The first virtually zero-energy hall in Finland was built to provide new premises for the Thin Sheet Centre research unit of the Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK). It is also used for research, development and teaching activities. The hall draws its energy primarily from energy piles and solar panels.

The approach was to create a building that exploits renewable energy as efficiently as possible.

The construction project combined several different energy efficiency measures, making it an excellent fit for the energy pile system that was jointly developed by Uponor and Ruukki. The piles are supplemented by the solar energy that is collected by the building.

In the winter, the energy piles, which are used in the foundations, transfer energy from the ground for use in heating the building. In the summer, they transfer heat energy, which is produced by the solar energy collectors installed on the roof and by the cooling system, back into the ground, enabling the stored heat to be re-used for heating the building in the winter. The energy level of the ground thereby remains suitable for energy generation.

Uponor installed a total of 2.8 kilometres of heat collection piping into sixty energy piles on the site.

Implementing the hall in the form of a virtually zero-energy solution was approximately EUR 70,000 more expensive than building a conventional hall but, according to the calculations, the energy investments will pay for themselves within just over ten years. After this, the maintenance and usage costs of the hall will be easy on the wallet.