PROCEDURE IN GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT FOR CO² REDUCTION DUE TO ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS
(ΔΙΑΔΙΚΑΣΙΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗ ΟΔΗΓΙΩΝ μείωσης των εκπομπών CO2 που οφείλονται στην κατανάλωση ενέργειας σε δημόσια κτήρια)
paper presented and included in the proceedings of the conference: Protection and Restoration of the Environment V, Thasos, 3-6 July 00

A. Vourvoutsiotis and S. Zaimi

Environmental Consultants

ABSTRACT

This project was designed to support Local Agenda 21 processes and to encourage more European communes to participate. The general objective of the project is to derive guidelines for decision makers at the local administrative level to design successful strategies to reduce the CO₂ emissions, due to energy consumption in public buildings. The consumption of energy in public buildings, and the resulting CO₂ emissions are often very high, and there is frequently not sufficient knowledge at the local level about the nature of the problem and potential remedies. This appears to be the main reason the implementation of efficient strategies to control energy consumption, and thus reduce the CO₂ emissions from public buildings, is still rather slow.

1. INTRODUCTION

After it became sufficiently evident that climate is changing at the global scale, and that the cause of this phenomenon is probably the increasing emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), the United Nations held a conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 during which the problem and possible abatement or at least mitigation strategies were discussed. The Rio Summit produced the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) to which 169 nations were parties. The Convention’s principal commitments for the so-called Annex I parties (OECD and East European countries) were to adopt policies and measures to reduce GHG emissions with the aim of restoring their emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000.  Since it was recognised that the communes have an important role in energy production, distribution and consumption, a so-called "Local Agenda 21" was formulated. As more evidence accumulated that the emission of greenhouse gases due to anthropogenic activities is the main cause of global warming and that the anthropogenic GHG emissions are further increasing, follow-up conferences in Berlin (1995) and Tokyo (1997) made an effort to formulate binding regulations. However, adequate results to solve the problem are not obtained yet.

In Germany and some other European countries, the Local Agenda 21 found considerable support by the government and regional authorities. As a result a number of initiatives were formed to reduce anthropogenic GHG emissions. Although there are some encouraging results, the implementation of strategies and measures to reduce CO₂ and other GHG emissions at the local level is still lagging behind.

This project was, therefore, designed to support Local Agenda 21 processes and to encourage more European communes to participate. The general objective of the project is to derive guidelines for decision makers at the local administrative level for successful strategies to reduce the CO₂ emissions due to energy consumption in public buildings. The project focuses on the management aspects of the CO₂ emission reduction, i.e., on the development and description of a comprehensive or holistic approach, instead of discussing individual technical solutions.

The consumption of energy in public buildings for heating, air conditioning and illumination purposes and thus, the CO₂ emissions from these buildings are often very high, and there is frequently  no sufficient knowledge at the local level about the nature of the problem and potential remedies. This appears to be the main reason the implementation of efficient strategies to control energy consumption and thus reduce the CO₂ emissions from public buildings is still rather slow.

 2. The Role and Opportunities of the Communes in Energy Policy

The communes (local authorities and municipalities) have an important and active role for the implementation of the Local Agenda 21. The Agenda 21 from Rio de Janeiro includes a proposal (Chapter 28) made by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to support local authorities in the development of their own Local Agendas 21.

A map of Europe illustrating the powers and jurisdiction of communes in energy matters, would distinguish the communes in two groups of countries:

-         countries in which the communes have considerable influence: Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and (in part) Italy.

-         countries in which the communes have little or limited influence: the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Greece.

Taking into account the fact that 75% [7] of the energy is consumed in cities in Europe, communes have a considerable role to play:

-         close to energy consumers and also consumers being themselves, they are at a level ideally suited for local energy management activities;

-         close to the field, they are in an advantageous position with respect to the utilisation of local and renewable resources, including waste;

-         responsible for urban development and transport policies, they make decisions which have a considerable impact on the energy consumed by the citizens;

-         concerned with environmental protection, and in particular with the reduction of atmospheric pollution, they have an obligation to promote better energy efficiency;

-         attentive to economic and social problems, they are concerned with seeking new activities.

3. Barriers and problems in implementing a local energy policy

Economic barriers: Savings due to enhanced energy efficiency cannot be invested in advance. The annual budget of the communes available for the operation and energy consumption costs is not sufficient for long-term energy efficiency investment [12].

Currently, the energy prices, the prices both for electricity and fuels, are often rather low, due to rebates and other special arrangements of the utility companies with the communes, so that the payback period of the energy investments is too long [4].

