Casa Sophia – automating Spain’s most sustainable home
Welcome to Casa Sophia – a home true to the meaning of its name, “wisdom”. This building is the result of two years of work including design, development and construction. The goal of this project was to create the most sustainable home in Spain and Europe. Casa Sophia has obtained the GREEN GBCe Certificate awarded by the Green Building Council España (GBCe) with 5 leaves and a score of 92%. This development put careful thought into achieving the highest possible energy efficiency in a healthy and environmentally conscious home.
Project objectives
In Casa Sophia, from conception to construction, people’s health and sustainability have been prioritised as the main focus of the project. As a Passivhaus Premium building, it incorporates all the necessary technical criteria to achieve this.
Loxone’s intelligent building management enables the intelligent operation of the home and achieves significant energy and cost savings. The essential data for health and efficiency is constantly monitored, and the system automatically adapts to the circumstances at any given time. Every action and all recorded data is visualised in the Loxone App. When the measurements exceed the set limits of comfort or efficiency, the home acts to maintain an optimal environment and seamless operation at all times.
Bio construction and biopassive housing
At Casa Sophia, construction was focused on using resources from nature and protecting the health of its occupants. This is achieved through bio construction, a philosophy that uses green materials to guarantee a minimised impact on the environment. From the extraction of materials to recycling them, every step is managed in a sustainable way.
How is this achieved? First, a geobiological study of the terrain was carried out to detect any materials that could affect the health of the residents. In addition, the home’s design is adapted to the geographical conditions and the local climate to ensure a comfortable environment.
Wood, sourced from sustainable forests, is the main material used by 100X100BioPasiva. All other design elements, such as paints and finishes, are also sustainable. These low-impact resources benefit the environment.
In addition, Loxone’s low voltage systems and 24V operation creates a living space that’s free of electrical and electromagnetic pollution.
But that’s not all. Since 1993, 100x100BioPasiva has been building with sustainability, health and maximum energy efficiency in mind, and since 2012 they have revolutionised the world of construction with “biopassive housing“, an approach that combines bio construction with the Passivhaus Standard. These homes are highly energy efficient, offer exceptional comfort temperature management all year round and minimise the need for conventional air conditioning systems.
A biopassive house is characterised by strategic design: good insulation, very high performance windows, environmentally friendly materials, controlled ventilation, energy-conscious features, comfort temperatures and sound levels – all within an efficient design. Incorporating the Loxone building management system into a biopassive home not only takes the environment into account, but also provides the best quality of life for residents.
Air quality for health and wellbeing
At Casa Sophia, air quality is more than a priority: it is a commitment. To meet the requirements of both the meticulous Passivhaus Standard and the bio construction philosophy, the quality of the air in the house is of utmost importance for the wellbeing of the occupants.
To monitor and record a wide range of data related to air quality, the MICA device from InBiot – compatible with the Loxone system – is used to record and visualise the air quality measurements in the Loxone App. In addition, Loxone’s intelligent automation takes care of the ventilation, increasing the flow when particle levels reach 600/million micrograms per cubic meter. At Casa Sophia, the air you breathe is a hallmark of quality that makes a difference in every corner of the home.
Formaldehyde and radon gas levels, volatile organic compounds, airborne dust particles, tropospheric ozone, CO2, temperature and humidity levels are all measured. The use of this data is truly impressive and gives yet another reason to choose low-impact materials that promote both a healthier planet and our own wellbeing.
Automated smart blinds
At the heart of every Passivhaus home should be an automated solar shading system that serves as protection against overheating.
Casa Sophia has been designed through bioclimatic architecture that optimises its location and the local temperatures. During the winter, when the sun is in a lower position, it can still raise the interior temperature up to 28ºC. However, the smart blinds managed and controlled by Loxone automation prevent overheating in both summer and winter. The system monitors the interior temperature and when it detects that the desired comfort temperature is exceeded by 2ºC, it automatically adjusts the louvres to block sunlight out of the room. With this method, Casa Sophia maintains a pleasant and balanced atmosphere throughout the year so residents can enjoy unparalleled comfort in every season.
This automation frees homeowners from worrying about raising and lowering the blinds manually. The Loxone system acts by itself to contribute to temperature control all year round. This adds convenience, comfort and extra security to the building.
Electric vehicles charging
The management of electric vehicle charging in Casa Sophia is very important. When the most amount of solar energy is generated, with a maximum of almost 14kW, the Loxone system acts depending on the current consumption and production and automatically activates priority consumers such as the Loxone Wallbox. The energy generated is managed most efficiently across high consumers and the system allows constant monitoring of the charging information via centralised visualisation in the Loxone App – the same software that allows for the control of all smart functions in the home.
