The Plus-Energy House generates more energy than it requires. Become your own supplier of energy.
“Generate more energy than you use” - that’s how the Plus-Energy House concept can be briefly described.
Thus, with a Plus-Energy House you own a small power plant which generates so much electricity that it covers the energy needs of your home’s occupants for heating, water, lighting and the operation of electrical appliances. Moreover, energy is left over afterwards for your home’s electricity storage system and perhaps even for feeding into the public electricity grid.
How is electricity generated in a Plus-Energy House?
generation
A photovoltaic system uses sunlight to generate electricity, which is then managed by an energy management system.
If more electricity is available at sunny times of the day than is needed in the house, the intelligent home control system directs the unused energy into a central storage system.
For example, if the electricity requirements can no longer be met by the photovoltaic system in the evening, the house automatically draws energy from the storage system.
When this is empty, energy is drawn from the public electricity grid.
Conversely, the system feeds excess electricity into the public electrical grid when the electricity storage system of your prefabricated house is full.
The Plus-Energy House in Wuppertal
Visit our Hanse Haus show homes in Wuppertal and see how a Plus-Energy House functions. Our Variant 35-235 model served as the basis for this energy-efficient home which meets the KfW 40 Plus Standard.
Come and see us! Here, you can best convince yourself of the advantages of a Plus-Energy House and, on request, receive valuable tips and information from our competent Hanse Haus consultants.
KfW subsidies for energy efficiency
A Plus-Energy House by Hanse Haus already meets the criteria for the KfW 40 Plus Standard, which must be fulfilled in order to receive loans with particularly low interest rates as well as repayment subsidies from the KfW Development Bank.
More on KfW Efficiency Houses and subsidies
An environmentally friendly Hanse Haus Plus-Energy House in just three steps
the building’s energy efficiency
Maximising
The goal: minimise heat loss so that as little heating energy as possible is needed. Because the less heat that is lost, the less the building has to be heated.
The main requirement for a Plus-Energy House is an energy-efficient building envelope which has optimal thermal insulation and is particularly airtight.
Depending on the requirements, we employ components e.g. for the walls, windows, roof and floor slab/basement which have proven themselves during the construction of our passive houses.
When planning the house, it is important to choose a compact building form and to provide space on the roof for a photovoltaic system. Whilst large windows should be planned on the south side to capture solar heat, the north side should preferably be kept closed. The house must not be overshadowed by neighbouring houses, large trees or similar objects.
of energy consumption
Minimisation
The goal is to reduce the household’s energy requirements to such an extent that the remaining demand can be met by self-generated energy.
Since the Plus-Energy House is to be viewed as an overall concept, energy consumption by home appliances, lighting and for heating the house must also be minimised.
For example, heat pump systems such as air/water heat pumps or the Hanse Haus fresh air heating system, which uses partly self-generated electricity, are suitable for heating purposes.
A controlled ventilation system integrated into the system recovers the heat contained in the exhaust air.
Household appliances of the highest efficiency class, lighting with LEDs or energy-saving lamps, and energy management systems also reduce electricity requirements to a minimum.
your own energy from solar power
Generating
The goal: to obtain more energy from solar power on an annual average than is needed in the house.
The energy needed for the house is provided every day by the sun, free of charge.
A photovoltaic system on the roof of the house generates electricity from sunlight, which is then preferentially consumed within the house. Any surplus can be fed into the public electricity grid in return for remuneration.
For a single-family house, photovoltaic modules will require approximately 60 square metres of south-facing roof space, with an ideal pitch of 30-40 degrees. The required system specifications are calculated on an individual basis by our Hanse Haus experts.
Are you interested in detailed information on Plus-Energy Houses?
information
You will find more information on achieving the Plus-Energy Standard for your prefabricated house and on photovoltaic systems in our Hanse Haus catalogue. You can download the catalogue through a link or we will be happy to send it to you in the post.