Improving the database of electricity efficiency in tertiary buildings by monitoring and surveying

Panel: Panel 4. Residential and commercial sectors: delivering lower energy use in buildings

Authors:
Edelgard Gruber, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (Fraunhofer ISI), Germany
Barbara Schlomann, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (Fraunhofer ISI), Germany

Abstract

Detailed and reliable information about electricity consumption is needed as a basis to identify efficiency improvement options - in individual buildings as well as in the sector as a whole - in order to develop suitable policies. To obtain this objective, a combination of two methodological approaches is useful: case studies for detailed analysis, and surveys to establish a broad statistical basis.

Two recent studies in the tertiary sector demonstrate this idea: the multi-country monitoring project EL-TERTIARY - funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme - with 123 energy audits, and a regular survey in Germany of more than 2,000 companies in the tertiary sector, funded by the German Government.

EL-TERTIARY developed a web-based tool for data collection, documentation and evaluation of individual buildings concentrating on electricity. It provides benchmarks for various types of rooms and end-uses. Substantial energy-saving potentials, which are easy to implement, were identified for all types of buildings and end-uses. The database is open to interested building managers. The survey in Germany focuses on energy consumption and the features of energy-related equipment. As the sample is representative, the results can be extrapolated to the whole country on the basis of employees.

Against the background of the EU Directive on "Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services" (ESD) (2006/32/EC), the availability of reliable data on energy consumption is becoming more and more important. The data resulting from these studies form an essential basis for the definition of policy recommendations and the calculation of energy savings under the ESD.

This paper concentrates on electricity because of its increasing relevance in the tertiary sector, although the German study covers all types of energy. It shows that a combination of audits and surveys can create a useful database for multiple purposes.