Panasonic are celebrating as part of the winning team that won the ‘Energy Balance’ award at the Solar Decathlon Europe competition which took place in Versailles, France.
A joint project between the University of Anger, France and the Appalachian State University in the United States, ‘The Reciprocity House’ was one of 20 projects competing at the event which took place from 28th June 2014 to 14th July 2014 at The City of the Sun Park, Versailles.
Panasonic’s 5kW Aquarea unit was installed in the project and its outstanding performance helped the team to win the award.
Based around the concept of a townhouse, the Reciprocity house adapted seamlessly into the context of an urban-French home offering the space and ability to perform as a fully functioning house on either one level or up to four floors.
The envelope of the house was designed to provide thermal insulation, whilst a passive standard "sun shading" provided simultaneous climate protection and energy production. Other energy saving facilities applied to this property included 20 mono-crystalline modules on the roof-terrace, with a total capacity of 4.8 kWp, which were attached to a galvanized steel chassis at an inclination of 18°.
"When we were contacted by the team, while the house existed only on paper, we did not hesitate to join them in this adventure,” comments Marie Giraud, from Panasonic Heating and Air Conditioning France. "We are very proud of this award and offer our congratulations to the entire team involved in The Reciprocity House."
Inspired by the original American Solar Decathlon, the Solar Decathlon Europe was an international competition that united universities and colleges from around the world to design, build and develop full-scale, fully-functional and affordable solar homes.
The international judging panel inspected each entry on its energy-saving aspects, environmental transition density, simplicity, cost, mobility, innovation and contextualisation.
A joint project between the University of Anger, France and the Appalachian State University in the United States, ‘The Reciprocity House’ was one of 20 projects competing at the event which took place from 28th June 2014 to 14th July 2014 at The City of the Sun Park, Versailles.
Panasonic’s 5kW Aquarea unit was installed in the project and its outstanding performance helped the team to win the award.
Based around the concept of a townhouse, the Reciprocity house adapted seamlessly into the context of an urban-French home offering the space and ability to perform as a fully functioning house on either one level or up to four floors.
The envelope of the house was designed to provide thermal insulation, whilst a passive standard "sun shading" provided simultaneous climate protection and energy production. Other energy saving facilities applied to this property included 20 mono-crystalline modules on the roof-terrace, with a total capacity of 4.8 kWp, which were attached to a galvanized steel chassis at an inclination of 18°.
"When we were contacted by the team, while the house existed only on paper, we did not hesitate to join them in this adventure,” comments Marie Giraud, from Panasonic Heating and Air Conditioning France. "We are very proud of this award and offer our congratulations to the entire team involved in The Reciprocity House."
Inspired by the original American Solar Decathlon, the Solar Decathlon Europe was an international competition that united universities and colleges from around the world to design, build and develop full-scale, fully-functional and affordable solar homes.
The international judging panel inspected each entry on its energy-saving aspects, environmental transition density, simplicity, cost, mobility, innovation and contextualisation.