Geothermal wells, an extremely tight building envelope, and the very best building materials help to make Plus House Larvik—less than two hours from Oslo in southeast Norway—an extraordinary project.
The zero-emission pilot project serves the needs of a family house while also generating enough extra energy to power an electric car year-round. While the house itself is beautiful—daylight floods the space and the views can’t be beat—features like efficient insulation, radiant floor heating, and passive exterior sunshading help to make it extremely efficient.
One radiator on each floor can heat the entire house, and heating and cooling is solved passively through placement of glass surfaces, orientation, house geometry, and volume. Excess heat from the indoor air is used to heat incoming air and tap water. The boiler is heated water from the solar collectors, an energy well, the air system, and the water heat recovery systems. Light and air are automatically controlled based on need.
