POWERHOUSE ACHIEVES BREEAM ‘OUTSTANDING’ ACCREDITATION

Winner of the Sustainability category in the 2020 Innovation by Design Awards - This office building of the future generates twice as much energy as it uses.

Powerhouse Brattørkaia, based in Trondheim, Norway represents a collaboration in the development of energy-positive building experts. The project consisted of the property company Entra, the entrepreneur Skanska, the environmental organization ZERO, international architecture company Snøhetta, the consulting company Asplan Viak and smart building platform CoreSync from Molex which is powered by us (amBX SmartCore).

BRIEF

As the world’s northernmost energy-positive building, Powerhouse Trondheim aims to set a new standard for the construction of buildings: to produce more energy than it consumes over its lifespan, including construction and demolition. This also includes the embodied energy in the materials used to construct the building.

SOLUTION

The lighting design for the building calls for the maximum use of available daylight combined with an intelligent lighting control system that provides a high level of comfort for the occupants. A complex lighting design specification for ‘Liquid Light’ was devised. This requires the artificial light to smoothly dim up and down according to the activity and movement in the building and available daylight.

A Molex CoreSync power over ethernet (PoE) LED lighting system was designed to meet the exacting requirements of the design. Powered by amBX SmartCore, the CoreSync system becomes part of the building’s network and connects all the lights, sensors, and switches to the building systems.

Power for the PoE lighting system is provided by Cisco Digital Building PoE switches installed on each floor and delivered on a single cable to the lights and sensors.

Daylight harvesting is enabled through a network of multi-sensors that also detect the presence of people inside the building. The lights only come on when and where they are needed and at levels that complement available daylight. Lighting and dynamic effects continuously adjust to daylight conditions outside, creating a more natural lighting experience using artificial light. Self-powering light switches were also installed which further reduce energy use.

The lighting is fully integrated into the building’s management system which is a Metasys installation by Johnson Controls.

As the use and needs of the building change over time, the system can be easily adapted and re-configured to continue to deliver a highly energy-efficient and comfortable lighting experience.

RESULT

Powerhouse Trondheim now creates more energy than it uses, this highly efficient building is paving the way for future builds. All data collected about light levels, lighting settings, and occupancy is fully available and used to control and analyse energy efficiency. The building has received the BREEAM Outstanding accreditation, the highest possible ranking by the world’s leading sustainability assessment method. This was awarded for environmental, social, and economic sustainability performance.

Client: Entra - Main Contractor: Skanska - Building Controls: Johnson Controls - Lighting system: Molex CoreSync, powered by amBX SmartCore