Uttwil

ECOCELL ECO-solars-houses in Uttwil-TG

First design adapted to the ECOCELL construction system

We were able to acquire a plot close to our offices in Uttwil-TG, in order to build the first home estate with ECO-solar-houses in accordance with our goals and ideas. This allowed us to adapt the design to the ECOCELL FAST-BUILDING-SYSTEM already during the early project phases.

The building’s entire shell produces electricity

The narrow plot, right by the main road, was well-suited for the construction of the first ECOCELL show houses. The construction consists of four structures of similar sizes on which we had the first opportunity to use the entire exterior shell of the buildings to generate solar electricity. The entire roof and facade surfaces were covered with photovoltaic elements.

ECOCELL ECO Solar energy facade

The ECO Solar energy facade newly developed by ECOCELL acts like a cloak for the building. An open ECOCELL BETONWABE covered by an advancing shell of glass with integrated photovoltaics surrounds the building. The sun warms this shell, produces electricity and reduces the temperature differential between interior and exterior or even eliminates it. The house is in a warm environment even in the winter and loses no heat to the outside, because if no heat is lost, none needs to be generated. In summer it does not get too warm because the honeycombs cast shade on themselves when the sun is high. The construction in Uttwil was the first time that we were able to combine the system of transparent heat insulation with photovoltaics and so also generate electricity from the facade.

ECO Solar energy facade as advancing facade with back ventilation.

ECOCELL has developed an insulation panel, consisting of a silicate panel and a honeycomb panel, which, when a transparent, vapour-permeable sheet is attached, can be used as an insulation panel for a back-ventilated transparent heat insulation system. The insulation panel newly developed by ECOCELL consists exclusively of mineral materials, except for the transparent sheet, and is therefore fire-resistant as well as being much faster and cheaper to produce than traditional systems. By sealing the honeycombs with a transparent but vapour-permeable sheet, the facade system can be equipped with back ventilation, which prevents the warm air between the honeycombs from being sucked out by the suction effect of the air circulation.

Prefabricated bathrooms

In houses 3+4, the ECOCELL building elements for the bathrooms were already equipped with acrylic resin panels during production. Required drilling and lathing could therefore already be done during production together with a preassembly of the bathroom elements. Extensive work on the panels and sanitary installation work on site could thus be avoided, since the work could be prefabricated more simply and cheaply.

Consumer community for optimal utilisation of solar electricity

The experience from the construction of the first two houses, and the change in the energy law, drove us to form an energy or consumer community for houses 3+4. This enables us to store the solar energy in a central battery, feeding less excess energy into the grid and using more of it ourselves. The residential units forming an energy community draw their electricity directly from the central battery through an electricity meter. Since the heating is adjusted through individual air conditioners, the required electricity also flows through these meters.

Electric car battery used as buffer storage at home

In addition, upon request the ECO Solar houses can be equipped with electric vehicles and a special “vehicle to grid” charging station. This technology offers the residents the mobility of an electric vehicle, which makes for a good second car. The battery of the electric car stores the solar electricity generated during the day and returns it at night for direct use in the house rather than feeding it into the grid. This enables the highest possible utilisation of the generated solar electricity.