Low-energy house in Arctic climate - 5 years of experience

The aim of this article is to present and disseminate the experience gained from a low‐energy house in Sisimiut, Greenland, over the 5 years of operation since its inauguration in April 2005. The house was designed to test and present new low‐energy technologies in the Arctic climate and to improve sustainability in Greenlandic buildings.

The article presents some measurements, analyses and comparisons of theoretical simulations, and also some steps which were taken to improve the house with impacts on the energy consumption. The results include energy consumption, temperatures, and solar heating production. Also presented are the results of several investigations carried out in the house, such as blower‐door tests and inspection of the ventilation system.

The initial target for the heating demand of the house was that it should be restricted to 80 kWh/(m2⋅a), but in reality it has varied over the past 5 years from 139 to 150 kWh/(m2⋅a). Currently the house is on the way to present a good energy solution, and the annual energy consumption for heating in 2010 was 90 kWh/m2.