Supplying sustainable residential ventilation for UN17 Village

Sustainability is a stronger driving force in the development of new housing than ever before, a trend that shows no signs of slowing down. Especially among younger generations, they want to be assured that they are minimising their impact on the environment, and working towards a better, brighter tomorrow.

That is the motivation behind the UN17 Village, currently under construction in Ørestad, Copenhagen. This 35,000-square-metre eco-village is designed with environmental, social and economic sustainability at its core, from how it is being constructed, to providing living spaces that raise peoples’ physical and mental quality of life.

One of the primary factors in meeting this ambitious target is mechanical ventilation that not only optimises living conditions for residents, but also keeps energy consumption to a minimum. Technology that our team at Dantherm has been leading the charge with for decades.

Below we will outline the requirements of the UN17 Village, and how we tailored our ventilation units to meet these ambitious expectations.

What is the UN17 Village?

The concept of the UN17 Village was devised several years ago by NREP, one of Denmark’s most forward-thinking real estate developers. NREP are fiercely committed to a better future for real estate and have pioneered the push for greater sustainability. This includes:

• Committing to being carbon neutral by 2028

• Creating the world’s first building made entirely with recycled concrete

• Developing the largest ever rooftop solar panel system in the Nordics

This dedication to sustainability was the driving force behind UN17, aptly named as it aims to bring all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into one community, containing over 500 rental properties and additional buildings, such as a health clinic and fitness centre.

Under each category of the UN’s sustainable goals, NREP have selected approximately 100 initiatives that will help ensure they meet these objectives. This includes the construction site itself, which lead contractors CG Jensen have delivered as fossil-free. With everything running on biofuel and electricity, this has already saved more than 60 tonnes of CO₂.

Fundamentally, UN17 is designed to be a landmark for the truly sustainable future of real estate – something we are proud to be part of.

You can learn more about the UN17 Village in NREP’s case study.

The challenge

The buildings in the UN17 Village are being developed in accordance with The DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) System – the global benchmark for sustainability. Not only will the UN17 look to achieve DGNB Platinum certification, the highest standard, but also DGNB Heart, which carries extremely high requirements for health and wellbeing:

One of the main aspects of achieving this esteemed certification is ventilation. This benchmark required UN17 homes to go beyond an adequate level of ventilation – it demanded a solution that was fully controllable, energy efficient and powerful enough to deliver fresh, clean air to every corner of their buildings.

This technically advanced solution needed to:

• Come with enthalpy heat and moisture recovery exchangers

• Adjust air for both RH% (relative humidity) and VOC (volatile organic compounds)

• Provide additional filtration in the form of ePM1 55% filters

• Increase basic air-exchange according to BR 18 (Danish building regulations)

• Have seasonal set points for bypass free cooling and demand control

• Give a much higher standard of ventilation control

Furthermore, with sustainability crucial to every aspect of this project, it was important for NREP that the supplier was based near Denmark, minimising the travel and CO₂ emissions associated with manufacturing and transporting products from Eastern Europe or Asia.

How Dantherm got involved

Dantherm was approached several years ago by MOE, the consulting engineer behind UN17. They had previous experience with our solutions from a project they conducted with Realdania, one that highlighted just how crucial robust mechanical ventilation is in creating healthy, efficient and sustainable homes.

The exceptional effectiveness of our products in this project led them to reach out about supplying units for UN17. After multiple meetings with MOE’s representatives to understand these precise needs, we worked closely with them to devise a unique solution that met these demands.

MOE put this to tender against other interested engineers, and nothing fit the brief for the eco-village as perfectly as our proposal.

MOE and Realdania

Our strong relationship with MOE began with their collaboration with Realdania, a foundation focused on finding ways to improve the performance, quality and efficiency of buildings across Denmark.

This included the Healthy Home Renovation project, conducted between 2018 and 2022. This involved Realdania purchasing and renovating three older homes to discover what renovations would best resolve the tangible and invisible factors that influence a healthy indoor climate.

