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Swedish city builds ‘passive houses’ as part of ambitious CO2 reduction targets
January 23, 2014
Swedish city builds ‘passive houses’ as part of ambitious CO2 reduction targets
Passive housing is catching on across Europe, but Vaxjo boasts innovative highrise project to help country realize goal of eliminating CO2 emissions by 2050.
Passive houses feature wood frames and very thick walls, which keep cold air out and human-generated heat ? from cooking, gadget use, people moving about ? in. Each of the Vaxjo city-funded highrises also has a ventilator in the attic that transports the human-generated heat back into the apartments. The buildings even recycle wastewater, which contains valuable heat.
For Vaxjo, the passive-house push is part of a highly ambitious CO2 reduction plan. The university city, home to some 61,000 residents, has already built a 150km bike-path system and launched a bus fleet running on biogas from sewage. By the end of last year, such measures had resulted in a 41% reduction of the city’s emissions compared to 1993 levels, and by 2025, the city aims to be 70% CO2-free.
Read more at The Guardian.
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