Wicona test centre is one of the most advanced and one of the first energy neutral industrial buildings in Europe for intelligent building solutions and opens a window to energy –efficient future for buildings. Wicona test centre was built using the latest energy efficient details to minimize power consumption, like rooftop solar panels and the automated management of light and heat.

The test centre is designed to be highly energy efficient and sustainable, consuming only 23kWh/m2a of energy for heat and light – around the same as a standard passive house. In its first year of operation the Euro 3.5M centre for Wicona’s facade products, in Bellenberg, Germany, has shown exceptional energy results.  The new dedicated test centre for Wicona’s façade products has generated 60 per cent more electricity than it needs for its own consumption.

A key factor in helping to reduce the energy consumption of the building was the choice of façade, which is highly glazed to allow most of the product testing to be carried out without the need for artificial lighting. In addition, the centre allows new WICONA products and project-specific façade solutions to be tested in-house and provide the opportunity to pre-test and pre-certify new systems more efficiently and at an earlier stage and independently certified to the latest European standards