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| Sustainable living without compromising on comfort |
Independence from fossil fuels
- Family of six to live without oil and gas in the Eco Plus Home for one year
- Website will display energy balances and enable dialogue with the family
- Electric heat pump, household appliances, solar thermal and photovoltaic technology to guarantee positive energy balance
Bathurst – Can a family of six live their everyday life without using fossil fuels for a whole year? This question will soon be answered by the Eco Plus Home project in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada, a project intended to demonstrate how a family lives eco-friendly in the fully fitted showcase house for one year starting this September. Energy balances of the household consumptions will regularly be published on www.ecoplushome.com. The website will also allow the family to share their experience with the public.
A webcam and weekly video blogs in English, German and French will document construction progress up to completion of the Eco Plus Home. The Kenny family – father Brian, mother Renee and their kids Tyler (14), Grayson (12), Shane (8) and Olivia (6) – plan to move into the house on September 13. “It's an experiment that we feel is very important to do and we want to really show that if a family of six can do without fossil energies, it can be achieved by everyone,” said Renee Kenny.
Building technology and household appliances for the showcase house in the Eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick are provided by Bosch and its brands Buderus, Ersol and FHP. The installed products consist of an electric heat pump, a solar thermal system, a photovoltaic system as well as energy-efficient home appliances including an oven, a refrigerator, a dishwasher, a coffee maker, a washing machine and a dryer. The solar thermal system will generate heat and hot water from free solar radiation, while the heat pump uses geothermal energy. While the heat pump needs electricity to run, the photovoltaic system will generate much more CO2-free electricity in the course of the year than the heat pump will consume. It is even planned to operate an electric car. Excess electricity will be fed into the public grid and withdrawn when needed. This way, it will be possible for the family to live comfortably in the house even through the harsh Canadian winter, when temperatures may drop to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit or less, and still achieve a positive energy balance. CO2 emissions from the Eco Plus Home will be close to zero, whereas a conventional home produces an average of eight tons of CO2 per year.
"This house is a logical continuation of our sponsorship of Darmstadt University’s entry to the 2007 Solar Decathlon project. While that winning house was essentially still a prototype model, the Eco Plus Home is now fully fitted with Bosch technology picked from our available product range. It demonstrates that complete reliance on renewable energies is feasible without people having to compromise on their lifestyles and that it is affordable. This approach will help end our dependence on fossil fuels and our exposure to constantly rising energy prices“, said Mario Gross, Project Manager at Bosch Thermotechnology.
The project is being spearheaded by Tight Lines Productions Ltd., Canada, in partnership with Maple Leaf Homes, a Canadian manufacturer of prefabricated homes, and project developers Kenny Group. When planning the showcase house, emphasis was placed on sustainability without loss of comfort and on the price-performance ratio. Once the experiment is over, the aim is to offer the house in the US and Canadian markets.
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 280,000 associates generated sales of 45.1 billion euros ($66.4 billion) in fiscal 2008. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 300 subsidiaries and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Each year, Bosch spends more than 3.5 billion euros ($5.7 billion), or eight percent of its sales revenue, for research and development and applies for over 3,000 patents worldwide. With all its products and services, Bosch enhances the quality of life by providing solutions which are both innovative and beneficial.
In North America, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial drives and control technology, power tools, security and packaging technology, thermotechnology, household appliances, solar energy and healthcare. Bosch employs nearly 24,000 associates in more than 70 locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with reported sales of $8.6 billion in fiscal 2008. For more information on the company, visit www.boschusa.com.
Note: Figures based on 2008 conversion rate of 1 Euro = $1.4710 U.S.; 2007 rate of 1 Euro = $1.3704 U.S.
Eco House in Canada - August 2009 |
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