Energy strategies for our university buildings Karina Cotte Olivia Kieser Rimantė Ražauskaitė

Energy strategies for our university

buildingsKarina CotteOlivia Kieser

Rimantė Ražauskaitė

INTRODUCTION

… About this project

Motivation

As students of Karl-Franzens University our motivation to approach this theme was since the beginning that as a main Austrian University we should be a model of sustainability practices.

By finding out some way to contribute with this, we expect it to have an impact on the way people think and therefore act in other areas of the day by day life in the surrounding context of the academy.

How this project was born

• The trigger point:– the complaints of some users of the

classrooms at the “RESOWI” building because of the temperature being so high

– while other users refer the contrary, like for instance at the cellar where it can become too cold in some periods of the year

...These complaints come along with the impression that the University is wasting energy

The main questions (1)

• The first question that raised was if the University is actually wasting energy or not

This was mainly a impression that people have, so for that reason:

– some indicators where needed– and also a reference to compare them, in

order to find out if the University is actually doing well or not in terms of energy consumption

The main questions (2)

• Then the second question was if the present situation (whether good or bad) can still be improved and how

• The two focuses that we chose were:1. The practices of the final users (in this case

all the people that are part of the university’s community somehow)

2. The structural characteristics of the buildings;

How it was made (1)

• As primary references: several interviews– Professor Stefan P. Schleicher

• who offers the lecture of Energy and Sustainable Development at Graz University, where this project was developed

– Representatives of several organizations related to sustainability and ecology

– The “Abteilung für Wirtschaft, Gebäude und Technik” (Unit for Economy, Buildings and Techniques) at Graz University

How it was made (2)

• Secondary references:– The Diplom Thesis that was written by

Dunkel, Gerald H. in 2002– Several internet sources to support the

concepts and the general ideas

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LAST PERIOD

The data obtained is for the Karl Franzens Universität Graz, and was taken from Dunkel, Gerald´s Diplom Thesis

Former ChangesThe Magna Charta of European Universities, Bologna, September 1988

University Presidents for a Sustainable Future, the Talloires Declaration, October 1990

Urgent Appeal from the CRE, the association of European universities, presented to the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Geneva, August 1991

Creating a Common Future: An Action Plan for Universities, Halifax, December 1991

COPERNICUS- The University Charta for sustainable developement

• Institutional commitment • Environmental ethics • Education of university employees • Programmes in environmental education • Interdisciplinarity • Dissemination of knowledge • Networking • Partnerships • Continuing education programmes • Technology transfer

The project „Energieeffiziente Universitäten“

• Started in 1996• The aim was to reduce the energy waste by

efficient use• 18 Austrian Universities spent in 1997 0,42 Mio.

MWh Energie 1 • Possible savings: 5,8 to 7,3. millions Euro 2

http://clear.eawag.ch/optionen/co2reduktion/subfolder/energieeffizienz/Oekomanagement.pdf

Dunkel, Gerald H. “Energiedienstleistungen für die Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz”, Graz (2002).

• Financial budget in 2000: 146,8Mio €, divided as follows:

• 122Mio for personnel cost;

• 21,5Mio costs of materials;

• 3,3Mio for investments and infrastructure• That shows us a relation of 83% personal

costs, 15% materials and 2% investments3

Dunkel, Gerald H. “Energiedienstleistungen für die Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz”, Graz (2002

Cleaning (Reimaging) 1.781.508,83

Electricity and Gas (Strom&Gas)

1.466.359,57

District heating (Fernwärme)

1.085.003,87

Rent (Miet-Pachtzins) 900.481,18

Mantainance (Instandhaltung von Gebäudenn)

607.224,17

Water (Wasser) 159.449,68

In Euro

Regarding the Energy report of 2000 the possible saving of energy costs are:

• 10 % with a better knowledge about the energy need

• 10 % by an effiecient use of the district heating

• 35 % by using modern equipment.

(Dunkel p.120)

Duties and responsibilities

• A really big problem is the splintering of duties and responsibilities

• since 2001 all the university buildings are owned by the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft GmbH

• “Nachhaltigkeitsbeauftragter” (responsible of the sustainability) – sustainability report

• The four vice rectors – administration

• „Abteilung für Wirtschaft, Gebäude und Technik„ (Unit for Economy, Buildings ant Techniques)

- Climate Techniques

THE PRESENT SITUATION

The data obtained is for the Karl Franzens Universität Graz, and was facilitated by the

“Abteilung für Wirtschaft, Gebäude und Technik”

(the Unit for Economy, Buildings and Techniques at the same university)

Price for electricity and heating

Electricity (in red): encreasing every 3 yearsLong distance heating (in green): price increase

Increase of the built spaces

100%

112%

118%

122%

lt. BIDOK bzw. Wissensbilanz(knowledge balance sheet)

Electricity Costs

157%

137%

109%

100%

Since 2008 the ZMB Buildings are included, for that reason the increase is high

Heating costs

111%110%

104%

100%

Since 2008 the ZMB Buildings are included, for that reason the increase is high

Comparison of heating costs: projected increase versus real

Energy consumption / year

The following table represents the University’s energy consumption per year, in terms of kWh and m³ respectively:

•Data provided by: “Abteilung für Wirtschaft, Gebäude und Technik” (Unit for Economy, Buildings and Techniques at Graz University)

2006 2007 2008 2009

Electricity[kWh] 14.586.760 13.454.063 17.639.857 19.060.187

Gas [m³] 15.238 18.484 18.043 15.054

District heating [kWh]

21.007.079 18.287.744 18.654.115 17.175.961

Water [m³] 101.991 97.163 90.740 89.913

The users can contribute (1)

• ... Nowadays it could be possible a decrease from 5% to 10%, if the users contribute.

