Heat pump as a key enabler in achieving a positive energy building

Powerhouse Brattørkaia is a positive-energy building, meaning that it produces more energy than it consumes. The surface of the building is covered in solar cells to generate electricity, and this leaves a 5% surplus in the grid for the benefit of the city.

Today, building stock accounts for 40% of the world’s total energy consumption. By changing the way we build and focus on construction methods that turn buildings into renewable energy producers, the Powerhouse Brattørkaia is making huge strides towards less energy-consuming buildings.

Powerhouse Brattørkaia is the first building of its kind in Norway and a pioneering project in terms of technology, energy efficiency and production of green energy. The very dense construction of the building, good ventilation and optimal use of the sun and other renewable energy sources ensure greatly reduced energy consumption.

A prerequisite for buildings with low energy consumption is an efficient heating system, in this case a heat pump with an overall COP average of 6, which uses seawater both as a source for free cooling and as a source for the heat pump. This is combined with a low temperature central heating system.

The high COP of the heat pump is the key enabler to the building going “over the top” and becoming a surplus energy building.