Pioneering Energy Efficiency

Bemidji, Minnesota In its statement of goals, Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota, stresses education “for responsible global citizenship” to influence “the affairs of the world.” To this end, the College has gradually since 1961 developed fourteen foreign language immersion programs (for German, French, Spanish, Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, Italian, and Arabic) in ethnically typical villages created in the forests of northern Minnesota.

Recently, Concordia inspired and initiated the construction of a unique model home that uses 85 percent less energy than traditional American homes. Located in the German language village of Waldsee on Turtle River Lake and named “BioHaus,” the structure presently serves as learning center for students of all ages. It primarily demonstrates how energy can be used and conserved far more efficiently than hitherto.

Concordia’s BioHaus features state-of-the-art 6” walls that provide the same insulation as traditional 20” walls. First designed for spacecraft by NASA thirty years ago, the walls’ vacuum-insulated panels (VIP) are filled with silica dust that produce substantially higher R-values than conventional insulation. Ironically, since such panels are not presently available in the U.S., they had to be imported from Porextherm, a manufacturer in Kempten, Germany.

The building’s triple pane windows and their cork-insulated wood frame structure provide maximal protection against loss of thermal energy. The European-style tilt-and-turn handles allow opening of the windows to the inside only. The flat green roof is covered with eight different kinds of sedum plants that help retain rainwater and snow as a heat buffer.

The manager of the 5,000 square foot BioHaus claims that experts consider it the “tightest building in the U.S.,” 20 times tighter than if built to prevailing construction standards. The ventilation system replaces 100 percent of the inside air with fresh air, while recovering 85 percent of the energy from the discharged air.

The building’s solar hot-water system is supported by a geothermal heat pump linked to a 330’ heat-collecting tube into the ground. This design supplies the home’s occupants with all of their hot water needs, from showers to radiant floor heat. Their energy requirements, moreover, could be met entirely by electricity derived from a photovoltaic system and thus lower the dependence on outside energy to zero.

For the foreseeable future, the BioHaus at the Waldsee campus serves also as a research center. Sensors inside and outside the structure, in the ground and in walls, on the roof, as well as in tubes and pipes, measure how the whole structure and each of its components perform.

After inspecting and approving the BioHaus, the State of Minnesota gave the architect, Stephan Tanner, its Environmental Initiative Award in the category “Air Quality and Climate Protection.” Since the BioHaus serves as a model for the kind of energy-saving homes industrialized societies will have to build in the future, the Minneapolis Star Tribune called it “Home Sweet Home 2037.” It sharply reduces the impact of climatic conditions on a home’s interior, saves maintenance costs in the long term, extends structural life expectancy, and--most of all--substantially enhances occupancy comfort.

The U.S. Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency have as yet shown no noteworthy interest in research and development toward more energy-efficient building. The financial support for the BioHaus has come from the German Federal Foundation for the Environment and three private American sources: the Home Depot Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Albert Cherne Foundation.

Wolf D. Fuhrig

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07-22-07

Pioneering Energy Efficiency

Wolf D. Fuhrig	Home	07-22-07
Pioneering Energy Efficiency
*Bemidji, Minnesota* In its statement of goals, Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota, stresses education “for responsible global citizenship” to influence “the affairs of the world.” To this end, the College has gradually since 1961 developed fourteen foreign language immersion programs (for German, French, Spanish, Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, Italian, and Arabic) in ethnically typical villages created in the forests of northern Minnesota. Recently, Concordia inspired and initiated the construction of a unique model home that uses 85 percent less energy than traditional American homes. Located in the German language village of Waldsee on Turtle River Lake and named “BioHaus,” the structure presently serves as learning center for students of all ages. It primarily demonstrates how energy can be used and conserved far more efficiently than hitherto. Concordia’s BioHaus features state-of-the-art 6” walls that provide the same insulation as traditional 20” walls. First designed for spacecraft by NASA thirty years ago, the walls’ vacuum-insulated panels (VIP) are filled with silica dust that produce substantially higher R-values than conventional insulation. Ironically, since such panels are not presently available in the U.S., they had to be imported from Porextherm, a manufacturer in Kempten, Germany. The building’s triple pane windows and their cork-insulated wood frame structure provide maximal protection against loss of thermal energy. The European-style tilt-and-turn handles allow opening of the windows to the inside only. The flat green roof is covered with eight different kinds of sedum plants that help retain rainwater and snow as a heat buffer. The manager of the 5,000 square foot BioHaus claims that experts consider it the “tightest building in the U.S.,” 20 times tighter than if built to prevailing construction standards. The ventilation system replaces 100 percent of the inside air with fresh air, while recovering 85 percent of the energy from the discharged air. The building’s solar hot-water system is supported by a geothermal heat pump linked to a 330’ heat-collecting tube into the ground. This design supplies the home’s occupants with all of their hot water needs, from showers to radiant floor heat. Their energy requirements, moreover, could be met entirely by electricity derived from a photovoltaic system and thus lower the dependence on outside energy to zero. For the foreseeable future, the BioHaus at the Waldsee campus serves also as a research center. Sensors inside and outside the structure, in the ground and in walls, on the roof, as well as in tubes and pipes, measure how the whole structure and each of its components perform. After inspecting and approving the BioHaus, the State of Minnesota gave the architect, Stephan Tanner, its Environmental Initiative Award in the category “Air Quality and Climate Protection.” Since the BioHaus serves as a model for the kind of energy-saving homes industrialized societies will have to build in the future, the Minneapolis Star Tribune called it “Home Sweet Home 2037.” It sharply reduces the impact of climatic conditions on a home’s interior, saves maintenance costs in the long term, extends structural life expectancy, and--most of all--substantially enhances occupancy comfort. The U.S. Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency have as yet shown no noteworthy interest in research and development toward more energy-efficient building. The financial support for the BioHaus has come from the German Federal Foundation for the Environment and three private American sources: the Home Depot Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Albert Cherne Foundation.