Utilising solar surplus for better energy management is indispensable functionality that may go unnoticed. The facts, however, speak for themselves: using renewable energy this way has allowed Casa Sophia to be a “positive home” since February 2022, which means it generates more power than it consumes.
Virtual batteries and limitless energy
At Casa Sophia, technology is the main provider of cost and energy savings. Being a “positive house”, all surplus energy is stored in a virtual battery, as if it were a piggy bank. This means that when cloudy winter days arrive, the surplus stored in the piggy bank is used to supply the house. Casa Sophia will always remain a “positive house” due to this method of power generation. Loxone automation makes this process incredibly easy and unlocks the photovoltaic system’s full potential.
The Miniserver: efficient consumption 24/7
The Miniserver is the central brain of Casa Sophia. It takes care of numerous essential functions to improve everyday life for residents. The two most crucial are intelligent lighting and air conditioning. Automating these features significantly contributes to the optimisation of energy consumption, resulting in incredible savings.
Via the Presence Sensors, lighting and AC control work automatically, meaning they will not activate once the occupants have left the house and therefore will not waste energy when nobody’s home.
Approximately 80% of the luminaires in the house are LED lights powered at 24V. This not only helps to reduce electromagnetic fields, but also allows for efficient and precise control and dimming. At Casa Sophia, technology and efficiency go hand in hand to offer state-of-the-art and sustainable lighting.
Air conditioning, comfort and efficiency
In a house designed according to the Passivhaus Standard, energy consumption needs to be minimal from day 1. Through the integration of the Loxone building automation system, Casa Sophia can maintain a pleasant and constant climate in all rooms by adjusting the humidity and temperature levels according to the residents’ preferences.
One of the main priorities in passive house projects is the comfort and wellbeing of occupants. Therefore, in Casa Sophia, 2 air conditioning systems have been implemented to provide two different options. One of them is exclusively for air conditioning developed by 100x100BioPasiva through ventilation. The other system includes the underfloor heating/cooling on the ground floor.
The key to operate this home so efficiently is the harmonious control of all smart functions in a single installation and via the Loxone App. This not only makes climate control intuitive and convenient for the residents, but also promotes a high level of wellbeing in everyday life. At Casa Sophia, comfort is above all else.
Green areas and water management
At Casa Sophia, natural resources work with cutting-edge automation technology to create a sustainable environment.
The house has 4 irrigation zones controlled by Loxone, and a bio-depurator that recycles and reuses both rainwater and greywater from the showers and toilets.
This water passes through a simple filter, then gets directed to the bathroom cisterns and the green areas: the green roof, the vertical garden, all the gardens around the house and the interior garden under the staircase. All of this is controlled by Loxone.
Humidity sensors are key to keeping the plants and lawns in good condition. The Loxone Weather Station on the roof collects data to predict if it’s going to rain. If rain is forecast, irrigation is not activated so water doesn’t go to waste.
Water management is crucial – especially these days – and Casa Sophia ensures that it’s only used when absolutely necessary.
Total safety and security for peace of mind
Safety and security is essential for any home or building. The optimised Loxone system takes care of this in Casa Sophia with maximum efficiency to reduce day-to-day worries.
Water Sensor Air devices are essential components in this home and have been placed in all wet areas: kitchens and bathrooms. In the event of a detected incident, the system acts and warns the residents through their smartphones and with the lights flashing. If there’s a possible escape of water, Loxone automatically cuts off the main water supply. This can reduce the possibility of flooding and wasting water due to minor oversights. By integrating all these safety features into the Loxone system, home insurance costs have been significantly reduced.
Door & Window Contacts both inside and outside and an audible alarm ensure that the home is kept safe and secure by a one-off investment and no monthly fees.
“As electrical installers and integrators, we work closely with 100X100BioPasiva and we are committed to Loxone because it gives us the opportunity to bring together all the installations that converge in a building. In this case, the Passivhaus takes a special relevance when it comes to control in a more exhaustive way – that is the air conditioning at the same time as the control of shading.“
The Loxone passive house automation system will use as many green resources and energy-efficient technologies as possible through a single solution in the most efficient way. This active system intelligently controls functions like shading and presence-based lighting through automation to ensure maximum comfort and convenience for the occupants, who will get to spend time on the important things without having to worry about opening or closing the blinds according to the position of the sun or turning the heating off.
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