At the beginning of 2021, SLU and the property owner Akademiska Hus set a common goal: to work together to make an energy saving of 15% of energy used on all SLU's campuses by 2027. After one year, the goal is already within reach.
The starting point for energy savings is set at the 2019 level and includes electricity, heating and cooling. The measurement is made in kWh per rented square meter. The savings must be made without adversely affecting businesses and tenants.
Since the collaboration began, energy consumption has decreased by 6.6%.
In order to save such large amounts of energy, quite a few changes need to be made to the properties. To date, for example, inefficient fans and luminaires have been replaced with more energy-efficient variants in SLU's premises. Windows have also been replaced, cooling machines have been optimized and heating in the properties has been utilized and reused in a better way.
By working together, Akademiska Hus and SLU have been able to take a holistic approach to energy work, in a way that would not otherwise have been possible. A success factor in the work has been the joint energy rounds that have been done together with the activities that are located in the houses.
- It is important to point out that the reduction is not a pandemic effect due to the fact that there were few people on campus in 2020 and 2021, says John Johnsson, energy engineer at Akademiska Hus.
The savings are made in close collaboration between SLU and the property owner
The success factor in this project has been that SLU and Akademiska Hus have a good and close collaboration, where we have together identified what we can do to improve the properties' energy consumption. The energy work takes place in local working groups in Alnarp, Uppsala and Umeå together with a joint steering group. In addition to this, we review and negotiate our energy agreements to create incentives and profitability to be able to make long-term and sustainable investments together.
The idea is not only that together we will reduce used energy, but also that the changes will create added value for the businesses through, for example, a better indoor environment through a more pleasant temperature or better lighting.
- This work has had a greater effect than we could have hoped for. It will of course be more and more difficult to find energy-saving measures, but we are glad that we have found this form of work, says SLU's environmental manager Johanna Sennmark.