FINANCIAL TOOLS FORIMPLEMENTING MOREENERGY EFFICIENCYMEASURES INBUILDINGS

EFFECTIVE TOOLS ANDINSTRUMENTS FOR ENERGY

EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS

N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0

INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR BUILDINGMANAGERS

ABOUTEFFECT4BUILDINGS

EFFECT4 buildings is part of the implementation of the EUStrategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), being a flagshipproject under policy area Energy and the horizontal actionSustainable development. Flagship projects demonstrate theprogress of the EUSBSR especially well and serve as pilotexamples for desired change.

The goal of EFFECT4buildings is to increasethe number of energy efficiency measuresimplemented in existing public buildings inthe Baltic Sea Region.

The target group is public building managers who often knowwhat actions are technically possible and sometimes havecalculations that show that these investments are profitable,but despite that fails to implement the measures due tofinancial barriers.

The project has produced a toolbox with financial methodsthat can improve profitability, facilitate funding and reducethe risk of energy investment in public real estate. Examplesof tools are profitability calculations, action packages,contribution optimization, EPC, multifunctional agreements,green leases and economic models for both production andenergy use.

EFFECT4buildings connects public property owners withsuppliers of solutions to achieve more efficient use of energyin the Baltic Sea Region. Financial tools and methods havebeen developed through various real cases among partnersparticipating in the project.

Project FinancingEFFECT4buildings is implemented with the support from theEU funding Programme Interreg Baltic Sea Region 2014 -2020(European Regional Development Fund) and Norwegiannational funding.

Project budget2 637 013 EUR.

Project DurationOctober 2017 – December 2020

County Board of Dalarna

Environmental office of Lappeenranta region

Inland County Council

Vidzeme Planning Region

Gate 21

Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol

State Real Estate Ltd

Byggdialog Dalarna

Association of Communes and Cities of Malpolska Region

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ABOUT EFFECT4BUILDINGS .................................................2

WHY WE SHOULD CARE ABOUT BUILDINGS?................3

TOOLBOX INTRODUCTION....................................................4

FINANCIAL CALCULATIONS............................................5

BUNDLING.............................................................................8

ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING (EPC)......11

MULTI SERVICE CONTRACTING (MSC).....................17

GREEN LEASE CONTRACT.............................................28

PROSUMERISM..................................................................31

FUNDING..............................................................................37

CONVINCING DECISION MAKERS..............................39

TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS....................................43

EFFECT4BUILDINGS NEWS..................................................51

Project partnership

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHY WE SHOULD CARE ABOUTBUILDINGS?The EU's climate goal is to be fossil-free by 2050. Reaching this goalrequires a big reduction in energyuse. To use less energy has becomemore and more important challengeover the last decades, and at the sametime a strategic priority for the EUMember States.

Therefore, investment in energy-efficient technologies and renewablesources of energy is treated as theway to reach the EU objectives interms of energy and climateprotection at the same time assupporting economic growth throughinvestments.

40 % of the energy use in the EU isrelated to buildings. Buildings can beboth private and publicly owned, foreither private or public use and formany different purposes, e g:housing, offices, schools, sports,shops, religious activity, industry etc.Less than 3 % of the building stock inthe EU qualifies for the A-label,meaning 97% of the buildings arewasting money and need to beupgraded. Renovating buildings canbe resource-intensive but with agood knowledge of the real estate it iseasier to make the right decisions onwhat energy efficiency measures toapply.

The EU Directive on the energyperformance of buildings creates acommon framework of measuresacross Member States and containsprovisions at improving the energyefficiency of both new and existingbuildings. The existing buildingswhich undergo renovation work mustbe adapted at least to a minimumdegree to the requirements in respectof energy performance. Moreover, allnewly erected buildings must havealmost zero energy consumption by31 December 2020.

More and more new requirementsand regulations are being developedand implemented at national andregional levels in respect of energyperformance of buildings or buildingstructures, periodic inspections ofheating and air-conditioning systems,as well as independent controlsystems for energyperformance certificates andinspection reports.

Although many guidelines anddocuments on the energy efficiency inbuildings already exist - for example,Sustainable Energy Action Plans andenergy audits of the buildings - theauthorities and officials often lacksupport on their decision making. Theyneed decision supporting tools thatwould help them start moving towardsimplementation of the energy efficiencymeasures.

Lack of knowledge and the absence oftrack records of accomplishment andexperience are significant elements inthe field of energy investments whichincrease the perceived risks andcontribute to high transaction costs.Consequently, the implementation ofenergy efficiency measures is hinderedand transformation towards energyefficient buildings is slow and oftenunnecessarily expensive.

Energy efficiency projects have aspecific economic profile. Unlikerenewable energy projects whichgenerate a positive cash flow ifproducing its own energy, energyefficiency projects ensure their returnon investment through energy savings(non-expenses) and not through anincrease in revenues.

This largely explains the difficulty forfinanciers to consider this type ofprojects: culturally, they are trained tosupport the growth of the projectdeveloper, more rarely to take intoconsideration cost optimisation projectswhere the technical components play animportant role in the feasibility andprofitability of the operation. Accordingto the Intelligent Energy Europe (EC)report this usually results in aninadequacy between the cost of externalfinancing (interest rates) and theproject’s profitability.

The project EFFECT4buildings aims ataddressing both of the aforementionedproblems by providing the target groupwith a decision support toolbox thatincludes means to calculate and plan therenovation projects most feasible andprofitable way, as well as being able toconvince financial decision makers sothat the scope and return of investmentswould be clearly and convincinglypresented.

The project main target group isemployees at local, regional, nationallevel in charge of the public buildingportfolio, as well as other buildingowners.

Their tasks include taking care of rentalagreements, space management,everyday maintenance, upgrading,retrofitting, deep renovation of thebuildings, as well as their finance.

