Read the following Use case and answer the Questions :

ACTIVE SUNCUBE: THE NEW LUST OF LIVING AND LIFE CYCLE COST OF PASSIVE HOUSES

Do you live in a house with a central heating system that provides warmth to the interior of the building and is fired by fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas? Can you image a house without any heating system? Dieter Tscharf, the founder and owner of Active Suncube, claims that heating is just the correction of construction deficiencies. He established Active Suncube in 1999 as a sustainability pioneer in the area of building. The Austrian company is one of the first companies worldwide specializing in the planning and building of passive houses. This is an innovative building technology, which employs superinsulation to significantly reduce the heat transfer through walls, roof and floors. Similar to a thermos jug, passive houses are highly insulated and airtight, using thick walls (3035 cm) and triple window glass panes, which are separated by air or other gas-filled spaces to reduce heat loss. Typically, passive houses have large panoramic windows facing south to collect and store the heat of the sun. In regions like Central Europe and the United States the heat gains from the sun are greater than the heat losses, even in mid-winter. In addition to this, passive houses make use of the heat from internal sources, such as refrigerators, dishwashers, lighting and laptops as well as body heat emitted by inhabitants (you would be surprised how much heat is emitted by people). To maintain air quality, a ventilation system is required, while an active heating system is superfluous.

The insulation material, the triple-glaze windows and the combined heat recovery ventilation system add to the building cost of passive houses. It is estimated that the additional costs for the purchase of passive houses are 515% higher than for conventional buildings. However, here we also have to consider the energy costs, especially for space heating. While older houses annually use more than 200 kWh/m², new buildings 100 kWh/m² and low-energy houses 5070 kWh/m², it is just 15 kWh/m² of annual energy consumption in the case of passive houses. As of 2010, approximately 25 000 passive houses had been built worldwide, most of them in Central Europe and Scandinavia. Against the background of rising energy prices and climate change, the limited number of passive houses is expected to grow further, eventually setting a new standard in housebuilding.

Active Suncube is one of the leading passive house companies in Austria. By entering the growing market of passive houses at an early stage it has been able to rapidly build a strong reputation. The company provides customer solutions by offering modern, aesthetically pleasing houses. It also engages in extensive consultation during the planning phase to build a relationship with its customers to help them make what is a significant change in approach to household energy management. The basic form of the passive houses is a cube, which is well insulated and airtight. There are different variations, including Active Suncube Cube, Space and Elegance. Active Suncube overcomes sustainability marketing myopia by putting customer needs and wants, rather than the technology, at the centre of their communication. The information brochure is entitled The new lust for living and mainly emphasizes customer benefits in the form of the high degree of cosiness and comfort provided by passive houses. It shows appealing pictures of passive houses flooded with light. The key words used are pure, sensuous, enticing and seducing, which are underlined by pictures of a beautiful woman exposed by (sun)light. The low energy consumption and costs are just auxiliary arguments in communications.

In the past Active Suncube focused on LOHAS consumers, who are willing to pay a high(er) price for high quality. Dieter Tscharf is convinced that passive houses provide the best in comfortable living, and that passive houses offer excellent value, especially against the background of rising energy prices. To grow further and reach out for new, more price-sensitive customer groups, he is planning to develop an online customer information tool to calculate the life cycle costs of Active Suncubes as compared to conventional buildings.

Questions

1.What kind of costs does Active Suncube have to consider in the comparison of the life cycle costs of passive houses versus conventional buildings?

2.When you compare the life cycle costs of passive houses versus conventional buildings, make a sensitivity analysis (e.g. by increasing the energy costs). Which effect does this have on the period of amortization?

3.Active Suncube mainly builds passive houses in rural and suburban areas. Despite a high quality of life in the natural surroundings of the Austrian Alps, what kind of individual and social costs does that imply?