Swiss Solar Awards (Schweizer Solarpreis)

Hello again

Last Wednesday, 3 October 2007, the 17th Swiss Solar Awards ceremony was held to celebrate various architects and individuals, among them Martin Vosseler, who crossed the Atlantic in a solar-powered catamaran in the winter of 2006/2007. This year's focus was on energy-efficient (solar) buildings.
In Switzerland alone, energy-efficient architecture can substitute three (3) large gas or nuclear power stations, avoiding misinvestments of CHF 7 billion each year – and a whole lot of other problems, such as nuclear waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

It may be hard to believe but it's true (I'm excerpting/translating from a pdf document published by "solaragentur", a link to their website will appear if you click on this post's headline):
The implementation of three fairly simple, sustainable policies can substitute three big power stations producing approx. 8 TWh/yr,*) without any reduction in comfort!
Two major, positive side-effects:
- i) reduction of CO2 (equivalent) greenhouse gas emissions by some 20% -- one fifth!
- ii) creation of some 60,000 new jobs by 2018 in Switzerland alone.
Technologies are already available in Switzerland and in Europe and they work -- they only need to be widely adopted by the building industry.
And these are the three policies:
1 -- apply the so-called "Minergie-P-Standard" to all new-builds and renovations in Switzerland.
Examples:
-- the "EAWAG" building 2006 (near Zurich: produces 46% of its own energy, reduces CO2 emissions by 85% in comparison to current [already high] standards);
-- the "Marché International" 2007 (in Kemptthal: produces 100% of its own energy and reduces CO2 emissions to 0, i.e. by 100%).
Total savings: approx. 8 TWh/yr.
2 -- implement sustainable high-tech in agricultural rooftops and façades.
Example:
-- if solar panels as those on a farm in Barberêche/Fr (2005-06) are installed on 90% of all farm houses, the equivalent of approx. 8TWh/yr can be produced without using a square inch of valuable farmland. Producing energy from biomass and biogas can increase this figure to approx. 10TWh/yr.
Total savings: another 8 TWh/yr or so.
3 -- improve the efficiency of and eliminate obsolete electrical structures.
Examples:
-- replace electrical resistance heaters by heat pumps; traditional lightbulbs by energy-saving bulbs, and inefficient electrical appliances by highly efficient ones.
Total savings: yet another approx. 8 TWh/yr.
In sum, each year approx. 24TWh can be saved, i.e. Switzerland's entire nuclear power production. Very nice side effect, indeed!

You will find all this and many more details at http://www.solaragentur.ch -- in French or German.

I very much look forward to your comments. :)


PS: I happen to know one of the award winners, who works in the same office complex as I do. Congratulations, Peter, for the first apartment building that actually produces more energy than it uses! -- and it's beautiful, too -- check it out at http://www.halle58.ch (Gebhartstrasse, Köniz BE) -- The brochure he brought in yesterday inspired me to produce this post.

PPS: In the course of some quick research, I came across a company that produces the most beautiful and highly efficient heaters I've seen so far. Check them out at http://www.infraswiss.com/En/index.html -- I don't usually promote actual companies, but I have a friend whose painting studio has one of those infrared heaters and she's absolutely enthusiastic.

*) T = tera = 10 to the power of 12 [M = mega = 10 to the power of 6, or 1,000,000, or 1 million; K = kilo = 10 to the power of 3, or 1000, or one thousand; according to Wikipedia, 20-40 W is the approximate power consumption of the human brain.