The new Danfoss House in Sønderborg is the only multi-storey building in the world that, despite being constructed from brick and concrete, has achieved the highest certification under the globally recognised DGNB standard: Platinum.
Buildings account for over a third of the world's energy consumption and 40% of all CO2 emissions, which is why Danfoss House has been built to address a very pressing challenge.
Danfoss has solutions that can change this, and Danfoss House will be used, among other things, to continuously develop and test innovative technologies that provide better comfort and lower energy consumption.
We use it to demonstrate our products in use and tell the story of how we can decarbonise multi-family buildings and homes in general around the world. So, it is very important for us to be able to demonstrate the way to ‘net zero’.
Torben Christensen, Director of Sustainability at Danfoss
DGNB
There are only around 20 DGNB Platinum-certified residential buildings in the world, and Danfoss House is the only brick and concrete apartment building among them. DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) is one of the four leading international sustainability standards (BREEAM, LEED, HQE, DGNB), but differs in its 360-degree approach, which encompasses environmental, economic, socio-cultural, functional, technical and process quality.
’Seeing is believing’
Danfoss House is also home to a dozen of the company's employees. You could almost call it the world's most habitable laboratory for sustainable technologies.
Elodie Segaud, Director of Brand & Design at Danfoss, who relocated from France, explains:
As an employee, it's actually pretty cool to see Danfoss' solutions in action. And it gives me and my family a lot of peace of mind to have this place to stay for the first few months.
Elodie Segaud, Director, Brand & Design, Danfoss
Both central and decentralised heating systems have been installed in Danfoss House so that the systems can be tested against each other. The house is surrounded by ten 100-metre-deep geothermal boreholes for groundwater cooling in summer and heating in winter. There is floor cooling and diffuse ventilation with cooling. Danfoss House can be upgraded thanks to its large technical shafts, and it is a fully intelligent house that is simulated, monitored, and planned so that it never gets too hot or too cold.
Bitten & Mads Clausen's Foundation has been responsible for the construction of the combined home for Danfoss employees and test and development centre for Danfoss' solutions.
Lars Tveen, CEO of Bitten & Mads Clausen's Foundation, says:
Seeing is believing. It really makes a difference if you are able to show a building like Danfoss House. You can touch it, you can look at it, you can go inside it and see that it is possible to build a super energy-efficient house like the one we have here. So, in other words: the solutions are here, the components are here, and that is exactly what we are showing with Danfoss House.
Lars Tveen, CEO, Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation
Click on the video below to watch a film about Danfoss House.
Danfoss House stands as an icon
The building was constructed by Daugaard Pedersen, and CEO Jan Riis Nielsen says:
Danfoss House is a unique project that stands out from traditional residential buildings through its combination of sustainability, architecture, and technical innovation. It has been a challenging but rewarding journey with many important decisions along the way. At Daugaard Pedersen, we believe that Danfoss House now stands as an icon of modern residential construction, exemplifying the integration of energy-efficient technologies, sustainable principles, and a strong architectural identity.
Jan Riis Nielsen, CEO, Daugaard Pedersen
Read more about Danfoss' roadmap for decarbonising cities by following this link:
