The energy situation in Europe was more challenging during the autumn and winter than it has been for a very long time. This led the government to decide in September that government agencies must report and take measures to reduce their electricity use, a decision that also applies to the majority of Akademiska Hus' customers - Sweden's universities and colleges. For many years, Akademiska Hus has been working actively to make its buildings as energy efficient as possible, and the company is well on its way to achieving its goal of reducing the amount of energy supplied by 50 percent by 2025 compared to 2000. where electricity is an important factor. When a potential energy crisis was imminent, the company gathered strength and intensified that work further.
"We are proud to have been able to contribute with both short-term and long-term solutions in a difficult energy situation. Thanks to close cooperation with our customers, we have managed to reduce our electricity consumption by 10 million kWh nationally over the past six months. It takes us one step closer to a climate-neutral business and shows that together we can make a big difference," says Andreas Kupenberg, Director of Technology and Service at Akademiska Hus.
Concrete actions that have produced results
In order to achieve such a large electricity saving in a short time, Akademiska Hus has mapped out which electricity grids can be turned off or controlled more efficiently, without disrupting customers' operations. The short-term measures have included turning off equipment and lighting, changing operating hours for ventilation and lowering the indoor temperature. At the same time, the company has implemented and sometimes brought forward more long-term measures. The higher education institutions where electricity use has been able to decrease the most are Lund University and the University of Gothenburg, where the reduction has taken place by 1.9 and 1.6 million kWh respectively during the period.
In addition, great focus has been placed on finding energy thieves in the premises together with their customers and coming up with simple tips on how the students and researchers who spend time in the environments can contribute to saving energy. Among the tips were to turn off and turn off rooms that are not in use, close fume cupboards in the labs, not to open windows and to sit with others.
"We have met a fantastic commitment from those working at the higher education institutions and I hope that the behavioural changes we have now seen will be permanent. We look forward to continuing our long-term sustainability work in close collaboration with our customers to create even more climate-smart and energy-efficient campuses around the country," says Andreas Kupenberg.