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Funding

Bundling

Convincing decions makers

Green Lease ContractProsumerism

Energy Performance Contract

Financial CalculationsMulti Service Contract

A TOOLBOX FOR IMPROVED ENERGYEFFIENCENCY IN PUBLIC & PRIVATEBUILDINGSInvestments in energy efficiency are notcurrently happening at the rate needed,hindered by barriers such as highupfront costs, lack of access to finance,high perceived risk, lack of trust in newtechnologies, competing investmentpriorities, lack of knowledge, awarenessand personal resources, and splitincentives. Many of these barriers can beovercome, at least significant part, withwell-designed financial tools andinstruments.

Together with complementary measureslike policies, regulations, awareness-raising activities, and behavior changinginitiatives and business models forenergy efficiency solutions a sustainablelong-term impact will be reached.

The Interreg Baltic Sea Region Program2014-2020 project EFFECT4buildings isproviding building owners and managerswith a set of financial tools andinstruments for risk management tosupport the implementation of moreenergy efficiency measures, developed,and improved in real cases.

Another particularly useful tool is theTotal Concept method. When bundlingseveral measures into a largerinvestment package, the profitability ofthe whole package can be calculated.Less profitable measures will then becovered by the more profitability ones,making it possible to implement moreenergy efficiency measures in total.

The toolbox also contain calculationtools for Prosumerism, helping buildingmanagers to find out the optimal size ofa solar energy power plant as, both fromfinancial and energy productionperspective.

Tools for partnering

energy savings cover the costs of theinvestments. The project introduces animproved EPC model with contract-based partnership for the analysesphase.

The Multi Service Contracting (MSC)model, based on some of the same ideasas EPC, includes several benefits exceptfor energy savings, making investmentsmore effective, lowering the risk of sub-optimization, and giving more value formoney spent.

Also, with models for implementingGreen Lease Contracts, users ofbuildings and tenants can be involved inincreased sustainability.

Technology solutionsLast, but not least, it is of greatimportance to lower the risk of investingin wrong technology. To make surebuilding managers invest in the bestavailable solutions, more knowledge ondifferent possibilities is needed as well asconfirmation from colleagues that thesolutions performs well.

Investments decisions will of course befacilitated by funding, green loans orbonds. Financial and technical risks canalso be lowered by contractingpartnership with an external servicecompany. In the Energy PerformanceContracting (EPC) model results areguaranteed by the Energy ServiceCompany (ESCO), making sure that

Most common way for calculations ofenergy measures is pay-back-method,but it does not take aspects of technicallifetime and profitability demand inconsideration. Conclusions fromrecalculations of measures has shownthat using Net present value method orInternal rate of return, investments withlonger lifetime will benefit and manymore measures will be profitable.

Toolbox for financialcalculations92% of all interviewed buildingmanagers stated that financialcalculation methods are extremelyimportant when justifying energyinvestments, but only half of themfound it easy to do or even tounderstand them.

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For one person, reducing emissions isthe most important issue.For another person, energy self-sufficiency is the most important.For someone else costs matter themost.

For one group, the best way ispresented results as numbers.For another group, the best way ispresented results as visual and clearcharts.

The financial profitability or even moreunprofitability of energy efficiencymeasures has been recently an interestingtopic under general discussion. The mainreason behind theconversation is the reality, that CO2-emissions must be reduced in order tomaintain the carrying capacity of worldalso in the future. However, comparingenergy efficiency measures is challenging,as profitability must be described frommany different perspectives:

The way of presenting the results must bealso chosen according to the target group:

It is also important to observe, thatdifferent development options in thefuture, especially changes of energy andwater prices, are interesting for allstakeholders.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY TODAY AND IN THEFUTURE – FINANCIAL CHALLENGES!

The effect of change of energy prices. The impact of the technical lifetime tothe profitability.The difference in the value of moneynow and in the future.

When comparing the financial details ofenergy efficiency measures, the paybackperiod is not the best way, although it isthe easiest to understand. Often 10 years is considered to be too longa payback period, although the measuremay still be profitable in financial point ofview.

The payback period does not take intoaccount:

FINANCIAL CALCULATIONS

How should energyefficiency measures becompared?

However, these are veryimportant factors, whenfinancial profitability of

measures shall be compared.

Author: Tanja Nyholm, Environmental office of Lappeenranta region, Finland

In addition, non-energy benefits, whichare not directly related to the financialaspects, are relevant to observe: such asthe improvement of the indoor climateand long-term benefits based on betterair quality. For example, these measuresmay provide decreasing of health costs.

Payback period                             Cash flow Net Present Value Internal rate of returnReduction of CO2 emissionIn addition, the impact of non-

To solve the above presented problemsa financial calculation tool and guidelinefor financial calculation methods havebeen developed by EFFECT4buildings -project. The tool provides a betterunderstanding of energy efficiencyinvestment profitability, using severalcalculation methods for comparingalternative energy efficiency measures:

energy benefits on the payback periodcan be estimated using a tool.

To predict the profitability of an investment, financial calculation methods are used. Since thetraditional approach, based on pay-back time, is inefficient, the project proposes tools (in web andExcel versions) that enables one to employ several methods, either independently or in combination.In particular, Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return prove efficient and helpful for buildingmanagers, energy auditors, and other investors. To use these methods wisely, however, they needappropriate training, and so the tools are accompanied by training material that is both informativeand simple to understand.Calculations with net present value and internal rate of return gives more fair answers on whatinvestments to choose, than pay-backtime. To get a full and correct comparison between differentsolutions, more parameters that are included in the excel calculation tool should be used.

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Figure 1: Results with numbers

• The tool also includes sensitivityanalyses with two options for estimatingenergy and water prices changes. Thissmart functionality facilitates thecomparison of different developmentoptions in the future.• Results are presented both numericaland graphical forms (Figures 1 and 2)

By presenting the results with manydifferent visual options the needs ofdifferent stakeholders can be taken

into account (building managers,municipalities, energy advisors,

consumers, etc.).

Figure 2: Results with graphs

In addition the guideline of calculationmethods provides for stakeholderscomprehensive instructions how to usethem. Guideline can be used also asindividual material for educationalpurposes to all possible interestedparties.

The Financial calculation tool has beenmade as part of the projectEFFECT4buildings. Tool were made stepby step: • Developing financial tools themselves.• Development work (by testing tools)within the target group.• Providing training and developingguidelines for the use of tools.• Making recommendations andpresenting best practices.

