The University's Green Lighthouse is Denmark's first public CO2 neutral building

20 October 2009

Green Lighthouse was inaugurated today, 20 October, and is in more ways than one a shining example of the sustainable building industry of the future. The house is not only a fine example of CO2 neutral building for the upcoming COP15 in Copenhagen; it is also a pattern of public-private cooperation, and finally it is a landmark for the Faculty of Science that will gather all of its student services in the building.

Top indoor climate

Green Lighthouse has the sun as primary source of energy. The 950 m2 house is built after the active-house principle, which means that the house is producing energy. It has its own source of energy consisting of a hitherto unseen combination of solar energy, heat pumps and district heating. Green Lighthouse is an energy efficient building with high architectural qualities and a large intake of light. It is filled with fresh air that comes from the natural ventilation to ensure a healthy indoor climate. Through energy design and visionary architecture, the building has cut down ¾ of its energy consumption compared to the building standards of today.

Green sense

Green Lighthouse is the students' house at the Faculty of Science and will be filled with student facilities. The house will also have a faculty lounge as a meeting place for researchers and others affiliated with the Faculty.

Prorector and head of the steering committee Lykke Friis says:

"With Green Lighthouse we have proven that it doesn't take rocket science but common sense to build CO2 neutral houses. The unique design embraces an optimum use of sunlight, an automatic ventilation system and an automatic cooling/warming system. With Green Lighthouse, we kill two birds with one stone: We unite the future CO2 neutral building with a modern environment for our students".

Green Lighthouse was built by:

The University of Copenhagen, The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, The City of Copenhagen, VELUX and VELFAC.

Read more about the house