Ultra Low Energy House Munich

In 2004, the FuturHaus [“Future House”] Lehel, in Munich, was developed in conjunction with the World Conference for Renewable Energies Renewables. This forward-looking residential and commercial building has received several awards for its outstanding energy concept, to which our vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) made a significant contribution.

This major project is the first multi-storey building to be completely insulated with our products. This increased the usable area of the building and developed a new VIP application for the construction. It is also the first building in the centre of Munich to achieve the ultra-low energy (22 kWh/m²a) standard despite its shaded location, dense construction and as a free-standing structure, thanks to our VIPs. The energy efficiency is further increased by a solar system.

The building regulations for new buildings in Munich’s city centre specify, among other things, the width and height of the building windows. With conventional insulation, an insulation layer thickness of 25 cm would have been necessary to achieve the targeted energy standard. By using our VIPs with a thickness of 2 cm and an 8 cm plaster base plate reinforced for their protection, it was possible to reduce the façade construction to a total of 12 cm. The use of conventional materials would have meant a loss of 125m² of usable space – in times of scarcity of space and expensive square meter prices, especially in the Bavarian capital, a lucrative gain for the owner. In addition, the windows were not shaded by deep reveals. The VIPs were integrated into an existing thermal insulation composite system with general building authority approval.

But not only the facade was insulated with the help of the innovative VIP technology. Vacuum insulation is also used in the terraces. By constructing the exterior surfaces with our VIPs, the difference in height between inside and outside was reduced and the clearance of the floors could be maximized.

The overall energy concept of the FuturHaus was awarded the Bavarian Energy Prize, among others. The residential project is based on a sophisticated overall energy concept, which gives the new building a heating energy requirement of 22 kWh/m²a.

You can find more information about this unique project here.