HOERSHOLM, Denmark, July 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- How Can We Obtain Healthy and Climate-Neutral Buildings in the Future? VELUX Sets Out Six Real-Life Experiments to Pursue Some Answers to This Question

VELUX launches their vision for future living environments - a concept named Model Home 2020. With this concept, VELUX aims for climate-neutral construction and optimal indoor comfort with fresh air and natural daylight.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080714/312624 )

In the EU today, we spend 90 % of our time indoors, in buildings that represent over 40 % of the total energy consumption(1). Up to 30 % of the building mass does not contribute to nor provide a healthy indoor climate(2).

These figures add up to a considerable challenge for how we think and consider the construction of buildings in the future. VELUX products being part of the construction business, we have formulated a strategy to take active part in developing sustainable buildings: We pursue an innovative and competitive approach to building design that enhances living comfort while reducing the energy consumption of the buildings to fulfil even the most ambitious regulatory standards. VELUX take up the challenge through formulating new ideas and professional parameters for climate-neutral construction with sustainable living.

The ideas are tested by performing six real-life unique experiments that reflect and respond to different climatic, cultural and architectural conditions. VELUX has a long tradition of performing experiments to test ideas. "One experiment is better than a thousand expert views" was a statement our founder, Villum Kann Rasmussen, lived by from the very beginning of the company.

The result of an experiment is open until the time it has been carried out. "We wish to develop and experiment with how we think about our future living environments, and realise the ideas as experiments. Model Home 2020 is our framework for such experiments. Each experiment will bring us closer to our vision: a house that is climate neutral and dynamically adjusts to its environment to create an optimal indoor climate", says CMO Michael K Rasmussen from VELUX.

The houses will be open for 6-12 months after completion, and will then be inhabited. The energy consumption and the indoor climate conditions will be monitored during the use. The monitoring is the completion of the experiment. The six houses will be placed in:

2009: Denmark (Copenhagen and Aarhus) and Austria

2010: France, Great Britain and Germany

The houses in Denmark and Great Britain are made in cooperation with VELFAC - our affiliate company producing facade windows.

VELUX A/S creates better living environments with daylight and fresh air through the roof. Our product programme contains a wide range of roof windows and skylights, along with solutions for flat roofs. In addition, VELUX offers many types of decoration and sun screening, roller shutters, installation products, products for remote control and thermal solar panels for installation in roofs. VELUX, which has manufacturing companies in 10 countries and sales companies in just under 40 countries, is one of the strongest brands in the global building materials sector and its products are sold in most parts of the world. The VELUX Group has around 9,500 employees and is owned by VKR Holding A/S. VKR Holding A/S is a limited company wholly owned by foundations and family. For more details, visit http://www.velux.com.

VELFAC A/S produces unique window and facade systems for several European markets and employs more than 1,000 motivated employees in six countries. VELFAC turns over more than DKK 1.5 billion, primarily on markets in northern Europe. Our vision is to bring life, light and fresh air to people. We make windows that last a lifetime and therefore place stringent energy and environmental demands at all design and production phases, right through to the finished product. VELFAC products are supplied with an environmental declaration, which means that precise documentation has been produced for the environmental impact of the production, use and disposal of our windows. The environmental declaration can be downloaded from http://www.VELFAC.dk. The company is part of the VKR Group, of which VELUX A/S is another member. The VKR Group is undergoing continuous growth and currently employs some 15,000 employees in more than 40 countries.

(1) DIRECTIVE 2002/91/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings

(2) Jon Ayres, Occupational Medicine 2005;55:417-418 doi:10.1093/occmed/kqi134

For more information please contact: VELUX A/S: Lone Ellersgaard, Communications Manager, tel: +45-45-16-48-18, E-mail: press@velux.com

For more information please contact: VELUX A/S: Lone Ellersgaard, Communications Manager, tel. +45-45-16-48-18, E-mail: press@velux.com