IPF Supports Freenergie House Project
During a press conference held on June 4, Thierry Touchais, Executive Director of IPF, reiterated the Foundation's support in the Freenergie project which saw the building of an "active" house in the Belgian Ardennes.
An "active" house differs from a "passive" house in that, by means of renewable energy sources, its entire energy needs are covered without the inhabitants having to spend a penny! What's more is that the building expenses do not exceed those of a conventional inhabitation.
Conceived and developed by the architectural bureau Créative Architecture, the Freenergie concept follows in the footsteps of the "zero emission" Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station. The idea was to show that "if it is possible to be autonomous in Antarctica, it must also be possible in Belgium".
To enable an energy expenditure balance of "zero euro", Freenergie's strategy is twofold:
- inject energy "surplus" (produced by photovoltaic panels) in the electrical distribution network
- benefit from economic and financial aids (provided by the Belgian government for renewable energy production)
By re-investing these sums into extra wattage needed to cover the house's energy demand, this technique allows to reduce the amount of photovoltaic panels on the house, and thus also their cost. The Freenergie project goes to show how a house can become an "active" part of the energy distribution network.
Learn more about the Freenergie project via the press information available on the Créative Architecture website (French version).