Jablonec has a district heating system that operates using steam as a medium. They have prepared information on the energy consumption of municipal buildings which drew attention to the high energy consumption of a number of buildings connected to the heating system. With the support of the Deputy Mayor a programme of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) was considered to resolve this problem.

The municipality had already undertaken surveillance of the energy bills of their buildings and could therefore evaluate buildings with a higher than average energy consumption. They proposed a series of improvements to a group of municipal buildings – three elementary schools, eight infant schools, a former infant school now divided into a multi-use unit: private school, children’s day centre and health centre, and finally a swimming pool. These were all connected to the municipal district heating system.

The types of improvement depended on the buildings involved – but in no case involve thermal insulation.

The City has entered into a ten year shared savings contract with MVV EPS, the Czech daughter company of municipal utility of Mannheim, Germany. By including a larger number of buildings it was possible to include measures that would not otherwise have sufficient energy-saving potential to justify EPC. A minimum reduction of operating costs of 15% was guaranteed.

The regulation system has the greatest effect in autumn and spring when external temperatures vary most. There is need for continuous monitoring to get the maximum effect and to coordinate the settings of the internal regulation units and the settings in the exchange stations. It may be expected therefore that the savings will increase with time.

However it is apparent that EPC is not suitable for investments with a long payback – and this rules out many energy efficiency investments (e.g. much exterior insulation) unless carried out primarily for comfort or other reasons.

The town is now investigating a further phase with schools and other buildings and the possibility of introducing insulation investments is also being considered. The district heating system is being converted from one based on steam to one based on hot water and this will provide the opportunity to combine this investment with other improvements.

Mesto Jablonec nad Nisou
Mr Ludik Kozdera (Energy manager), tel. +420 428 357 403

01/07/1998

case

Urban Policy > Urban environment > Environmental sustainability

Energy efficiency