The lack of relevant market instruments to internalise external environmental costs, such as the widely discussed energy tax, causes problems for financing Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems and district heating networks [4].

Lack of awareness: In many cases where a commune has still not developed an energy efficiency programme this is due to the lack of knowledge. The decision makers themselves are not aware of the potential for saving costs and for improving their image by adopting an energy efficient policy at the communal level. There is also lack of information concerning the steps and appropriate measures which need to be taken in order to introduce energy management into public buildings.

Public buildings, organisational-structural problems: The stock of public buildings is often distributed over a large area. Energy efficient solutions are unique for every building so that each building has to be examined as separate case. Due to the limited staff, there is a problem with the development of an efficient energy management in public buildings. The available staff is usually not obligated to obtain for authorisation, even if that would be cost efficient [13]. Due to the traditional organisation schemes, the communes are not able to react as would be necessary to train available staff and carry out new tasks such as setting up an energy management system without organisational changes in their infrastructure [13].

Regulatory barriers: These barriers include emissions and planning regulations, bureaucratic time-consuming or expensive procedures for obtaining operating licences [4].

Institutional barriers: These barriers include the attitude of utility companies toward the connection of CHP plants, delays and lack of transparency in obtaining permits, etc. There are very few countries where access to the electricity network is totally unrestricted [4]. Due to the liberation of the electricity market, this will probably change in Europe in the near future.

 4. Energy Saving / CO² Potential in building sector

The building sector in Europe is responsible for approximately 40% of the total energy consumption, approximately 60% of which is for space heating. This consumption results in CO² emissions into the atmosphere, a factor which contributes significantly to the greenhouse effect and climate change [6]. Cutting down the energy consumption in the building sector (residential and commercial) can reduce the CO² emission by 1 to 15% .

There is a growing recognition that some of the greatest and most cost effective opportunities involve improving end use efficiency by providing the same energy service with less energy input or the achievement of more energy services with the same energy input. There are two types of energy efficiency measures:

-         more efficient end use of energy in existing installations through improved operation and maintenance/or replacement of some components;

-         more efficient end use of energy in new installations.

5. Prerequisites for energy management in public buildings

Implementing an energy efficiency strategy requires human, technical and financial resources as well as legal and administrative framework, not currently existing in all of the communes. A strategy for energy saving in public buildings requires knowledge, technical and administrative infrastructure, clear objectives, and a long-term perspective (for about 10 years).

5.1 Energy and environmental planning

The communes, which are willing to introduce energy efficiency in their buildings/facilities, should set up general environmental targets and define a strategy. Energy planning is a part of the Local Agenda 21 process. Energy management in public buildings could be a good start for communes but always as a part of a long term energy planning over the territory and in extension of the Local Agenda 21.

5.2 Organisation of an energy office/agency

It is vital for any local or regional energy saving programme that the communes organise their own energy office/agency in order to gain valuable experience through all the stages of the action plan design. The gain is usually twofold: (1) the energy agency helps to design and organise the energy saving programme of the communes, and (2) it is a central place where the acquired know-how and data accumulate. The energy agency can help:

-         at the stage of collection of database by carrying out an energy planning study, even a brief one, in order to establish the basic data.

-         at the evaluation stage, defining objectives in energy terms inevitably means reaching the best compromise among a number of factors.

-         evaluate and organise the energy efficiency action plan in their buildings and in addition for the whole commune.

-         apply for subsidies in national and international programs.

5.3 Communication.

Communication by establishing local, national, international networks, for example:

-         municipal or regional departments should be primary partners because their involvement is essential in strategic areas as regional and urban planning, transport, buildings or street lighting;

-         the energy supply companies should be involved in various ways according to local conditions: they should be regarded as important partners both in energy planning and in information and financing;

-         local players who have a role in energy: building designers and managers, town planners, consultants, social housing organisations, shops, hotels and industrial undertakings; teachers, consumers and environmental conservation associations;

-         national energy management agencies responsible for implementing government policy will very often be a major support for agency initiatives;

-         raising awareness and communicating to the citizens.

5.4 Facilities and building management

Facilities Management maintains public buildings, grounds and utility distribution systems. It also provides skilled crafts for minor alteration and refurbishment projects, and immediate response capability for minor as well as major facilities emergencies. Facilities management provides schematic design, cost-estimating and scheduling projections.

Building management is the technical, commercial and infrastructure services of the building over operative phase [12].

