District 18 - Sustainable Residental Development

Project Summary

Our client wanted to develop Budapest’s most innovative and environmentally friendly medium-density residential development. Wattmanager was given the opportunity to design this development in Budapest’s 18th district. We undertook a complex simulation that included the design of solar generation (analysis of three roof types for optimised solar production) and analysis of the building structure for optimised energy efficient heating-ventilation and cooling

Opportunity

As our Partner had an innovative idea: To build Budapest’s first renewable energy powered residential park, we supported them from the very beginning. In the first phase of the planning process, our client had to see what the orientation, floor plan, mechanical alternatives of each building mean from an energy point of view, so we could measure the expected energy consumption. That was needed to find the best, most energy efficient solution.

Challenges

We considered as a challenge that in multi-storey, multi-dwelling buildings, the roof area, which may be most suitable for renewable energy, is usually not large enough to approach near-zero energy demand, ie to cover it with almost 100% renewable energy. In such case, the point is on energy efficiency, the selection of ideal mechanical and architectural solutions, and t of the ideal roof geometry and orientation.

Solutions

The dynamic simulation which takes into consideration both objects and topography, can be used to differentiate between various architectural forms, and helps find the most energy efficient design. We are able to determine the percentage of the annual consumption that can be covered by the expected yield. The outcomes of the two simulation below demonstrate sun exposure on both flat and pitched roofs. It is easy to guess which option we recommended to our Partner, as the flat roof simulation shows a higher sun exposure, which will create more yield during the year.

District 18 Simulation 1
District 18 Simulation 1

District 18 Simulation 2
District 18 Simulation 2