Low-energy homes and buildings

In an energy-efficient home, the amount of energy consumed to heat the home and the water is low. Kilowatt hours are used more efficiently. Energy efficiency is achieved through the installation of effective ventilation and heating systems and by building homes with well-insulated ceilings, walls, windows and doors. Another way to keep down energy consumption is to install energy-efficient appliances.

We know a good deal about this – JM has been building low-energy buildings since 2008.

A home’s energy consumption for heating up water and the building is one part, and another is the so-called household electricity. Household electricity is used to run electronic products in a home, for example TVs, computers, lamps, and vacuum cleaners. Appliances such as stovetops, fridges, freezers, washing machines, dishwashers and microwaves also use household electricity. 

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how much an individual household or family can save in electricity costs from moving to a newly built low-energy home from an older house or apartment, but one thing that is for certain is that newly built homes are often better equipped for times of uncertainty regarding electricity supply and higher electricity prices.

For a more exact comparison, you need to know the energy consumption of the older home. This data is available in an energy declaration. This declaration should be issued after the most recent energy-efficiency measure in order to be considered reliable.

Below is an estimate of average energy consumption per square meter for buildings built from the 1940s and onward. This may be helpful if you are considering moving from an older home to a newly built home or apartment. The data comes from the Swedish National Energy Administration and refers to single-family homes.

• Buildings built in the 1940s–1960s

From the 1940s to the 1960s, it was common to use an oil boiler with a waterborne heating system and natural ventilation. Air and water heat pumps have often been installed in buildings built in these decades to lower energy consumption.

• Buildings built in the 1970s

Direct electrical heating was common. Electric water heaters were often used for heating.  Installing energy-efficient air and water heat pumps was a common measure used to improve energy consumption in buildings from this decade.

• Buildings built in the 1980s–1990s

During this period, it became common for exhaust air heat pumps to heat both the water and the home. Buildings became better insulated, and natural ventilation was therefore replaced with mechanical exhaust air. Geothermal pumps also became popular in the 1990s.

• Buildings built in the 2000s

Since the 2000s, exhaust air heat pumps or geothermal pumps have become common for heating homes and water.

• Buildings built from 2011 to today

Heat pumps continue to be the dominant source of energy. Solar panels for own electricity production are becoming more common at the same time as energy-efficient installations are developing rapidly and facilitating further improvements in energy levels.

* Source: JM has gathered data from the Swedish National Energy Administration, and the data efers to average energy consumption per single-family home and per square meter (for heating and hot water, excluding household electricity), respectively, in 2021, broken down by year of construction, kWh/m2. The data is only available from 2018, which should be considered in conjunction with data specified for buildings built in 2011 and onward. 
Pictures and texts by JM.

New homes and apartments bring more modern solutions for heating, etc., which helps keep energy consumption down. The exact level varies by property.

JM certifies all of its residential projects in accordance with Nordic Swan Ecolabel, which requires energy consumption to be 10 percent lower than government requirements. But the energy consumption of our buildings is often even lower.

In new residential neighborhoods built by JM, the property electricity is shared. This means that the building shares the network fees and joint electricity costs for the building. In other words, you do not need to pay for your neighbor’s electricity consumption just because you split the property electricity and network fees. The cost of your consumption is conveniently sent by invoice every month.