout Europe to show that the tools needed for environment-friendly construction are already available. Next April, the Group will complete an example of energy renovation in a social housing estate in Belgium.

The VELUX Group’s core business areas are Western Europe and the USA. But is sees significant potential in former Eastern Europe, where the need for home renovation is much greater than in Denmark and other countries in Western Europe. Less than 5 per cent of the company’s sales are made in Denmark.

The renovation will see carbon emissions reduced significantly as energy use will be cut by 79%.

The social housing complex in Brussel’s Bon Air settlement built in the 1920’s encompasses 385 houses; the climate renovation concept represents a large-scale potential if implemented in all houses, currently 86 units are due for renovation.

Buildings part of the climate solution

Today, buildings account for 40 % of total energy consumption in Europe, and the EU imports fossil fuel for more than a billion euros every day to cover its energy needs.

Lone Feifer also points out that addressing the energy challenge could stimulate economic growth and job creation across Europe and further elaborates:

Affordability

Reducing the cost of renovating is another paramount factor in adding more volume to energy efficiency in buildings. High cost is often the barrier when homeowners decide whether to renovate or not. The renovation concept developed by the VELUX Group thus seeks to bridge that gulf by driving the costs down, thus offering a strong, new incentive to implement climate renovation projects.

From an uninhabitable to a healthy home

The house will be transformed from a currently un-inhabitable dwelling into a home with a high level of comfort and healthy building parameters. This unique concept is calledRenovActive and combines health and well-being with increased energy efficiency, based on active house principles balancing three aspects: comfort, energy and environment.

RenovActive

The RenovActive concept provides an affordable and reproducible solution to renovate buildings by balancing three factors: Comfort, Energy and Environment.

The renovation concept is based on the so-called Active House principles focusing on a building’s architectural quality, energy efficiency, human health, comfort and well-being, and environmental benefits.

The RenovActive concept has been developed by the VELUX Group in partnership with the social housing association “Le Foyer Anderlechtois” which owns 3,600 homes in Belgium. Improved quality of life and increased energy efficiency are central concerns of both partners.

The concept was designed by ONO Architectuur after developing an ambitious renovation proposal which not only meets the technical parameters established by the Active House principles but also inspires to improve the overall quality of life of the surrounding area.

The renovation will be completed in spring 2016.

For further information, please see: www.renovactive.velux.be/en/

The VELUX Group has built 21 houses, in 12 countries with different climatic conditions, to develop sustainable solutions for future buildings.

The total energy spend in Europe on buildings accounts for 37% of CO2 emissions. But 75% of those buildings are energy inefficient. The VELUX Group has therefore embarked on a project to renovate an existing building in Brussels − at an affordable price and meeting the energy standards of 2020.

The VELUX commitment on CO2 reductions

In 2007, the VELUX Group committed itself to help preventing the negative impact of climate change by setting the ambitious goal to reduce its total CO2 emissions by 50% before 2020.

Today, the VELUX Group is far ahead of this goal. In 2014, CO2 emissions had been reduced by more than 29%. Currently, its carbon footprint has been reduced by 15% more than that required by the EU, which puts the Group nine years ahead of EU emission-reduction targets.