Photo from EFFECT4buildings archive

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Previous experiences indicate that differentconclusions will be drawn, about whether aninvestment is profitable or not, depending on thecalculation methods used. The majority ofenergy efficiency measures presented in energyaudits is calculated with simple payback-timemethods not taking in consideration technicallifetime of the investment.

The project has developed a web tool that thatmakes it easy to do different types of financialcalculation, just by adding a few parametersabout the investment.

WEB-TOOL FOR BETTER FINANCIALCALCULATIONS LAUNCHEDAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

The tool calculates with net present valuemethod, annuity value method, internal rate ofreturn except for pay-back time. The tool can be found:http://www.effect4buildings.se/

A group of private building managers was trainedin using the different calculation methods.Conclusions was the need to use complementaryfinancial calculation methods. When using netpresent value method, investments with longerlifetime will benefit. In many cases the use ofinternal rate of return will show that many moremeasures is profitable than when using only pay-back-time.

A new standard for presentations of measures inenergy audit reports has been implemented inDalarna with the requirement to presentalternative financial calculation results for eachmeasure, at least net present value except of pay-back-time (and preferable also LCC and internalrate of return). The project is now working toinfluence national policy level for implementingthe same standard.

Screenshot from the Financial calculation tool on http://www.effect4buildings.se/

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An interesting option to increase energy efficiencymeasures is to bundle many smaller investments into abigger investment package. Bundling combines severalmeasures, which makes the total investment moreprofitable and more attractive in funding point of view. Inthis way can be facilitated the implementation of energyefficiency investments. One of the most useful way tobundle investments is known as Total concept method.

Detailed information of renovation - projectimplementation can be presented as scorecards. Projectscorecards can be divided in separate parts according tosame principles as work process of the Total ConceptMethod.

By filling in scorecards all the important details during theimplementation, this valuable information is collected inthe same document for easy review of success assessmentof project.

Total Concept Method gives an easy and valuable methodto illustrate the economic profitability of individualmeasures. TCM provides an action plan comprising apackage of energy efficiency improvement measures,which fulfills the property owner’s profitabilityrequirements.The profitability assessment in TCM is basedon internal rate of return method.

INCREASE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCYMEASURES THROUGH BUNDLING

BUNDLING

Author: Matti Pylkkö, Environmental office of Lappeenranta region, Finland

The work process of the Total Concept is divided into 3 steps:

A Total Concept project starts with a comprehensivetechnical inventory in the building and to identify allconceivable energy saving measures. At this stage, allpossible measures for improving energy efficiency areidentified and costed, and the subsequent energysavings are calculated.

The energy saving measures in the action package arecarried out. The focus here is on the quality of thework and on making sure that energy savings willcome true.

This phase consists of the following up the effect ofthe action package after it has been implemented.The energy use during at least one year afterrenovations is compared to the energy use beforeimplementation of the action package.

Taking care of many measures simultaneously in energy investments is difficult, but bundling canmake it easier. It enables one to combine many small measures into one package, which canincrease the profitability of an investment and make it look more attractive to potential investors.One of various ways of approaching bundling is combining Total Concept Method (TCM) and TotalTool, which can help illustrate the economic profitability of individual measures. Being cost-effective and helping understand energy investments, bundling can also be used as a standard inenergy audits, and it can help find anoptimal funding source and receive financial aid.Its basic idea is to make a planned investment more profitable and more interesting from aneconomical point of view, especially for potential investors. Bundling can also be used foragreements with companies receiving state aid.

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The overall assessment of profitability of the wholerenovation project is easy to be convinced with clear chartsprovided by Total Tool. In some cases, however, it is usefulto interpret the background of the graphical charts.Especially shall be taken into account the target groupreviewing the material produced by Total Tool.

As an example of successful use of Total concept method isrenovation of Tampere Hall in Finland. Detailed informationof Tampere Hall - project implementation is presented asscorecards. In addition, that has been successfully utilizedTotal Tool during the implementation of the Tampere Hallproject.In step 1 the internal rate of return for the entire package ofmeasures was calculated to 7,78 %, which is slightly higherthan the profitability target of 7%. The energy consumptionis estimated to decrease by 24 %.

However several changes to the package were made in step2 (Corrected baseline and several changes were made to thepackage) and that’s why after completing all the measuresthe energy consumption is estimated to decrease by 23 %.Profitability of the whole action package will be 8.5 %,which is higher than 7.8 % that was calculated in Step 1. SeeTotal tool diagram (Step 3: follow up).

As a whole, Tampere Hall is a brilliant example of asuccessful implementation of using Total Concept Methodin a practical energy efficiency project.

Figure 2. One part of the scorecard of Tampere Hall

Figure 3. Total tool diagram for Tampere Hall (Step 1) Figure 4. Total tool diagram for Tampere Hall (Step 3)

Figure 1. One part of Scorecard template (Step 1.)

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A heat pump moves heat from the surroundingenvironment into a tank to heat water. Sinceheat pump water heaters move heat rather thangenerating it, they are 2-3 times more energyefficient compared to traditional electricresistance water heaters.

Heat pump water heaters

Condensing gas tankless water heaters forgo astorage tank by providing hot water only whenneeded, thereby eliminating standby losses. Thecondensing type is able to achieve efficienciesgreater than 90% by also extracting additionalheat from the exhaust gases. 

Condensing gas tanklesswater heaters

Lighting systems including sensors,management systems, and/or controlcomponents allow facility managers to providehigh quality lighting that meet individualpreferences and light needs while reducingenergy demand and costs. Control methodsinclude occupancy sensing, timer scheduling,and dimming.

Occupant responsivelighting

GOOD PRACTICES ON BUNDLING METHODSFOR THE BALTIC SEA REGIONAuthor: Barbara Wos, Association of Communities and Cities of Malopolska Region,Poland

LED downlight luminaires can deliversignificant energy and cost savings as areplacement for incandescent and fluorescenttechnologies in the residential sector.

