The rural, tranquil district of La Chartreuse, long neglected by property developers, is definitely well worth looking at, according to the article. They also discuss the benefits of this residence and of the Thermo Efficace^® concept and give a brief history of Minguet & Lejeune and Horizon Group.

This is why we wanted to equip Thermo Efficace^® homes with the best performing regulation system available. This regulation system is the fruit of in-depth studies by the company All Thermic Solutions, part of Horizon Group. This product is exclusive to Thermo Efficace^® constructions.

Thanks to this regulation and other benefits of our concept, Thermo Efficace^® homes have an annual consumption close to "passive", estimated at 3l/m² (fuel oil equivalent): in short, far and away the best energy performance in the low energy construction sector!

Assured comfort, high return investment, respect for the environment: just a few of the benefits of Thermo Efficace^® homes.

Laurent Minguet shows himself to be once again ahead of the game with the creation of a wood fired heating network (ecological on all levels) that will supply a number of communes. He has also set up a partnership with a developing country that will be able to produce rapidly renewable wood species, ensuring no soil damage or impoverishment, with respect for local labour and transport arrangements with very low CO² emissions.

Vif-l’Express 9 to 15 October

It is possible to provide for all of the heating needs of 50% of homes and public buildings in Belgium by constructing 30,000 km of heating networks containing circulating hot water. In any event this is the view of Jehan Decrop, consultant with the CSC research unit, and Laurent Minguet, chairman of the TWEED cluster and director of EDORA, in a report presented to the press this week.

According to this plan, which they have both personally endorsed, all agglomerations and towns in rural areas would be supplied with heating via this system (approximately 55% of the Belgian population lives in rural areas). Heat production would be provided by 600 cogeneration plants with an average power of 50 MW. The cogeneration process will produce heat and electricity simultaneously.

Green electricity will be injected into the existing grid and will have "green certification", since the fuel for the plants will be energy wood. A single hectare of land can produce over 5 times more energy via wood burning than is the case with biofuel. Energy wood plantations can be established on a large scale and sustainably managed in subtropical countries such as Senegal.

Through a win-win partnership between Belgium and these countries, where strict but reasonable conditions can be negotiated, laid down and verified (sustainability, absence of deforestation, integration of local workers into the scheme, etc.), here we have an entire energy supply channel that will be secure and will take the place of fossil and nuclear fuels to a large extent.

Green heat will be injected into heat networks on average 50 km in length, in order to supply homes and buildings via heat exchangers (to replace current boilers). Heating will be offered to individuals at a lower price than the equivalent of fuel oil or gas.

Average annual thermal efficiency (recovered heat / primary energy) would be 25%, acceptable given the simultaneous production of electricity. An efficiency that could even be increased significantly if the residual heat is recovered, either in specific industrial processes (drying, etc.), or by trigeneration (the production of chilled water based on the difference in temperature between the residual heat of plants and the ambient air), or via seasonal heat storage

Liège Property Developer HORIZON founded in 2004 by Laurent Minguet and Serge Lejeune has just concluded a merger with General Construction and Joinery Contractor M. BONTEN sa of Aubel.

Marc Bonten is now a shareholder and director of Horizon Group while retaining his position as Managing Director of his contracting company.

At the head of Horizon Group, Horizon Pléiades sa is thus continuing its vertical integration strategy instituted from its creation:

    * Minguet & Lejeune sa : heat efficient buildings

    * Horizon Construct sa: classic buildings

    * Horizon Immobilière sa: real estate agency for Group products

    * All Thermic Solutions sa: research body specialising in building-specific energy techniques

    * M. Bonten sa: Public and private general civil engineering and joinery contractor

HORIZON Group today manages  250,000 m² of land reserved for building construction (apartments, housing, offices) principally in the Liège region.

With around one hundred employees, M. BONTEN sa, whose quality of workmanship in both structural work and œ joinery is widely appreciated in the construction sector, currently boasts sales figures of over 12 million euros of which 2 million are in joinery.

"Integration of a general contractor such as M. BONTEN sa will enable our future real estate projects to be completed more quickly and to very high quality standards. In addition, we will improve cost control, so enabling us to offer a better product at a lower price," states Laurent Minguet, Managing Director of Horizon Pléiades sa.

"Aligning the interests of my company with HORIZON Group, a trailblazer in terms of homes of the future, means we have access to a project portfolio entailing large scale construction sites guaranteed for at least 10 years.

This is clearly a WIN-WIN agreement both for M. BONTEN sa  and HORIZON Group of which I am proud to become a shareholder," adds Marc BONTEN, Managing Director of M. BONTEN sa.