Keio Research Institute at SFC

* This laboratory has been completed.

Objectives

To obtain practical data and user evaluations to analyze the relationship between advanced environment controls and energy management methods, and health maintenance, comfort, efficiency, reliability, etc., by using sophisticated environmental performance testing facilities.

Within efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, reducing the growing amount of energy used in housing construction is a critical issue. Additionally, to recycle resources, housing construction should take into consideration the overall life cycle of houses and possibility to extend its service life, not only when the house is being used, but also during construction and disposal. One objective in housing policy is to generate renewable energy such as solar power and to create LCCM (Life Cycle Carbon Minus) housing which results in a negative life cycle CO2 emission balance. On the other hand, priority should be placed on the effects the living conditions have on the health of the residents who spend their daily lives in their homes. Maintaining and enhancing the health of esidents through housing and reducing their environmental footprint are two issues that go hand-in-hand. Furthermore, when considering the role of protecting social lives from natural disasters and other risks, the durability of housing isn’t the only concern. There are other social issues that need to be addressed when constructing housing, such as securing energy and promoting the formation of regional communities. The Keio Research Institute at SFC proposed the “Keio Co-Evolution House” to the “Survey and Demonstration Project Concerning Net Zero Energy House Standardization” which the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry entrusted to the Sustainable open Innovation Initiative. In January 2014, the Institute exhibited a demonstration of its “Co-Evolution House” in the Shinonome Parking Area at Tokyo Big Sight as a part of the ENEMANE House Exhibition in 2014.
However, since the time to measure data on the constructed demonstration house was extremely limited, a balanced benchmark on environmentally friendly construction could not be obtained over the course of one year through this project alone. Therefore, the experimental demonstration house was dismantled and relocated to SFC premises where it will undergo verification testing for approximately one year at the Eco-cultural Regeneration Design Laboratory. By obtaining environmental performance experiment data over the course of one year, collaboration can be achieved in the “Keio Co-Evolution House Operation Test” which fully utilizes the materials and machine parts provided by the companies participating in the research consortium.

To obtain and statistically analyze a large amount of data on various environments and activities from actual living conditions

This research uses methods to measure several factors under natural conditions such as the actual energy use when performing tasks while living in the house (eating and sleeping), the impact of environment control, and changes in the residents’ activities and conditions. In order to achieve this, short-term experiments (lasting from one to four weeks) which change factors such as the examinees residing in the house, the contents of their activities, the machine parts used, and the conditions for measurement, are all incorporated into each research sub-theme and fundamental item that obtains data throughout the overall experiment period. This research is significant in that it allows research collaborators from various fields in related university departments to perform analyses based on their respective perspectives. Although plans for short-term experiments are generally drawn up after considering the contents of extracted data and sub-themes based on requests from participating organizations who provided environmental technologies, these plans will be changed as needed even after experiment periods have started. One feature is that it is able to accumulate a large amount of detailed data on a much larger scale than conventional means since it is able to obtain operating information on a wide variety of environmental sensors and equipment. The insight gained from statistically analyzing this data and testing apparatus controls, etc., will be collected as results. This technique is a fundamental method in performing the research.

To exemplify an eco-friendly home with a specific lifestyle image that everyone can closely relate to, and to broadly and generally exhibit the feasibility and significance of having such homes in our society by demonstrating the overall benefits including feeling secure about health and feeling safe from disasters

Reducing energy consumption and implementing eco-friendly measures by no means implies that the standard of living will decrease. Rather, this project sets out to create a model to demonstrate to general consumers that living in your home can actually maintain and enhance your health, and help secure a feeling of safety and security from disasters. By having consumers use this home and actually experience the remarkably warm environment and the impact it makes on their daily lives, they are able understand first-hand the benefits of having such a home. Furthermore, in addition to obtaining verified data, this process will serve as a major foothold to help propagate future home environment technologies. This model will widely promote the significance and feasibility of LCCM housing, and the attention it receives towards the importance of maintaining and enhancing health by living in your home will have a significant impact on society.

Researchers, managers and professors