LED downlight luminaires

These systems provide facility managers withthe capabilities to monitor, control, adjust, andmanage energy performance of various systemssuch as HVAC and lighting.

Building energy managementand information systems

Windows are the main factor that causesheating and cooling loads in buildings. Windowswith low heat transfer coefficient and otherwindow accessories that are able to save energyfrom heating, cooling and even lighting.

Window attachments (non-adjustable)

Plug load control devices, such as a power strip,can reduce energy consumption of bothresidential and commercial devices throughload sensing and/or timer schedule controls.

Plug load control devices

A bundled package of attic insulation atticventilation, duct sealing, air sealing, and airbarriers makes a comprehensive attic updatethat can significantly reduce the heating andcooling load of residential buildings.

Comprehensive attic update

Window shades, when used effectively, cansave energy from heating, cooling, and evenlighting. Shades can reduce unwanted solarheat gain in the cooling season withoutaffecting useful solar heat gain in the heatingseason. Insulated shades can also reduce heattransfer through the window.

Dynamic solar controlsystems

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Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) is a well-tested and successful tool that has been helping buildingowners reach their energy and climate targets more quickly than with traditional implementation of energysaving measures. Still there is potential for more use of EPC to reach unrealised saving potential in publicsector.

The EPC model is a well-tested and successful tool that has been helping public building owners and localand regional authorities reach their energy and climate targets more quickly than with traditionalimplementation of energy saving measures.Reaching our energy and climate targets in a rapid and efficient manner should be an overriding public goalin today's climate situation. Yet recent findings show that many public building owners are reluctant toimplement EPC despite large documented saving potential and prior successes with the EPC model.Increasing the use of EPC requires efforts to introduce it among building owners, deepen their knowledgeabout EPC and hence raise their interest and trust in the model.

ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING

EPC PREE CHECK TOOLAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

Energy cost need to be enough high.There should be a need for energyefficiency measures.The legal rights to contract an EPCprovider.The acceptance of outsourcing theservice.Enough financial capacity.Acting on the basis of long-termownership.

Stakeholders working on energyefficiency in Sweden has found that theyneed a simpler way of finding out if EPCis a relevant tool for a specific buildingowner.EPC can be a great tool for some actors,but spending time introducing the modeljust to find out it is not relevant in theactual case is a waste of time.For EPC to be relevant a few basiccomponents need to be in place, forexample:

"We need to be as highly relevant as possible, when promoting toolsfor energy efficiency towards building managers," says projectmanager Marit Ragnarsson from Sweden.

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The EU project guarantEE has previousdeveloped a web-based tool for targetgroups in an easy and quick way to findout if EPC is relevant for them.EFFECT4buidlings has developed the toolfurther to suit with Swedish conditions,based on dialogue with EPC providers.The tool contains of ten questions. Basedon the answers a results are presentedwith conclusions about EPC andrecommendations how to move forward.

The tool can be found here:https://byggdialogdalarna.se

"The web based pree check toolwill help building

owners/managers to find outthemselves if EPC is relevantor not for them," says Marit

Ragnarsson.

The Energy Performance Contractingproject (EPC) in Elverum municipality wasinitiated by an intermunicipal projectcalled "Energy efficiency in municipalbuilding in Sør-Østerdal" consisting of 5municipalities in Hedmark County aimingto reach new and challenging municipalenergy- and climate targets. Elverum wasthe largest of the five and started the EPCproject ahead of the four others to gainexperience and make it easier for the foursmaller municipalities to follow suit.

Elverum implemented more than 300energy efficiency measures in 38municipal buildings. They have alsoreached the guaranteed savings so far.The municipal project leader is positive tothe EPC concept and claim that neitherthe large amount of energy savingmeasures, the guaranteed savings norreaching the municipal energy- andclimate targets would have been possiblewithout EPC.

The main goal of the EPC project inElverum municipality is cost and energysaving, increased comfort and renewal oftechnical equipment and systems usingenergy performance contracting as a tool.The contract-based guarantee wasperceived as important or even crucial inthe decision-making process.

The contract was made between Elverummunicipality, the customer and theSiemens, the EPC provider in 2012. Bothtender, negotiations and the contractagreements were facilitated by an EPCconsultant (Siv. Ing. Kjell Gurigard AS).

The Energy Performance Contractingproject (EPC) in Elverum municipality wasinitiated in 2009 by an intermunicipalproject called "Energy efficiency inmunicipal building in Sør-Østerdal"consisting of 5 municipalities in HedmarkCounty.

Experiences and results

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EPC IN ELVERUM MUNICIPALITY,NORWAYAuthor: Liv Randi Lindseth, Contracted by Inland County Council, Norway

These were aiming to reach new andchallenging municipal energy- andclimate targets. Elverum was the largestof the five with its 21 000 inhabitants, 160000 m2 of building mass. The cooperationpartners decided that Elverum shouldstart ahead of the four others to gainexperience and make it easier for the foursmaller municipalities to follow suit. Thecooperating parties also got support viaan international project called "ENSAMB"focusing on Energy Saving in MunicipalBuildings in Small Communities in RuralDistricts.

One of the most important successfactors was the fact that the contractcovered all 300 measures that wasimplemented in a relatively short timeperiod. The municipality invested 40MNOK in 38 buildings, 95 000 m2 with anestimated saving of 4,3 GWh with apayback time of 9 years. The contractedguarantee ensures little risk for themunicipality and safeguarded theinvestment. They reported large energy-and costs savings from day one andincreased standard on technicalequipment and systems. Some of themeasures also reduced the need forplanned maintenance and hence freedbudgeted funds.

A more unexpected advantage was theincreased competence on energyefficiency and own technical equipmentand installations by own municipalpersons. This came because of theinvolvement in the project and traininggiven by the EPC supplier.

The main challenges were having enoughresources for the follow up andinvolvement in the project in themunicipality – both in the energy analysesphase and during implementation ofmeasures.

Own involvement and ownership were asuccess factor, but it proved to be moretime consuming than first anticipated.

"We would recommend municipalitiesconsidering EPC to allocate enough personsand resources in all phases," SveinArild Nyhus says, as the internalownership of the project is paramount.

