House design according to energy labeling Svanen

Environmental and climate issues are of great importance for how we shape our society. The construction sector represents about 40% of global energy use and is therefore an important contributing factor to the environmental and climate impact (Huovila et al. 2009). Even though the negative impact from building sector, surveys from the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning also known as Boverket have shown a positive development in emissions in recent years. There are still challenges for the total energy use because it contributes to a negative impact on the development due to a higher energy demand in the society. Therefore, it is relevant to expand knowledge for measures that can contribute to reducing the environmental impact in the construction industry. The purpose of this study has been to investigate what is required from a house manufacturer to achieve an environmentally and energy-adapted guideline, according to the Nordic Ecolabel Svanen. The survey has therefore carried out a general estimate of the energy use for one of OBOS’ type houses. The energy calculation performed by Vip-Energy showed that the house model met the requirement partly. Depending on which edition of Boverket's building regulations, the house model met the requirements for BBR 25 but not BBR 24. The house model's energy use was estimated at 72.2 kWh /m2 /year, while BBR 24 requires 72 kWh/m2 /year and BBR 25 requires 76.5 kWh/m2 /year. With this background, the study can be used as a guideline to design similar projects in line with the Nordic Ecolabel requirements because it describes a general guideline for house models that meet the Nordic Ecolabel's energy requirements. In addition, the survey provides knowledge about how the Nordic Ecolabel's requirements can affect the design of the house model because the study also establishes that energy use depends on its form factor. The study also states that the Nordic Ecolabel's environmental requirements affect the design by limiting the choice of materials used for the building