Minergie

rMINERGIE – the successful Swiss building standard
The MINERGIE building standard stands for lower energy consumption at a higher level of comfort. In Switzerland, where the standard was developed,around 14,000 buildings are already certified to this voluntary standard.

A MINERGIE building consumes around 60 percent less energy than a conventional building. This energy efficiency is attainedthrough an approach which considers a building to be an integral system. Only the amount of energy delivered to the site is relevant. A building can, therefore, compensate a not particularly optimalheating system by defining top values for its insulation, for example. Various measures can be taken to meet the standard: • • • • • • • • Compact building form Air-tight construction of the buildingshell Very good windows with coated double glazing Improved thermal insulation for walls and roof Heated and unheated parts of the building are always separated Controlled airing by means offan-assisted, balanced ventilation Use of renewable forms of energy such as solar energy, wood heating, geothermal heat and waste heat Efficient household appliances and lighting

MINERGIE is continuallybeing developed. Starting from the "basic” MINERGIE standard in 1998, the supplementary MINERGIE-P, MINERGIE-ECO and MINERGIE-P-ECO standards have been developed in 2007. They set new, exciting criteriafor materials and energy efficiency. MINERGIE-P for example reduces the energy consumption by a further 20 to 30 percent compared with a normal MINERGIE building.

MINERGIE is designed to beeconomically competitive and therefore one of its rules is that the construction costs of new MINERGIE buildings should not be more than 10% higher than the average conventional building. The high number ofbuildings certified as MINERGIE, shows that this figure is feasible and that constructing energy efficient homes, combined with a higher level of comfort, is in fact affordable. To ensure the...