"Furthermore, the EPC supplier had theirmain focus on energy saving and themunicipality hence had to make sure thatimplemented measures also had users ofthe buildings and maintenance personnelin mind," he continues.

Now, five years into the guarantee periodthere are still some confusions due tomaintenance agreements and operationalissues with heat pump installations, butthe municipality expect to find solutionsand come to mutually beneficialagreements in a dialog with the EPCsupplier.  Energy savings have beenachieved and the municipal energy- andclimate targets have been met. Due tomotivated operation personnel and closedialog with the EPC supplier they expectthe positive results to continue in theyears to come.

The project leader in the municipality,Svein Arild Nyhus, hopes the experiencesmade in Elverum can be of help for othermunicipalities considering EPC.

"To other municipalities I will say: Go for it! Stop contemplating andpondering. Large municipalities might have the recourses to do a lot bythemselves, but the guarantee is the alpha and omega for smallermunicipalities. We implemented almost 300 EE measures in Elverum. Wewould not have had the resources for this without EPC," Svein Arild Nyhus,Elverum municipality.

Case EPC in Elverummunicipality – in shortTarget: 20% energy savings compared to previousconsumption.

Achieved savings: 24% energy savings compared to previousconsumption.

Project partners: Elverum municipality and Siemens AS.

Duration: 2012 – 2023

Planned outcome:Energy saving, cost and energy efficiency,increased comfort and renewal oftechnical equipment and systems.

Formerly Oppland, now part of InlandCounty Council, completed its EPCproject four years before the guaranteephase was over. The project has beensuccessful, so why end a successfulproject ahead of time? In 2013, the former Oppland Countystarted the work of preparing and startingup an energy saving project with aguarantee of results (EPC project).Morten Hoff, an engineer in the realestate department in Inland county, hasbeen the project leader throughout theproject period from start to finish. Thebuilding analysis was carried out in 2014and measures implemented in 2015. Atotal of 128 measures were implementedat 12 upper secondary schools with a totalarea of 156,000 m2.Morten Hoff says that the processgenerally went well. The hired EPCfacilitator Siv. Ing. Kjell Gurigard led agood and orderly process in the start-upphase in the form of mapping of buildingsand launching of the EPC tender.Gurigard was also involved in theselection of the EPC supplier, AF Energiog miljøteknikk AS (AF EMT). Although experiences from the initialphases were good, Hoff would like tomake some recommendations to othermunicipalities that want to invest in EPC. "The municipality must prepare and followup the project in such a large contract.This kind of project cannot be left to others.In our case, it turned out that thepreparations were more time-consumingthan we had anticipated," he says. Hence, it is important to set asidesufficient time and resources for follow-up internally. Good preparation andknowledge of own buildings is crucial. It isalso important to remember that thepolitical process takes time. It requiresknowledge of whether the project issuitable in relation to overall processesand structural changes - both in themunicipality and in the political system.

It is thus Hoff's recommendation to beinvolved throughout the project. In theanalysis phase to ensure that themunicipality meets its expectations forthe project, in the implementation phaseto be able to follow up all details thatmust be coordinated between users of thebuilding and the energy contractor, but

In collaboration, the county council andthe EPC supplier have over-achievedwhen it comes to energy savings. A luxuryproblem, you might say, but this issomething that requires a thoroughfollow-up and assessment. Each of thethree years, the savings were higher thanthe guarantee stipulated. The guaranteewas a 20 % saving compared to pre-consumption, while those in the EPCproject achieved an estimated 24 %. Thiswas of course very well received in thecounty. As an incentive to betterperformance, it was agreed that theprofits of the EPC project be sharedbetween the parties. This means thatevery year an invoice of between NOK 100- 150,000 was received from the EPCsupplier. In a county, it is not natural tobudget for bonus payments. It wastherefore necessary to prepare a writtencase and present it to the county councilin order to finance the payment. Theunderstanding that this was contractualcase and money that had already beensaved was absolutely present, so when thecounty council chose to end the contractafter three years, the main reason wasthat they have control.

"We have a stable project organization anda well-established energy managementsystem gained through the project. We alsohave skilled operating personnel at theschools who contributed both before, alongthe way and who still do an important jobnow that the project has ended. Theircompetence and interest in optimizing theoperation of the technical facilities hasbeen crucial," says Hoff.

Good follow-up of buildings and energyuse through EMS (energy monitoringsystem) means that the operatingpersonnel have been given the necessarycompetence to follow up the energy usethemselves. This is also thanks to goodtraining and transfer of knowledge aboutthe new technical installations from theEPC supplier. "The project worked according to plan andAF EMT has enabled us to manage wellwithout them," Hoff concludes. He does not hesitate to recommend EPCto other municipalities and countymunicipalities that aim for rapidimplementation of energy savingmeasures and reduced CO2 emissions.

also in relation to notifications ofdeviations and other paperwork. Finally,in the warranty phase, it is important tohave an orderly process and spend timeon measurements and settlementsregarding under- or over-performance.

"In short, I would say that the biggestsurprise for us was probably how muchtime was spent on follow-up in all phases,"Morten Hoff states. "The EPC project has now been formallycompleted after three years in the savingsguarantee phase. The duration of thecontract was longer, but there was anoption to terminate after three years andwe chose to take it," says Hoff.

SUCCESSFUL EPCPROJECT ENDED AHEAD OF TIME

So why end a successfulproject ahead of time?

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Author: Liv Randi Lindseth, Contracted by Inland County Council, Norway

Key data for the EPC project inOppland county 2014-2017

Total investment MNOK 35 / MEUR 4.2

Investment grant fromEnova SF (Norwegianenergy agency).

MNOK 4,4 / MEUR 0,53

Pre-consumption 25 GWh

Guaranteed savings Appr. 4,5 GWh

Achieved savings Appr. 24% årlig

Buildings 12 upper secondaryschools

Area 156.000 m2

Contract duration 7 years with buildingowner's unilateraloption to end contractafter 3 years

Morten Hoff, project leader

Hamar is a growing city, theinfrastructure around it is strengtheningand making the city a natural centre inthe region. Hamar municipality wants tofollow up on this development by takingthe climate challenges of our timeseriously. The municipality hasimplemented several good energy andclimate measures already and wants tocontinue to achieve the goal of a 40%reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by2030. Now the municipality is investingheavily in solar energy. A reorganizationof the technical operation of the buildingstock will also pave the way for energysavings with a guarantee of results (EPC)in the near future. "The building stock in Hamar municipalityis not bad compared to others," says ArneArnesen, head of the propertydepartment. His department manages andoperates administration premises, schoolsand kindergartens, institutions andmunicipal sports and cultural buildingswith a total area of about 160,000 m2. In2019, the total consumption of electricityand district heating in these municipalbuildings was about 31 GWh. The municipality has adopted a strategyto meet the climate challenges anchoredin the municipal plan for climate andenvironment. The goal is a 40% reductionin total greenhouse gas emissions by2030."When you set such ambitious goals, it goeswithout saying that you must focus onmany areas," says Arnesen.

On the roof of Ankerskogen swimminghall, 1156 panels have been installed overthe 50-meter-long pool. The plant willproduce 287 MWh a year and is expectedto save energy equivalent to 10 singlefamily houses each year. So far, this isHamar municipality's largest solar cellproject and the only one that has beenestablished in the existing building stock.Everyone who visits the facility will beable to get an overview of the productionon a display screen that will be set up atthe reception.

"This is the reason why we have chosen topostpone an EPC project. When we are toengage an external actor in the form of anEPC supplier, our operating personnel willplay a crucial role in achieving goodresults. Now that new routines and a moreefficient organization of operators are inplace, we should be well prepared for this.The idea is to start the process of puttingin place an EPC project in the new year,"says Arnesen.

The municipality has not decided on howmuch of the building stock will be coveredby a future EPC project, but the wish isthat very profitable measures can financemeasures with a somewhat longerpayback period.

"It is written down in the municipality'sclimate budget that it should pursue energysavings with guaranteed results - an EPCproject. According to the goals, this projectwill contribute to a reduction of the climatefootprint from energy consumption by20%," says Arnesen.This will amount to 1000 tons of CO2equivalents. If all the municipality'sbuildings are included in the project, thismeans an annual energy saving of about6.2 GWh. With an energy price of 70 øre,this will correspond to NOK 4.3 millionsaved each year (about 401.000 Euro). The municipality has recently undergonea comprehensive reorganization of thetechnical operation of the building stock.They previously had a decentralizedorganization where operating personnelwere attached to one or a few buildingsand only responsible for the technicaloperation of these. We have now beenthrough a restructuring phase tocoordinate efforts and centralize thetechnical operation of all themunicipality's buildings.

The municipality focuses especially onsolar energy, says Arnesen. Themunicipality's solar energy projects willfacilitate learning and awareness. Inaddition, they will strengthen themunicipality's own competence in thearea.

"This is something we want to be good at. 2million kroners is earmarked for solarenergy in existing buildings each year. Inaddition solar energy systems will beinstalled in some of the new buildingprojects," Arnesen adds.

REORGANIZATIONOF OPERATIONS PAVES THE WAY FOREPC IN HAMAR MUNICIPALITY

"We have also had meetings withEFFECT4buildings and see that they haveexpertise that is useful to us in such aproject. The municipality must be involvedall the way and we must focus on coursesand training of internal resources. I do notbelieve that an external actor should gothought our buildings alone and find outwhat measures are to be implemented. Wewant to figure this out through dialogueand cooperation with a future EPCsupplier," Arne Arnesen, Hamarmunicipality.

Funds earmarked for solarenergy

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Author: Liv Randi Lindseth, Contracted by Inland County Council, Norway

New organization ofoperations paves the way forEPC

Solar cells on rooftop, Hamar municipality

Lunden school, Hamar municipality

Evaluation of EPC projects in Dalarna andSweden shows that there are bothadvantages and disadvantages to themodel. Municipalities that have testedthe model in particular point out thechallenges that you have to be very activein the project in order to get the rightquality and the risk of sub-optimizationswhere the energy measures are notintegrated into other operational issues.Economically, it is questioned whether itreally is the most economical way tocarry out energy investments, especiallyas municipalities usually do not havedifficulty borrowing money at a favorableinterest rate.

The municipality of Ludvika has beenpioneers in Sweden with long experienceof the EPC. In two projects of 5 millionEuro + 5 million Euro, the goal has beento reduce energy use in themunicipality's premises by 22% by 2020,while at the same time ensuring long-term value of the properties andtechnical standards for requirements forfunctionality and indoor climate. Themunicipality financed the investmentsthrough Kommuninvest (financialinstitutions for municipalities). The supplier has been paid with a fixedbasic price and, in addition, anreimbursement if promised energysavings have been achieved.

Contractor and client share 50/50 of thesaving of total energy cost that exceedsthe 22% stated as reference value. Afterthe final inspection of the turnkeycontract, the partners have moved on toa management contract of 11 years,adapted to the measures pay-off and loanperiod at Kommuninvest.Stefan Andersson and Birgitta Parling atthe municipality of Ludvika are satisfiedwith the pioneering work that has beendone and which inspired many others.They confirmed, in the evaluation thatByggdialog Dalarna made of EPC projectsin Dalarna, that energy savings couldhave been achieved.

Ludvikahem takes overmanagement of buildings and

the EPC projects During the EPC project period, themanagement of the municipality'sproperties has been taken over by themunicipal company Ludvikahem, whichmanages both housing and premises.Jan Hedberg, who is the constructionmanager at Ludvikahem, confirms thatthey have saved a lot of energy throughthe EPC projects and that it hascontributed to building up increasedinterest and expertise for energy issues,but notes that there have also beenproblems along the way."The municipality was not sufficientlyinvolved in the solutions that were madeand more resources had been needed todemand the correct technicaldocumentation and carry out properinspections. It is now lacking in severalplaces and we have received some strangeand cheap solutions that do not feelsustainable in the long term. We have acompetent operating department that hadto have been involved in a more activeway than just taking over other people'ssolutions. Otherwise it will be a resistancefrom persons," says Jan Hedberg.

It was, however, believed that the 22%savings guarantee was too low as itincluded many measures that were easyfor the contractor to do. It was alsofound that the contract period for fixedcompensation in the management phasewas too long.

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PARTNERING NEXT STEP AFTER EPCAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

The municipality of Ludvika was one ofthe first municipalities to invest in largerEPC projects, which gave many valuableexperiences. Now Ludvikahem has takenover the properties and instead wants toinvest in partnering for the continuedenergy work.

The municipality of Ludvikawas out early with EPC

projects

Photo from Marit Ragnarsson archive

One advantage of the EPC model is thatthe measures are actually implemented.Without own expertise in the ownorganization, measures might not beimplemented. And the EPC project hasmeant a lot of education in energy andproperty management issues. It was agood start. The municipality of Ludvika was one ofthe first municipalities to invest in largerEPC projects, which gave many valuableexperiences. Now Ludvikahem has takenover the properties and instead wants toinvest in partnering for the continuedenergy work.Jan Hedberg also does not believe thatthe EPC model has been the mostprofitable method of carrying out energyrenovations.

"You should be able to run this projectmore economically. The municipality wasresponsible for the financing itself and thecontractor managed to renegotiate thereimbursement model during theimplementation period, in a way thatbecame more favourable to them. Iunderstand that they have made goodmoney on this contract. Initially, thecontractor got to pay a penalty, but withthe new model they both got paid andreceived half of the energy savings," saysJan Hedberg.

The advantages of partnering are that everyone workstowards a common goal, a common organization andcommon financial interests, which differs from the EPC. Themodel is also suitable for renovations that often contain manyuncertain parameters that have to be solved along the wayand ensure that function is not compromised for the cost tobe kept low.

Phase 2: Implementation (Option) Call-off for the implementation ofthe projection and procurement ofsubcontractors. Joint calculations fortarget prices are produced. Technicaldocuments are produced. A target pricefor the contracts is produced. Purchasedat cost with negotiated profit in % .(Option) Call for implementation of thecontracts.

Phase 3: Follow-up

Partnering is implemented in 3 phases

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Phase 1: PlanningThe client writes a framework contractwith the partner (turnkey contractor) withan option to call for implementation andfollow-up phase. At the same time, aninquiry is ordered for the objects inquestion. Energy and maintenancemeasures are developed and priced.

The Swedish organization Byggherrar haveproduced a contract template and

regulations for partnering (in Swedish)https://www.byggherre.se/

The conclusion from Ludvikahem, after learning a lot throughthe EPC project, is that they want to seek other forms for thecontinued energy work in the company and the form they areinterested in testing is partnering. Ludvikahem has previouslytested partnering on construction projects and sees that it canbe a suitable model also for renovations in order to achieveenergy savings and better indoor environment.

Partnering is another way of interacting with external actors inmajor rebuilding and more complex projects. This means thatLudvikahem, instead of defining the entire construction projectand procuring contractors and craftsmen after that, includes apartnering agreement with an entrepreneur who has the rightskills. Together, it will be a team to jointly find the best possiblesolutions with a common budget, which gives a security to thebuilding owner.

"The most important part of partnering is openness. If you do notunderstand this, and continue in the traditional model with theview of each other as counterparts, then the model will neverwork, says Jan Hedberg. Therefore, it is so important to reallychoose the right partners with the ability to cooperate.Evaluation of partners can be done based on how competent staffthey have instead of the lowest price. From our side, it demandsgreat involvment."

Ludvikahem wants to invest in partneringinstead of EPC in the next step

ENERGY PERFORMANCE MAINTENANCECONTRACTSAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

Many building owners don't have their own qualified knowledgein operating the building systems, such as heating, cooling andventilation. The consequences may be that the buildingconsumes more energy than necessary, and that the lifetime oftechnical systems is shortened.To contract a service provider for maintenance of the buildingis often the solution, but even then, the building owner need tohave quite a lot of own knowledge to assess whether the bestpossible maintenance of the building with the most optimalenergy use is provided. For that, some kind of control isneeded.Service is often contracted as a specific number of visits orhours, without agreement on a specific function to be achieved.For that an other type of service contracts would be needed. Toadd an incentive for energy savings and high performancewould increase the chance of optimal building management.To solve this, County Board of Dalarna has together with theexperience from professional building managers in thestakeholder group and a consultant that has worked for severalyears as a service provider, developed a tool.

The tool consist of a template for purchasing of servicesregarding ventilation, heating, cooling and controls inbuildings, with the purpose of achieving best possible energyefficiency and system function, has been developed. Thedocument contains suggestions for contents in both RFP:s(request for proposals) and final contracts.

The model that has been chosen, is based on a contractwhere the two parties - building owner and provider ofservices - agree upon which functions that shall bemaintained and how the service provider can prove that hehas succeeded.For results above or below agreed level of performance therewill be a fine or a bonus. The contract can thereby bedenoted as an "Energy Performance Maintenance Contract,EPMC" (compare EPC for investments).In addition to template for contract and reporting template, 4checklists have been developed that is optional for theservice provider to use when visiting a building for service.

Tools can be found on: http://www.effect4buildings.se/

The Multi Service Contracting (MSC) model includes severalbenefits, makes investments more effective, lowers the risk ofsub-optimization and gives more value for money spent. MSCcan include all relevant services for a renovation project suchas energy, maintenance, indoor climate, operation etc. Thepurpose of MSC is to become aware of how different servicesare interlinked and how a unilateral prioritization of one canimpact on others. An MSC does not have to include all servicesbut the building owner makes an informed prioritization.

MULTI SERVICE CONTRACTING

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RISK MANGEMENT WITH MULTI SERVICECONTRACTINGAuthor: Louise Ellegaard Fich, Gate 21, Denmark. Furthermore, MSC focus more resources and time into the

planning phase and cooperation with the MSC supplier.Thus, using more time to map and analyze the building orproject at focus, minimize unexpected challenges later whenimplementing the project. More so, the building owner and MSCsupplier continuously follow up by setting clear requirementsto the building’s performance, key performance indicators and aperformance verification program and thereby lowering the riskof unexpected cost in the operation phase. Overall to reduceproject risks, MSC requires that the MSC supplier is involvedfrom the very beginning of the planning phase.

