Pioneer award for 1970s "zero energy" house in Denmark

The findings of this project proved decisive for the development of modern energy efficient buildings. Torben Esbensen, an engineer and a driving force behind the project at the Technical University of Denmark, will accept the award at the upcoming International Passive House Conference in Frankfurt, Germany.
 
"Korsgaard’s and Esbensen’s work demonstrated back in the 1970s that energy-efficient technology really does work. The construction of this building was thus an important basis for later developments in Europe and around the world," explains Dr. Wolfgang Feist, who, as founder and director of the Passive House Institute, will present the award on 20 April. "The Danish zero-energy experiment was one of the very first of its kind and was certainly one of the most systematic. The published project findings were incorporated into passive house research right from the start."
 
From 1974 on, this building situated on the university campus on the outskirts of Copenhagen was used for simulations and measurements for the optimisation of building components and building services. Movable thermal insulation in front of windows, a device for the recovery of heat from exhaust air as well as a solar heating system consisting of 42 square metres of flat plate collectors and a 30 square metre hot water storage tank were used for this purpose. "On behalf of Professor Vagn Korsgard's team back in the 1970s, we are very proud to receive the Pioneer Award for our work with one of the first zero energy houses in the world. During these years there was a tremendous interest from all over the world to visit the house in Copenhagen and hear about it at conferences,” says Esbensen.
 
The Passive House Pioneer Award will be awarded at the International Passive House Conference for the third time. Previous award-winners include the Rocky Mountains Institute in Colorado, USA, founded by Dr Amory Lovins, and the Philips Experimental House in Aachen, where a team carried out research under the supervision of Dr. Bernd Steinmüller. "Quite often, those active in this field today are not aware of the significance of the work done by pioneers, and this isn't only true with regard to energy efficiency," says Feist. "With this Pioneer Award, we would like to call to mind the important historical milestones and appropriately appreciate their significance."