World launch in Copiapó, Chile. Green construction system lets families save 80% of their energy bill.

World launch in Copiapó, Chile. Green construction system lets families save 80% of their energy bill. 1000 667 Barcelona Housing Systems

The first buildings in Latin America of this kind have been inaugurated. Experts from around the world examined the new industrial system that makes it possible to build large scale housing powered by green energies both faster, cheaper and more ecological than with traditional construction methods.

The construction system for large scale sustainable housing is developed and patented by Barcelona Housing Systems (BHS), a multinational construction company in affordable housing. No water is used during the construction and there is a minimum of waste produced. 70% of the light steel framework is made of recycled steel.

The buildings are assembled on site, using prefabricated panels which are put together in a LEGO-like system, something which reduces production time and cost. A building of 32 apartments, with high quality finish, can be completed as fast as in 5 days.

75% of the energy needed for the houses is produced by solar panels and energy is also produced through a waste to energy system. According to Eduardo Aguilar, Innovation Manager at BHS, the buildings will be able to cover 95% of their power consumption in a couple of years. Double glass windows and insulation above the required levels lower energy consumption and increases the comfort of living. A monitoring system, easily viewed in a tablet or cell phone, allows each home owner to supervise and control the energy consumption of their apartment. This results in a reduction of the electricity bill by as much as 80%.

Barcelona Housing Systems has together with WeLink; an international technology company specializing in renewable energies and China Triumph International Engineering; the engineering technical platform of CNBM, a Chinese multinational and the world’s second largest supplier of construction materials and Banco Santander, the world’s eleventh largest financial institution, signed a partnership to develop thousands of units. Projects are being started in the UK, Croatia, Ecuador and are planned for more countries.

The first phase, opened in Copiapó in Chile on the 4th of May, will comprise 140 apartments.

The Copiapó project was selected to be presented as an international case study in The 2016 Strategic Innovation Summit on Affordable and Sustainable Communities, held in June at Harvard University and convened by the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard.