A New Apartment Complex Named Papieri Cham is located by Lake Zug in Cham and is designed to be carbon-neutral by integrating geothermal, hydropower, and photovoltaic energy systems.
Instead of calculating how much energy the complex would need, the construction unit, Cham Group, took an opposite approach by finding ways to become carbon-neutral through limiting the energy that the apartment complex consumes, according to a report by Interesting Engineering on June 10.
Carbon-neutral building from the outside. (Photo: Cham Group).
To combat global warming, countries are setting ambitious goals for carbon neutrality in the coming decades. Achieving such targets requires national planning to address emissions, but when each component unit is aimed at carbon neutrality, the goal becomes more attainable. This seems to be the underlying idea behind the project to build a carbon-neutral apartment complex.
The building is constructed using a composite of wood and concrete or even recycled concrete wherever possible. The contractor also ensures the use of short transportation routes to complete the construction while relying on materials sourced from Switzerland to keep carbon emissions during the construction process to a minimum.
Georg Dubacher, an energy advisor, explained that the project revolves around the idea of reducing the average annual energy consumption per capita in Switzerland from 8,000 watts to the current global average of 2,000 watts. Papieri is equipped with photovoltaic panels that meet 50% of its energy demand. About 40% of the energy needs are met by a hydropower plant operating on the nearby Lorze River.
Cham Group is upgrading the hydropower plant to stop using old wooden turbine blades and replace them with more efficient ones. Fish and beaver ladders are also integrated into the project to allow wildlife to move freely upstream and downstream of the river. The remaining energy demand comes from the power grid with its own carbon-reduction measures.
While aiming to reduce energy consumption for residents, the project does not overlook the needs of the people. The demands for heating and cooling, which consume a lot of energy, are challenging to maintain in a carbon-neutral configuration. However, the contractor achieves this through a natural system that can recharge multiple times. By using a geothermal energy system with probes buried more than 320 meters underground, the construction team can harness heat from the earth to warm the building during the winter months, thereby cooling the soil beneath. In summer, the system reverses and utilizes the cold from the ground to cool the building. Papieri Cham is a testament to how every construction can be carbon-neutral in the future.
