Clean ship | Plant designs Clean ship: technically realistic and economically effective

To ensure that all housing installations in project Schoonschip meet the ambitious Program of Requirements and score maximum in terms of comfort, efficiency, controllability and sustainability, independent consulting firm Tree Installation Consultancy provided the technical installation designs on behalf of the residents.

"'Tree' stands for technically realistic and economically effective. As an independent consultancy, we not only brought together the wishes, requirements and possible implementing parties for this project, but also translated all technical specifications into manageable and objective information, so that the residents could make well-considered installation choices," says Joep Brouwers, founder of Tree Installatieadvies. "In project Schoonschip, we were dealing with sixteen private clients, for whom sixteen unique designs were created. In accordance with the handout Sustainable Building of the City of Amsterdam and additional requirements regarding sustainable use of materials, water conservation and green roofs."

Surface water heat pumps
A key requirement was the use of heat pumps to air-condition the homes. "In a construction team with the residents, architects and structural engineer, we worked out and compared a number of concepts," says Brouwers. "From air/water heat pumps and surface water heat pumps to vertical soil loops, we focused on comfort and optimal energy and cost efficiency. In the end, use of surface water proved to be the most suitable for this district. To extract heat from surface water, residents could choose from a compact, floating 'sphere' in an environmentally friendly plastic housing or a heat exchanger integrated into the concrete structure of the water lots."

Efficient power generation, minimal water consumption
Like the heat pump systems, the ventilation systems are diverse. "Whereas some water homes use natural ventilation and CO₂-controlled ventilation, other residents opted for balanced ventilation with mechanical supply and return air, including heat recovery," Brouwers said. "For efficient power generation and storage, we linked PV panels and lithium battery systems to a smart grid. Finally, we incorporated water-saving vacuum toilets into our design."

Following this assignment, Tree Installation Consultancy advised the Schoonschip Foundation on the installation facilities in the jetty. From the electricity supply to the waste water drainage piping, the vacuum water network and the telephone and data cabling. During execution, the installation consultancy has primarily a monitoring role. So that upon completion, all clients receive exactly the level of comfort, efficiency and sustainability promised to them at the front end.