Aurora 2, Joensuu (Finland)
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Acronym | AU 2
Posting Date | 22 July 2010
Country | Finland
Geographic Coverage | Local (city or municipality)
Theme | Energy policies, Building envelope (walls, windows,...), Heating, domestic hot water, Air conditioning, cooling, ventilation, air infiltration, Energy efficiency technologies and materials, Energy sources, district heating / cooling, cogeneration, On-site renewable energy sources, Residential buildings, Public and non residential buildings, Very low energy buildings, Building operation, monitoring, energy management, Thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustics
Source of funding | EC
Abstract | Aurora 2 was an enlargement of the Aurora building in the University of Joensuu, Finland. The main characteristics of Aurora 2 were fixed through an architectural competition. The resulted
solution by BIM (Building information model) based design was much more energy efficient compared to Aurora 1 by traditional design. Nevertheless, the energy efficiency of Aurora 2 was not confirmed because of abnormal use of ventilation for emission removal during the 1st operation year. After that, energy efficiency monitoring has been missing. One barrier for energy management in Aurora 2 is shared main energy metering with other buildings. The BuildingEQ analysis estimated energy saving potentials of 20 % for heating and up to 50 % for electricity. Continuous operation of many air handling units was identified as the main reason for an excess of energy consumption.
Illustrations | 
Description |
Aurora 2, Joensuu (Finland)
Building owner
Senate Properties is a government owned enterprise under the aegis of the Finnish Ministry of Finance and is responsible for managing the Finnish state's property assets and for letting premises. Senate Properties provides services related to premises, primarily to customers which form part of the state administration. The services include leasing premises, investments, and the administration and development of the property portfolio. As a business enterprise, Senate Properties finances its own operations and is not dependent on the state budget. The building stock comprises university, office, research, cultural and other buildings.
www.senaatti.fi
User
The building is rented and occupied by University of Joensuu.
Utilization
The building is used for educational purpose. There are mainly offices for researchers. Besides offices there are also a medical center, an auditorium for 250 persons and some class and seminar rooms in the building.
Building concept
The building is U-shaped with two separate wings over three floors. There are glazed courtyards for the distribution of daylight to the surrounding office spaces in both wings. Courtyards are used as a library and waiting areas for the student medical center.
HVAC concept
The building is connected to a district heating network. The building heating is provided by radiators. The building is mechanically cooled and ventilated. The double facade and ground floor space are ventilated mechanically. Beams are used for air distribution and air cooling in the office spaces. The air is distributed by under floor air casing in the auditorium. Spaces other than office rooms are passively cooled with outside air.
General data
| Owner | Senate Properties |
| Year of erection | 2006 |
| Use | Offices, University, Bibliothek |
| Net floor area | 8.100 m² |
| Consumption of electricity | 636.000 kWh/a |
| 78 kWh/m²a | |
| Consumption of heating | 860.000 kWh/a |
| 106 kWh/m²a | |
| HVAC equipment | heating, cooling, air conditioning, |
| building automation system | |
| Energy source | district heating |
Web URL(s) of the case | http://www.buildingeq-online.net/index.php?id=63
Lessons learnt | Results of the building eQ project
- energy saving potential in the operation of buildings 5 - 30 %
- Realisation of these potentials with low or no investment costs
- buildingeQ methods and tools allow quick and cost efficient detection of these potentials
- Ongoing performance evaluation is prerequisite for energy efficient operation
- consortium suggests amendment of epbD with mandatory performance monitoring
Award labels | none
Additional documents |
(678.73 KB)
Case Languages | English
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