First Energy-Plus Hotel in the Alps

The Berghotel Muottas Muragl is the first energy positive hotel in all of the Alps. The 104-year-old lodge just completed renovations that incorporate renewable energy and sustainable living. The building’s numerous solar panels, geothermal heaters, and low-impact materials have decreased the hotel’s energy consumption 64% and put it on the map as one of the most luxurious green escapes in Europe.

Found 8,000 feet above sea level, the Muottas Muragl is only reachable by helicopter or specialized trams that run on a strict schedule from the village below. Focusing on quality rather than quantity, the hotel offers 16 exclusive suites – each built from local Swiss stone, pine, and walnut. The building material used offer long-lasting durability despite being exposed the toughest of elements.

  The hotel generates renewable energy through five sources, meeting the green standards of the Swiss “Minergie” ecological label. Solar paneled tubes along the basement windows harvest energy for the hotel’s hot water system. The most impressive feat of renewable energy, however, is the 750 long solar panel system along the tram railway outside the hotel.

  Sixteen additional thermal loops coiled throughout the lower level of building supply geothermal energy and store any extra solar gain. The loops recover waste heat from other cooling units, exhaust air, and energy from the machine room. The Berghotel Muottas Muragl is also the winner of the 2011 Swiss Solar Award and the 2011 PlusEnergieBau (PEB) Solar Award.

inhabitat.com

A house that generates electricity

The award winning SCI-Arc/Caltech Hanwha Solar CHIP House at the California Science Center is the product of an inventive scheme by the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Caltech Institute of Technology (Caltech), global solar panel manufacturer Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. (Hanwha Solar) and California Science Center.

The net-zero home is an innovative integration of green properties, including 45 solar panels donated by principal sponsor Hanwha Solar. This array of panels generates so much energy from the copious amount of Los Angeles sun that the surplus after powering all electric appliances in the house can be used to power two electric cars. This expansive system also supplies the energy for an Xbox Kinect motion-sensitive video game system that has been turned into a master command centre, allowing residents to operate lights and appliances simply by pointing at them.

  The insulation of the CHIP House has been stretched around the frame rather than encased within it, formulating an alternative aesthetic and memorable visual effect. Separating the structural members from the insulating layer and wrapping the insulation assembly in a flexible vinyl membrane gives the house an exterior envelope with the extremely high R-values necessary for a net-zero house.

worldarchitecturenews.com