5.5 Financing

The major problem in adoption of energy saving measures is the available commune’s budget. The communes usually do not have a sufficiently large budget to invest in energy saving measures and they consider the energy management as an expense, in most cases. Financial instruments include:

A. Third party finance. (Performance Contracting): The debated "contracting model" is in increasing demand, especially in communes in Germany. For the moment it is the main economic tool that communes are adopting to optimise the energy performance of their facilities. Contracting is a measurable or verifiable service regulated by a third party at fixed prices at a guaranteed performance. With this type of Leasing, financing is not the main aim but the agreement on service packets for the user [12]. The basic principle of the Contracting is the transfer of responsibility for planning, installation, depreciation, management, maintenance, guaranty and liability as well as for all accountancy tasks to the contractor.

B. Aid under national programs, EU programs: The participation of the local energy office/agency is vital in applying for financial support with national and international programs. EU programs which promote energy efficiency are the: SAVE, TACIS, PHARE, Altener, Joule-Thermie.

C. Sponsorship support by companies: Common actions, mainly for demonstration (e.g.  photovoltaic installations in a public building) could be financially supported/sponsored by big companies active in the region or by energy supply and production companies.

6. Guidelines for Setting up an Energy Management in Public Buildings

These guidelines are intended for communes which decide to reduce their impact on the local and global environment by launching an energy saving programme. Improving energy efficiency in public buildings is a good start for communes which intend to implement an energy efficiency plan. The target group is the decision makers at the local administrative level, i.e., elected representatives as well as administrative and technical managers.

6.1 Selection of relevant Data

Sufficiently accurate and detailed data are a prerequisite for successfully adapted measures. Every data collection should include: basic data regarding the building, climate data, proxy data, energy Bills, plans of the building(s), data from building inspection, users comfort. Responsible for data collection could be: maintenance assistants, engineers or technicians from the technical, environmental, or energy department of the commune.

6.2 Evaluation of Data

Data evaluation is vital for the decision making processes in energy management for public buildings. Important parameters for decision making are:

-         types of energy sources and use, average energy consumption and energy costs;

-         energy ratio for a given public building (the energy ratio for a given public building is obtained by dividing its average energy consumption (heating, warm water, and total energy consumption) by the heated gross floor area;

-         energy saving potential.

6.3 Proposed energy efficient techniques

The proposed techniques are the most common and applicable. They should be selected using the following criteria: energy efficiency, cost efficiency, availability.

-         metering and control of energy consumption;

-         interventions to the outer shell;

-         interventions in the thermal system;

-         integration of renewable energy systems - application to public buildings;

-         lighting optimisation.

6.4 Measures for assemblages of buildings and sections of communes

District Heating and Cooling (DH&C) means centralised production and distribution of thermal energy. The heat is produced in thermal plants, and is circulated through a pipe network to the users in the form of steam or hot water. The DH&C system can be thought as the sum of the production facilities and distribution / return network. The most common competitor to DH are individual heating systems. District Heating is produced by boilers, Combined Heat and Power (CHP)-plants, solar heat supply systems, biomass and biogas CHP-plants.

6.5 Influence user behaviour

User behaviour is important for the maintenance of the building, particularly as far as energy saving measures and other activities in the building are concerned. The role of the users is more important in non-automatic systems (thermal, lighting control systems) than in automatic systems, and their participation is vital for the success of any energy saving programme.

Measures to influence user behaviour include: information, encouraging, recommending. A closer examination to the users behaviour and to the relevant literature [11], showed that the users are not usually co-operative (therefore the automatic control systems are in favour) and the energy saving is an ecological-social dilemma. Which are the main solutions to social dilemmas and how communes can influence the user behaviour? The relevant literature suggests the following strategies:

-         to enlarge group cohesion;

-         to enlarge the visibility of behavioural choices;

-         to change the delay of behavioural consequences.

7. Case study: the Town of Schwabach

The town of Schwabach is situated in Germany in the vicinity of Nuremberg, Bavaria. It is a middle-sized town with 37 500 inhabitants and covers an area of 4 071 km². Metal industry and agriculture are the main economical activities. The town of Schwabach has to maintain 72 public buildings.

