After the success of Solarhaus housing development in Burlada, Construcciones Domeño decided to repeat the experience and opt for the same solution and design team in the development of 120 dwellings distributed in two buildings in the new Lezkairu neighborhood in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain, that is planned to be executed in three phases, with 62, 32 and 26 homes respectively, and whose last phase is currently being built (estimated date of completion is September 2025).
Building gross area & Net area
24.334 m2
Number of floors above ground and below ground
9 above and 2 below ground
Average net area per dwelling
120
Types of outdoor and common areas
Private landscaped urbanization
Charging station (yes/no)
Yes
Other relevant aspects
n/a
Technology solution sets
Heating, cooling and ventilation
The building uses two types of renewable energy, solar and aerothermal. The air source heat pumps are located in the first floor of the shared basement garage and produce hot water to supply the two building’s DHW and heating systems.
The aerothermal system installed in the basement draws air from the outside or from inside the garage, through dampers with temperature probes that open or close. The location of the heat pumps in the basement and the use of temperature-regulated dampers achieves an optimization of the system and lower energy expenditure.
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Building Technology
Type of System
Technology
Distribution System
Primary Heating System
Centralized
Air source heat pump
Radiant floor
Ventilation
Balanced mechanical ventilation with heat recovery at building/apartment/room level
Domestic Hot Water
Integrated with the heating system
Renewable energy production
Each of the building features a different number of PV panels. The total number of PV panels amounts to 286, with different sizes and inclinations in order to obtain the maximum energy and generate enough electricity to power the heat pumps and other services.
Phase 1: 62 Dwellings, 111 photovoltaic panels with 445Wp and 49,39 kWp peak power Phase 2: 32 Dwellings, 93 photovoltaic panels with 545Wp and 50,68 kWp peak power Phase 3: 26 Dwellings, 82 photovoltaic panels with 550Wp and 45,10 kWp peak power
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Electrical storage battery:
n/a
Photovoltaic rooftop system:
286 panels
Energy Renewable Technology
System Type
Main PV Panel orientation
Total Installed Capacity (KWP)
PV Systems (KW peak installed, surface area, total or per m²)
Roof integrated PV system
Different orientation according to building
Envelope technology
Building envelope
The envelope consists of either precast concrete with mineral wool insulation and laminated plasterboard or ceramic on brick wall with mineral wool insulation and laminated plasterboard.
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The walls are either ceramic on brick wall with mineral wool insulation and laminated plasterboard, or precast concrete with mineral wool insulation and laminated plasterboard.
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Wall
Material Used
U Value
Wall type 1
precast concrete with mineral wool insulation and laminated plasterboard
0,25 W/m2K
Wall type 2
ceramic on brick wall with mineral wool insulation and laminated plasterboard
0,25 W/m2K
The roof consists of inverted cover with extruded polystyrene insulation and gravel protection layer.
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Roof
Material Used
U Value
Roof type 1
inverted cover with extruded polystyrene insulation and gravel protection layer
0,31 W/m2K
None
None
None
Two kinds of triple glazed PVC windows are installed.
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Window
U Value
G Value
Shading Type
Window Type 1
0,40 gl
PVC coated aluminium roller blind
None
None
0,43 gl
PVC coated aluminum roller blind
Culture and climate
Strategies for comfortable indoor spaces
Several strategies have been put into place to ensure comfortable living spaces. For example, the orentiation of the living and sleeping aresas, and the layout of the dwelling to improve the ventilation.
The air used in aerothermal energy is previously selected, so that it must be heated less in the heating and hot water production process.
Photovoltaic panels are a technology that advances rapidly, it is necessary to stay up to date and always have advanced information, the panels that we use today achieve better performance than those from years ago with much less capture surface.
Performance challenges
Meeting the needs and objectives of a demanding client who is aware of sustainability in construction was our main target. In each new project our client asks us for new improvements, each new project must exceed the energy performance of the previous one and this is a continuous challenge for us.
External services
Our architecture studio regularly collaborates with an engineering company, Naven Ingenieros, specialized and leading in the design of highly efficient facilities using renewable energies.
Policy barriers
There should be more aid and promotion from the public administration for the incorporation of renewable energy systems in residential projects, which are nowadays scarce for new housing developments. In any case, the biggest obstacles usually come from the electricity supply companies, which do not usually provide many facilities for this type of projects and the general ignorance of the residents regarding the equipment and installations.
Resident interaction
We are finding that home buyers often lack the necessary information to understand the operation and advantages of the facilities of the newly built building in which they live.
In this project, with the third phase of construction works still in progress, we do not yet have information on the interaction of users with the building facilities.
Building users should be well trained and advised. It would be convenient to organize training actions with future residents, so that they are aware of the complexity of the installations and understand the need to hire a specialized maintenance company; this aspect is often not taken into account for economic reasons, but it is essential for the correct functioning of the installation.
Building certification process
It is convenient to work together with a specialized energy advisor during the design stage and during the process of commissioning the installations and in their monitoring.
Our most important support has been having the developer Construcciones Domeño as a client, which has been betting and risking for many years with innovative solutions for energy savings and sustainability in residential construction.
It is very important to know the local administration, know the environment well, physically and legally, and be very up to date with the technology available to offer a design that is innovative, realistic, feasible and safe, with proven, efficient and economically viable systems.
Tools and software
Our collaboration with the specialized engineering company Naven Ingenieros have been essential.
The calculation is carried out using a 3D model of the building envelope that is entered into the calculation program used by the engineering office.
The software used to obtain the corresponding energy certification in this project has been the unified tool LIDER-CALENER: HULC.
We recommend having specialists on the team who are well trained in BIM, so that the modeling is carried out with the necessary requirements to be able to make a good simulation of the behavior of the building.
We use REVIT from Autodesk as our main modelling software because it is an increasingly widespread program and it allows us to work in a collaborative environment with the engineering and the construction company in the design process. We can also find a wide catalogue of solutions developed by manufacturers, implement them directly in the model and then export the files and data in many other formats and process the information with other more specific programs such as HULC, Cypetherm, etc. But it is important to modify and adapt the families developed by the manufacturers so that the data obtained is appropriate. Using a good catalogue of windows and façade materials saves a lot of time and helps to achieve more adequate and accurate results.
There must also be a specialist on the team with qualified training for the calculation of the energy certification who is a qualified and approved expert, capable of filtering and interpreting the data in order to detect inaccuracies or errors in the introduction of information, which must be a meticulous task.
Cost optimisation
Designers should know well the terrain and environment, regarding materials and construction means available, in which they will work. It is advisable to work with proven and tested solutions but without giving up innovation and introducing unconventional systems.
It is very important to work together with an engineering company specialized in this type of buildings. Be very up to date with new systems and developments in energy saving and consumption facilities and invest in continuous education.
As we have mentioned previously, it is necessary to train users, generate a social culture that is committed and aware of the use and maintenance of this type of buildings.
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