Source – treehugger.com

– “…The project started out as a vision for an entire community — the medium-density project balances size, accessibility, green space, and solar exposure. In all, 52 homes make up a neighborhood anchored to Sonnenschiff, a mixed-use residential and commercial building that emphasizes livability with a minimal footprint”:

(Solar Village is World’s First Community to Produce 4x More Energy Than it Uses – By Ian Crossland)

After architect, Rolf Disch, built the Heliotrope (the first building in the world to capture more energy than it uses) he set his sights higher.

He successfully created a retail, commercial and residential space called Sonnenschiff, translating to “Solar Ship,” that was energy net-positive in 2004.  The building was a hit, and over the following years 60 more residential buildings have been constructed surrounding the solar ship, all with energy positive electrical systems.  Today the village, dubbed Solarsiedlung (Solar Village), is producing 4x more energy than it consumes.

Solarsiedlung is located in Freidburg, Germany, which is known as the ecological capital of the country.  It is the home of Europe’s largest solar research center.

http://www.naturalblaze.com/2016/08/solar-village-first-produce-4x-more-energy-than-it-uses.html

Related…

TreeHugger wants to live in Freiburg, which has solar flair and green, car free communities. We like Rolf Disch and his Heliotrop house, too. Now we can get it all in one package at the Solarsiedlung or solar village. It is built to Passivhaus standards and is Plus Energy (produces more energy than it needs)

We like how they get relatively high density and a lot of common space for gardens and play.

According to jonarisen in Greenlineblog, The layout of the project is based on solar orientation. Energy for the project is provided mostly by the sun, though in the case of electricity no onsite storage is provided so energy is fed into the grid and extracted as needed. Heat energy is generated by a local network of solar hot water evacuated-tubes located on the Sonnenschiff. The hot water is then used for heating water and the spaces.

Electricity is generated by “solar energy plants” or pv panels mounted on the housing units. The electricity produced is fed into the public grid and a profit is made because of the higher rates paid to solar energy producers. Any additional energy required in the winter months is provided by a wood-chip fuelled power station.

Disch uses all the new tricks but doesn’t forget the oldest- use carefully designed overhangs to shade sunlight in the summer but let the lower winter sun in for passive heating.

::Das Sonnenschiff in Freiburg and ::Solarsiedlung via ::Greenline Blog

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/solar-village-by-rolf-disch.html