7.1 Plan towards City-Ecology 1993-2003

With broad participation of the population (according to Local Agenda 21), the council of the town of Schwabach decided in October 1996 to develop a regional action plan towards sustainable development with the title 'The Schwabach Plan towards City-Ecology 1993-2003'. The fields which were covered by the program were traffic, economy, social affairs (urban and rural planning, traffic planning, noise, water management and waste management), and energy. The city council has made a commitment for an annual municipal meeting with the theme 'Ecological City', open to all citizens in order to gain feedback and upgrade the programme. The programme in energy includes the following topics:

-         allocation of energy management responsibility, 1993/1994;

-         evaluation of energy concepts with extrapolation;

-         rational use of energy and use of renewable energy sources, 1994.

The Targets were:

-         reduction of energy consumption in municipal facilities by about 3 % annually;

-         public relations which aimed at reducing private energy consumption by about 1 % annually;

-         CO² reduction by use of CHP and by favouring renewable energy sources;

-         monitoring energy consumption and preparation of annual energy reports.

7.2 Measures taken:

-         Installation of three CHP units which supply heat and power for the hospital and the nearby nurses residence,  for communal apartment buildings, and  for a whole section of town (this CHP is using biogas which originates from a landfill and an old water treatment plant);

-         installation of three photovoltaic power systems (1,1 kW) in schools and one (1 kW) in a municipal administration building for demonstration.

8. Conclusions

The scope of this paper is to present the procedure in guideline development for local decision makers for strategies to reduce CO² emissions in public buildings and for establishing a building energy management in a commune.

For the communes, in order to implement successful CO² reduction strategies in public buildings, important is:

-         to identify their role and the opportunities in energy policy;

-         to increase the environmental awareness to the local players;

-         to set up general environmental targets and define a strategy;

-         to organise a n energy office/agency;

-         to establish facility and building management;

-         to be informed for financial instruments and to establish a financial planning.

References

1.   Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (BMU) (Sept. 1994), Umweltpolitik. Klimaschutz in Deutschland, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, Bonn

2.   Danish Energy and Environment Ministry (12 June 1996), Act to promote Energy and water savings in buildings, Danish Energy and Environment Ministry

3.   Ecos Ouverture (October, 1997), Energy Efficiency in Public and Municipal Buildings, Landes Energie Verein Steiermark (A), Regional Energy Office of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (GR), Region of Thessaly (GR), pages 7-34, DG for Regional Policy and External Affairs.

4.   European Commission COM(97) 514(15.10.97), final Community strategy to promote combined heat and power (CHP) and to dismantle barriers to its development, pages 7-8, 16-17, Brussels

5.   European Commission COM(97) 142 (30.04.97), The Commission proposal for the 5th Framework Programme,  Brussels

6.   European Commission, EUR 17725 EN (Dec. 1997), Climate change, Research and Policy: Updates, No. 10/2, Institute for Prospective technological studies, Sevile, pages51-52, Sevile

7.   Energie-Cites and Ademe Franche-Comte (December 1996), The powers and responsibilities of European Municipalities in the Energy Field, with the support of the European Commission, pages 1-2

8.   International Energy Agency (1997), CO2 emissions from fuel combustion 1972-1995, pages 15-24, Paris

9.   Federal Republic of Germany (April 1997), Climate Protection in Germany Second Report of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany Pursuant to the United Nations Framework Convention on the Climate Change, The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, pages 16-26, 40-46, 170, Bonn

10. Ministry of Environment and Energy (June 1996), Energy 21, Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy

11. Samuelson, C.D., 1990, Energy conservation: a social dilemma approach, Social behaviour 22, pp 767 - 786

12. Proceedings, Seminar organised by the town of Schwabach, Germany (24 March 1998), Energiesparpartnerschaft “Performance Contracting”

- Timmermanns, Schmitt, Vom Planspiel Modell-Städt-Ökologie zur lokalen Agenda 21

- Schneider, Wolfgang, Prof. Dr.-Ing., Trends und Entwicklungen im Gebäudemanagement für Kommunen

- Schubert, Hans G., Rechtsanwalt, Vergabe- und vertragsrechtliche Fragen im Rahmen des sog. Perfomance Contracting

- Baedeker, Harald Dipl.-Ing., Energiemanagement durch Performance Contracting

- Lang, Willibad, Praktische Erfahrungen aus der Sicht eines Contractors

- Weinen, Stephan, Energiesparpartnerschaft der Stadt Schwabach - Maßnahmen und Umsetzung

- Volker, Arnold, Dipl.-Ing. Baureferent, Situation der Gebäuderhaltung, Sanierungspotential und Problemstellungen

14. Interview, with Mr. Baedeker, Dipl-Ing. Umweltamt Schwabach, Germany; subject: energy management and contracting models in Schwabach.