Energy-saving potential of buildings has never been more in focus than in the past few weeks. Industry, commerce, and private households are being urged to reduce heat energy and electricity consumption. Due to high prices, particularly for natural gas, all consumer groups are already facing substantial back payments.
The main focus is on buildings, as they account for particularly high consumption. 35 percent of Germany’s final energy demand comes from the building sector, corresponding to significant savings potential. While energy saving and efficiency in buildings were previously mainly about climate protection, the focus is now shifting towards energy security.
The central question is: What energy-saving measures are feasible and can be implemented quickly? For example, many players see the electric heat pump as one of the universal solutions to reduce dependency on fossil oil and gas in the heating sector. There is no doubt that the heat pump has a big future in this country. The technology is well-established, and the more electricity we can generate from renewable sources such as solar and wind energy, the more climate-friendly heating with this technology becomes. Experts estimate that 70 to 80 percent of our buildings will be equipped with a heat pump over the next 10 to 15 years.
Short-term measures needed
We are talking about long time frames. However, property owners of commercial buildings face the challenge of having to take very short-term measures to reduce their energy costs and contribute to the mentioned energy security. But what measures and methods can help effectively and quickly save energy in buildings within this year?
To answer this question, we should focus more than ever on operational optimization and quality management in buildings. Because when people talk about “low-hanging fruits”: these areas truly offer rich potential, and quickly—without having to replace heating systems or install better insulation.
Pay attention to building operations
Instead, it’s worth having experts—such as building managers or well-trained facility managers—take a closer look at the operational behavior of buildings. What does this involve?
For example, does a building need to be heated uniformly at all times of the day and night and on all floors?
Or would it make sense to reduce heating power at night?
Where is the ventilation running unnecessarily?
Where can sensors respond to outside temperatures and thereby control the temperature more flexibly?
Where are the energy guzzlers, or where are the faulty sensors?
Can the room temperature be reduced overall?
A general function and performance check is also advisable. Based on our experience, up to 30 percent of energy costs can be saved simply by monitoring the building through a so-called technical monitoring system and identifying optimization potentials—without having to renovate the building.
The basic requirement for this: effective quality management, which checks whether the internal systems actually perform the promised functions. Another rule: The sooner quality management is started, the easier it will be to save energy in your building. This not only helps the climate today but also enables enormous cost savings.
