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The Fund and the environnement

The Fonds du Logement favours the use of reasonably-priced, quality materials for the construction of its houses and apartments but takes care to ensure that natural resources are used rationally to produce a durable and efficacious result.
This policy is reflected in all parts of the buildings

Architecture

Local wood is one of the ecological materials used in the doors and window frames. Despite the fact that this requires regular maintenance, the Fund has consistently opposed the use of other materials

Although aluminium requires less maintenance, its manufacture consumes considerable amounts of energy and PVC is prohibited to prevent environmental pollution.
The windows are double-glazed for heat insulation purposes and have a k factor of not more than 1.3 W/m2K. Close attention is paid to insulation (insulating blocks or facing bricks incorporating a thermal insulating material); treatment of building façades with a mineral coating. All materials must satisfy strict durability criteria.

Technical installations

The Fund has 3 cardinal rules for reducing emission of greenhouse gases:
- efficient use of energy by reducing consumption and optimising output of installations and machines.
- increase in the number of installations generating heat and electricity simultaneously and sharply reducing emission of CO2, NOx, CnHm and SO2.
- significant support for the use of renewable (solar) energy and biomass (e.g. wood).
Although wood admittedly releases CO2 on combustion, it should not be forgotten that it has consumed the same amount of CO2 during its existence as a tree. Moreover, the amount of CO2 emitted is the same as that emitted during a normal natural rotting process.
The Fonds du Logement makes every effort to ensure compliance with the three cardinal rules listed above:

1) Efficient use of energy:

  • Use of effective thermal insulation at the time of construction diminishes a building's energy needs for heating.
  • Installation of gas-driven condensation boilers in houses and apartment blocks brings a substantial increase in output, partly because of the lower heating temperatures.
  • The communal areas of the buildings and the stairwells are fitted with time-switches to cut electricity consumption.
  • Hot water supplies are provided as far as possible from the central boilers.
  • The heating system is controlled by the external temperature.
  • Natural gas is used wherever possible for the following reasons:
    • it takes up less space than fuel oil
    • it burns more cleanly than fuel oil. It not only releases less CO2 but also less sulphur dioxide (SO2) and less nitrogen oxides (NOx)
    • although oil-fired condensation boilers do exist, they are technically less advanced those fired by natural gas.

2) Combined heating and electricity generating installations:

  • The Sauerwiss and Mühlenbach estates both have a central plant generating heat and electricity driven by a gas-fuelled motor with a relatively low CO2 emission rate.
  • A central plant with two gas-driven motors has been installed at Dudelange-Brill in collaboration with the municipal authorities.
  • A low-powered, gas-driven motor has been installed in the Aal Esch district of Esch-sur-Alzette.

The motors at Dudelange and on the Mühlenbach estate are fitted with catalytic converters which substantially reduce emissions of CO and NOx. A cost/benefit analysis comparing financial expenditure with ecological benefits was submitted with the applications for these two projects in order to express the cost of environmental pollution in financial terms.

3) Renewable forms of energy:

  • Recovery of rainwater and its use to flush toilets has been a salient feature of many of the Fonds du Logement's projects. Although this type of installation is at present difficult to justify in financial terms, the Fund is in favour of them for both ecological and didactic reasons.
  • Installation of solar panels to preheat water for washing purposes is another excellent way of reducing CO2 emission. It is estimated that these panels can save between 40 and 50 % of the energy consumed annually for this purpose free of charge. The first two installations of this kind have already been constructed at Wasserbillig and Dudelange. Others are planned at Grevenmacher, Tétange and Hosingen. The efficacy of this type of installation depends to a large extent on actual hot water consumption and it will consequently be essential to check this first before taking any final decisions in connection with future projects.