District develops sustainable strategy for energy saving

Climate protection, gas crisis, inflation: the topic of saving energy is more topical than ever - also in Waldeck-Frankenberg. Therefore, the district has developed a strategy for its properties to consistently and sustainably reduce the consumption of natural gas and electricity in particular.

Saving resources and costs
The goal is to significantly reduce energy demand and thus save resources and costs. "The topic of energy management is not a new idea at the district. For years, we have been working consistently and sustainably to optimise buildings and processes in such a way that energy consumption is capped as far as possible," reports District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst. Rising costs and higher energy consumption due to increased usage times and digitalisation have always been a challenge. Climate protection has also played a central role in this for years. "Now, however, in view of the energy crisis, we find ourselves in a situation that requires us to extract the maximum possible savings." To this end, all available levers are currently being tightened. This is true for all 74 properties in the district - from the administrative buildings to the sports halls to the schools.

Adapt, optimise, raise awareness
How can this be achieved? The district's building management department has developed a holistic concept to reduce consumption in all areas: heating and ventilation systems are being adapted and optimised, and temperatures and times of use will be partly specified in the future. The caretakers of the district's own properties are also being trained once again in more energy-efficient use of the facilities and all employees of the district are being sensitised to act even more consciously and prudently when consuming energy.

For heating, this means, among other things, that the daily heating times are to be reduced and the setback mode of the systems is to start earlier. The maximum room temperature in the schools is also to be lowered to 20 degrees, in the administrative buildings of the district even to 19 degrees. Hot water operation will be suspended in all buildings, so that showers in the sports halls will not be possible for the time being.

Furthermore, the use of the buildings should be organised even more cleverly, occupancy should be questioned and it should be checked whether all rooms in the buildings really need to be used - and thus heated and lit - at all times. As a matter of principle, events should take place within the heating periods and meetings - if possible - should increasingly be moved to the digital space. In addition, even more care should be taken to use daylight rather than artificial light and to light stairwells and corridors only when actually needed. Information on proper ventilation and the correct operation of radiator thermostats as well as motivating employees to use public transport or bicycles to get to work are further accompanying measures.

Pulling together
"All measures - whether large or small - will already contribute to a reduction in consumption in the short term," District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst and First District Commissioner Karl-Friedrich Frese are certain. "According to our calculations, our strategy can lead to energy savings of up to 20 per cent," they say. Of course, this also depends on each individual - on the motivation and commitment of the administrative staff, teachers and pupils and on their acceptance with regard to the individual measures. "We know that this means that each individual has to cut back a little, but we expressly encourage them to pull together here to save as much energy as possible." This not only reduces costs in the short term, but also protects the climate and natural resources in the long term.

In addition, the district also asks every single citizen to actively participate in the resource-saving use of energy in all areas of everyday life. The state of Hesse with its initiative "Hessen saves energy" and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection with its initiative "80 million together for energy saving" help to achieve this. Further information is also available online at www.lea-hessen.de or www.energiewechsel.de.