Introduction

The City of Helsinki has a long tradition on energy management in municipal operations, both in terms of targets for specific heat and electricity consumption of the municipality and in terms of carrying out energy audits, energy monitoring, other technical measures and communication actions for energy conservation and savings.

Objectives and target audience

In order to fulfil the commitments of the energy efficiency agreement between the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the municipality, the City of Helsinki aimed to launch and implement an action plan focused on energy savings in existing public service buildings.
The main items of the programme were:

• Energy monitoring;
• Energy audits;
• Energy investments;
• Information campaigns for  employees, citizens and especially for school children.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

The work has been financed by the City of Helsinki. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has subsidised energy audits (40-50 %) and energy savings investments (10-40%).

The Energy Savings Board of the City of Helsinki monitors and coordinates the energy savings work in the City’s real estate and other energy consuming activities. The energy efficiency work has been carried out by Building Services Office in Construction Management Division.

As other important actors has been:-

• Other departments of the City of Helsinki;
• The Ministry of Employment and the Economy TEM;
• Motiva;
• Several small and medium size consulting companies;
• Several small and medium size contractors.

Development work has been carried out with several research institutions and organizations in Finland and within EU.

Process

As a result of the action plan on energy savings, the following activities have been developed:

Energy monitoring:
Since 1987, the City of Helsinki uses software called KULU for monthly energy consumption monitoring in public buildings. The data collected from the meters can be easily introduced in the system via internet and instantly produces a feedback report. The Construction Management Division is in charge of coordinating the installation of energy meters and train maintenance personnel to use the system and inform house management about the consumption.
Energy Audits:
The Construction Management Division coordinates the energy auditing in the City of Helsinki by using the model developed by Motiva. Motiva is national energy agency owned by the State. The working procedure includes data collecting, measurements and tests in buildings. The audit report recommends energy-saving measures, savings to be achieved and costs estimations. Display energy label is made in connection of energy audit from 2006.
Energy investments:
As a result of the audits, the City of Helsinki has developed an energy investment programme for energy efficiency, indoor air climate and general condition improvements in municipal buildings.
Information campaigns:
The City of Helsinki offers training for energy efficient use of buildings, information forum and also organises the energy saving week and public exhibitions. It also runs the Energy Advisory Centre.

Results

The energy savings work has resulted in 20 % savings in specific consumption of heating energy compared to that in 1979. On the other hand the specific consumption of electricity has increased over 25 % compared to 1979. This is mainly due to the growing use of electrical devices such as computers, copying machines etc.  During the last 10 years the specific consumption of heating energy in public service buildings has decreased over 4 %. At the same time the operating time of buildings has increased considerably, which inevitably increases the energy consumption. The specific consumption of electricity has increased in public service buildings during the same period 20 %. This is mainly due to the reasons mentioned above and the increased use of buildings. During the last 4 years the specific consumption of electricity has increased only 3,5 % and in 2007 the specific consumption of electricity decreased 2 % compared to 2006. It is estimated that the energy consumption would be at much higher level without the energy savings work described above.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

Reliable energy monitoring system is the basic of all energy savings work.
The voluntary Energy Efficiency Agreement with the Government (Ministry of Employment and the Economy) has proved to be an efficient tool in energy management work. The new agreement was signed with The Ministry of Employment and the Economy in December 2007 for the years 2008-2016. The Energy Services Directive is implemented by means of the Agreement. The main target is 9 % energy saving till 2016. The energy audits will play a key role in the agreement as well as the purchasing of the energy consuming equipments. The City will show exemplary role.
It has also become obvious that in large cities like Helsinki, where there are 34 relatively independent departments, a centralised energy savings unit with sufficient and permanent resources is needed for successful energy savings work. In addition, every department should have highly motivated person/persons to implement energy savings work and disseminate information