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HEI 12(21): The Estonian company, ultraKUB OÜ, developed an innovative energy-efficient modular home solution called Elumaja which transforms the current understanding of construction and the general way of life for all people. This is the first zero energy modular home concept in Estonia, and also in Europe so far.

At the end of June, a sample house will be built in Rotermann Square in Tallinn and everyone will be able to come and see it for themselves.

The innovative concept is a development of the passive house standard, which aims to create an energy-efficient, mobile, comfortable and healthy house with the minimum ecological footprint. Architect Rene Valner, the author of the new Elumaja concept, says that this is a modular house that has been designed in compliance with the requirements for zero energy buildings, and it has a standardised production process. "A house with zero energy requirements means that the house will not consume any more energy than the building is able to produce. If the customer does not wish to purchase autonomous energy equipment to create a zero energy house, they will end up having a passive house which has heating costs ten times smaller, on average, than a regular house," he explained.

ultraKUB OÜ is the first company on the Estonian market to offer an innovative, complete solution for the construction of a sustainable modular home. In the case of the passive house standard, the energy required annually for heating the building does not exceed 15 kWh per square metre. The new modular home allows the use of autonomous renewable energy solutions and by means of this enables its occupants to live (if necessary) independently of a central infrastructure, that is, with zero CO2 emissions. In this case, the house will meet the zero energy criteria. Also, a wider use of such buildings will increase the country's energy independence.

An Elumaja home consists of a 45 square-metre energy-efficient base module (with healthy indoor conditions) and other modules that can be added to it. The underlying principle of the concept is to make it suitable for our climate, meet the highest quality standards and make it available to customers with varying financial means.

Zero dependence on existing utilities, the mobility of the module and the small area of land occupied by the house mean that the house can be built without having to apply for a building permit; only the written approval of the local governmental authority is required. Rene Valner says that one of the starting points for the development of a modular home, in accordance with the passive house standard, was to make sure that the concept could be developed further to create an energy-plus-house. The owner of the latter type of house can sell the excess energy produced by the building to the supply network. In Estonia, this is unfortunately not yet possible for residential customers.

The company also plans to offer the modular homes, built according to the Elumaja concept, on the markets of Nordic countries and other nearby countries. So far, the Elumaja concept is the first complete solution for this kind of modular house in Scandinavia and Europe as a whole.