Using our HCV 400 E1 units as the ventilation system in all three buildings, they found that this alone resolved over 50% of their indoor climate problems. Our ventilation solutions, among other things:

• Improved the overall comfortability of the homes with both heat and enthalpy recovery

• Managed the level of VOC products in the atmosphere, such as the evaporation of chemicals from building materials, furniture, perfumes and cleaning agents

• Reduced the presence of pollen, bacteria, dust, mould, bad odours and other harmful particles from the air

• Reduced the rate of materials deteriorating and structural damage

It reached a level where the air inside the buildings was healthier than the air outside. The success of this project led Dantherm to become MOE’s first choice to design and engineer a fitting ventilation solution for UN17 – one that maximised sustainability and kept residents comfortable at all times.

Our solution – HCV 460 E1

Following our discussions with MOE, we identified the HCV 460 E1 as the ideal option. This highly efficient unit is powerful enough to meet the specific air flow requirements of the spacious UN17 homes, while still being compact enough to minimise the amount of living space these systems occupy.

The HCV 460 E1 also offers advanced control strategies that aren’t found in the vast majority of residential ventilation systems on the market. Our units do not just adjust according to the temperature and humidity of an area – they also monitor the presence of VOCs and more to ensure the air quality is always optimal.

Prior to this project, the HCV 460 (E1) was solely fitted with a heat exchanger to maximise heat recovery. To meet NREP’s ambitions, we adapted these units to include an enthalpy exchanger, which recovers both heat and humidity from the extract air and transfers it to the fresh supply air.

This is crucial as in the winter, outside air can become very dry, which negatively affects the air supplied to a building. Conversely, in the summer the moisture in the air will noticeably rise. These issues not only affect people’s health and comfort, but gradually damage the structural integrity of a building.

By using an enthalpy exchanger, humidity is recovered from the extract air in winter, keeping this at a consistent and healthy level. In summer, supply air is dehumidified when passing through the exchanger, producing cool, fresh and comfortably dry air.

Learn more about the advantages of enthalpy heat exchangers.

The use of the enthalpy exchanger alongside the power, reliability and controllability of the HCV 460 E1 made this the sole residential ventilation solution in Europe that could match the exact specifications of the UN17 project.

For a truly sustainable outcome in every way, from exceptional heat recovery and minimised energy consumption to long-term protection of residents’ physical and mental health, this was the standout option.

More than just a supplier…

While our market-leading engineering was key to creating NREP’s ideal ventilation solution, that’s not where the story ends. Far from it – we take great pride in delivering good projects from start to finish, supporting the installers, engineers and housebuilders we work with in any way we can.

The UN17 project is no different. We are in regular communication with PRO|VENTILATION, the company selected to manage the installation of the residential ventilation systems for the UN17 buildings. We have conducted regular training sessions to ensure they know the HCV 460 E1 just as well as we do, with all the information they need to install and operate it safely.

Ahead of our first delivery of units, I personally visited the site to perform tests on checks on a 1-to-1 scale model of our solution in a UN17 apartment. This helped to identify and address any issues well ahead of actual installation.

Beyond this, we have also worked closely with NREP, supplying them with videos, guides and other references that they can pass along to eventual homeowners. This ensures they will fully understand how our ventilation systems work and are able to use these safely and effectively.

At Dantherm, every project is more than a transaction to us. We care about helping our customers achieve great results, and doing whatever we can to make this possible. From training and support to unmatched technical knowledge, we always go the extra mile.

How Dantherm set the standards in residential ventilation

We are deeply proud to be playing a part in the UN17 project, and its ambition to set a new benchmark for sustainable, healthy living conditions in Denmark and beyond. We are looking forward to seeing the first homeowners arrive in mid-2023, and final completion in winter 2024.

At Dantherm, we have over 60 years’ experience developing our residential ventilation solutions to deliver the highest standards of air quality, comfort and efficiency in buildings and commercial spaces worldwide.

For more information on the HCV 460 E1 and our wider range of residential ventilation systems, get in touch with our experts today on the contact form below.