A "PassiveHouse" Supermarket

A new Bio-Planet (Colruyt Group) supermarket has opened in Leuven (Belgium) today. It is the first low-energy store in Belgium.

The building has been designed in such a way that a minimum of energy is required to heat and cool it.

The outer wall is composed of a wooden skeleton with two thick layers of insulation, both inside and outside . The heating system consists of two small condensing boilers. Each of them heats the equivalent of a small family house. Both boilers together are heating now a retail space of 800 m2.

Other features are solar cell panels on the roof, a green insulating roof, gps steered mirors to capt daylight into the store, adjustable lighting intensity system, natural cooling as a result of the smart implantation of the building.

Investments costs are comparable to a traditional store, energy cost savings are expected to be in the order of 80%.

Source: BIO-Planet