The increasing contribution of energy costs to rent costs is making it even more important to reduce costs and save on energy when running public buildings, office blocks and apartment buildings. In order to achieve long-term savings, one must take internal and external factors into account and also actively involve residents and building users. 

Achieving the best possible energy management results means developing a set of measures that are tailored for the building and the users in question. An easy-to-use system is necessary for the recording and controlling of consumption in residential and office buildings; the data acquisition system should record all consumption data and other relevant parameters, and should also process this data centrally and evaluate it. With the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the energy management system is already being tested in practice by partners from the fields of business and science and from the public sector. The use of existing technology solutions and standardised methods means that it also makes economic sense to use the system in smaller building units. A data acquisition system that is user-friendly and easy to adapt will open up new applications for energy management technology and make it easier to develop new energy concepts.

Custom-developed software provides users with consumption data on their PCs and also displays tips and advice regarding potential savings and information about malfunctions and faults. The system – the so-called ‘energy traffic light’ – also uses a colour scheme to indicate the current consumption situation. As well as covering measurement and control functions, the new building management system also takes into account room and building data, external influences, benchmarking and model calculations. These factors are then combined into one single comprehensive package which can also be used to train users, caretakers and administrators. As part of this project, suitable and inexpensive hardware and software components have been used to develop a system that can also be used for smaller buildings, apartments and businesses, meaning that energy controlling can be implemented in almost every building. Installation costs typically amount to less than 10% of the annual energy bill. Working on the assumption that energy controlling yields annual energy savings of 5%, the system will have paid for itself after two years.

Energy management system

The basis of the energy management system is an energy concept that is developed specifically for each building. A small number of data points, an energy performance certificate based on demand and a visualisation system (energy traffic light) are necessary. The building management system records consumption data for heat, energy and water as well as building data and climate data. Users can compare actual consumption with the target values that have been determined (target consumption). Thanks to automated analysis and evaluation of data, malfunctions or anomalies in consumption data are quickly detected and the user is then informed of these. Problems and errors can be rectified and optimised building operation policies can then be developed for future use.