The users can contribute (2)

• The University is growing in space used and the time of use has also increased…

One example of the daily practices that can be changed

• According to the Diplom thesis it was decreased 20% of the energy consumption with daily practices...

The unit of buildings and techniques and the heating

• Everyday this office deals with organizing and controlling the heating and electricity for all buildings at the University, and all the decisions are made from their central office.

• In consequence the users can not change the heat in the university classrooms, nor offices, because it is fixed.

• A way to contribute is if the people, and specially the students could all to the office to inform when it’s too warm or too cold. That way not just the energy used can be decreased, but also the user’s in conditions can be improved.

Contact details

• Person in charge: DI (FH) Nicole StriniAssistentin der Abteilungsleitung Gebäude und Technik

• E-mail address: agt.zv@uni-graz.at

• Telephones: +43 (0)316/380 2149 and +43 (0)316/380 1181

• Address:Karl Franzens Universität GrazAttemsgasse 88010 Graz

Buildings

•Structural characteristics for passive houses (the first reference to compare)• In general for University

A good example of a passive house

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-greenest-homes-the-new-zealand-passive-solar-home.html

Passive house

A dwelling which achieves the Passive Houses standard typically includes:

• very good levels of insulation with minimal thermal bridges;

• well thought out utilisation of solar and internal gains;

• excellent level of air tightness;• good indoor air quality, provided by a whole

house mechanical ventilation system with highly efficient heat recovery.

Passive House Darmstadt Kranichstein

• the first Passive House, built in 1990.

• Architects: Prof. Bott /Ridder /Westermeyer.

• This building has got an annual heat requirement of approximately 10 kWh/(m²a).

http://www.passivhaustagung.de/Passive_House_E/passivehouse.html

Passive house in Austria

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgDRKSQp2RI

http://bldgsim.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/passive-house_scheme.jpg

Passive House• In Europe already more than 6000

passive house units have been successfully built and completed.

• Positive feedback from inhabitants has confirmed what had been projected:

1. energy costs can be reduced drastically;2. comfort of living increases significantly

by using an energy efficient construction.

For Europe a dwelling is deemed to satisfy the Passive House

criteria if:

• the total energy demand for space heating and cooling is less than 15 kWh/m2/yr treated floor area;

• the total primary energy use for all appliances, domestic hot water and space heating and cooling is less than 120 kWh/m2/yr.

Isolation in the University buildings

• On one hand the old buildings have a bad isolation because of the materials of the walls and the windows…

• On the other, the excess of glass surface in the new ones (such as RESOWI, which was the main example used) does not contribute to save energy and it also implies high costs due to mantainance.

A brieve view of the inner space of one of the University‘s buildings

Some of the rooms in the University campus need artificial light even in a sunny day.

On the other hand the excess of windows is also a problem in terms of isolation. How to solve this conflict? It is a question that remains for future projects…

Mirror technology

… However a suggestion was made by professor Schleicher during one of his lectures; so we asked him to mention it during the interview.

The idea is about a technology with mirrors that is used to introduce the outside light into closed rooms.

Solar pannels and Photovoltaic modules

OGANIZATIONS AROUND THE UNIVERSITY

New StudiesUsw 2003, Sustainable city developement 2007,

Sustainable developement 2008,

Sustainability4U The four Universities of Graz wanted to realize a better

cooperation Usw, Sustanable developemnt

This committee consists of at least two persons of one university, who are involved in the process of sustainable development each university.

• "Oikos" (Students for sustainable economics and management)

• Wegener Zentrum

• Students Organization

• EuroEnviro

RESULTS VS HYPOTHESIS

Results Vs. Hypothesis (1)

• The main assumption that changed is that the University is relatively doing very well in energy consumption. – The term relatively is included on purpose,

because the affirmation is in comparison to the estimations made for the time period from 2006 to 2009.

Results Vs. Hypothesis

• On the other hand, the structures of our University buildings are not designed as in the case of passive houses, even though the technology exists. The changes that are needed require huge efforts, investments and agreements.

• The user’s daily practices do affect, as it was predicted.

To improve

• It is required a huge and inclusive effort from different participants in the university community:– the students, the professors and the employees of all

levels up the top management.

• The question is: how to involve the individuals in a common project? – In this crusade the actions of organizations within the

University is basic, but also the support of other organizations, it would be very useful.

References

• http://www.passivhaustagung.de/elfte/english/01_start_home.html

• http://www.calacademy.org/• http://clear.eawag.ch/optionen/

co2reduktion/subfolder/energieeffizienz/Oekomanagement.pdf

• Dunkel, Gerald H. “Energiedienstleistungen für die Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz”, Graz (2002)

Thank you for Your attention !!!