In Multi Service Contracting (MSC), the building owner takes a holistic approach to the renovation process,adding value to planning and contracting by including parameters such as indoor climate, maintenance andoperation management in energy renovation. When involved early in shaping the project together with thebuilding owner, an MSC supplier can take responsibility for the performance of the parameters.The MSC concept also helps determine key performance indicators and methods of monitoring andevaluating this performance, thereby increasing the quality of internal or external services delivered.Multi service contracting exploits EPC’s essence, i.e., cooperating with a professional supplier, shaping clearobjectives, and focusing on expected performance. But it also enables the contract to include otherimportant services helping to increase energy efficiency, satisfy the users, and optimize building operation.The model ensures a holistic view, thanks to evaluating performance indicators for each service andallocating responsibility for the performance between the parties.

TOOL FOR MAPPING OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENTALQUALITY IN SCHOOLS BY STUDENTSAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, SwedenTo make investments in energy efficiency more profitable it isessential also to take in consideration the additional values thatthe investments will lead to. One positive effect is very oftenthe possibility to, at the same time, improve indoorenvironmental quality. A new ventilation system with heatrecovery can both save energy and improve air quality. LED lightning improve the quality of light at the same time as itsaves energy. A good indoor environmental quality is of greatimportance also for well being and better production. Researchhas showed that the time for learning in schools can bereduced by 2 weeks per year if the indoor environmental isimproved.

In Sweden student representatives is part of the requiredsystematic environmental management work in schools, fromyear 7 in primary school.The project has together with the Swedish studentorganisation, Sveriges Elevkårer developed a tool for mappingof indoor environmental. Experiences from other/previousmapping tools from other partners have been used. Byproviding these representatives with the templates andinstructions for mapping they can more actively participate intheir assignment.The two tools, in English, can be foundhttp://www.effect4buildings.se/

How can we build smart and have both energy efficiency,health and well-being in mind?How can we increase innovation and use the latestknowledge, among real estate companies and politicians,when procurement is prepared for rebuilding and newconstructions?

New guidelines for light, acoustics and air have beendeveloped by the EFFECT4buildings project in Dalarna incooperation with experts from White Architects, Saint Gobainand By Demand. The purpose of the new guide is to provide assistance in theday-to-day work of building managers in their planning,procurement and follow-up of projects. The guidelines show how good light, acoustics and air qualitycan be achieved when new schools are built or when schoolsare renovated. Project manager Marit Ragnarsson from the CountyAdministrative Board of Dalarna gives a background to theinitiative:"Today, people spend more and more time indoors. On averagemore than 21 hours in a day. The quality of the indoorenvironment is extremely important for our health, and for ourability to focus and work effectively. This is extra important inschools and pre-schools. Healthy stu dents need a healthy schoolenvironment."

We discovered early a need in our target group to get answersfor the following questions:

Energy and good indoor climate are closely related. Bycounting more added values that you can get through aninvestment, the motivation to make the investment increases.

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GUIDELINES FOR GOOD INDOOR CLIMATEIN PRE-SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLSAuthor: Hans Ahlin, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

Existing schools and schools of the future require variedlearning environments and flexible room usage. The guide gives examples of co-usage and how we can buildwith flexibility. It is common to have more or less open areas designed forindividual focus work and/or working in groups.The requirements will need to be further tightened up inorder to achieve environments that are sustainable from aclimate perspective, while also supporting healthy andtoxins-free indoor spaces.

The schools of the future

Facts about the guide

The value of good qualityHow good environments are achieved – technical aspects Specification of requirements during procurementEvaluation and follow-upLaws, regulations, and guidelines

The school of the futureSchool premises through the ages and a short chapter about the building process.

The guide focuses on Light, Acoustics and Air Within each area guidelines are presented for:

Technical aspects and specifications for procurements aredescribed both for new constructions and refurbishment. Other chapters are:

For more information, send mail to: marit.ragnarsson@lansstyrelsen.se

Untidy toilets, poor environment in showers and changingrooms and generally a high level of noise characterize the indoorschool environment for many school students. Students´wellbeing is a prerequisite for being able to learn and perform inschool and it is therefore important that pupils are allowed toparticipate in developing the quality of the school environment.The students are the ones who first and foremost suffer frompoor school premises. Therefore, it is important to bring thestudents into the work of creating the best possible conditions.Here, student safety representatives can play an important role.They act as a link between the other students and the school'smanagement.At Soltorgsgymnasiet in Borlänge we meet principal HansCarlson, assistant principal Anita Brandt and the studentEmilia Malm, who in a couple of weeks finish her three-yearprogram.Since the second year in high school, she has served as astudent protection officer at the school together with LinnSvärd. Emilia Malm:

"I was elected through the school's student council and had toattend a training organized by Sweden's student associations.At the student council meetings, which are conducted once amonth, I receive input from the other students and at the sametime I tell them what has been said at the collaborationmeetings and the annual safety round. At local collaborationmeetings, which take place every month, school management,safety representatives, student safety representatives andunion representatives participate.At Soltorgsgymnasiet, the sports hall Maserhallen is used forthe school's physical education. For a long time, there havebeen problems with the environment in changing rooms andshowers, which has been up for discussion both at the studentcouncil and at the collaboration meeting."

Emilia continues: "In Maserhallen, there are no shielding´sbetween showers, and mirrors and the ventilation is poor. Manystudents do not shower after the P E lessons."Principal Hans Carlsson:

"At the school, Anita has meetings once a month with thestudent council and between the meetings the classes haveclass councils. It is very important for the students to beinvolved influencing the indoor environment."

Emilia Malm:"The furniture in the foyer has also recently been up fordiscussion where we agreed on new furnishing."

One outcome is that decisions have recently been taken by themunicipality to invest SEK 32 million in new ventilation in thesports hall, improved entrance, new hygiene facilities, changingrooms and energy systems.Anita Brandt emphasizes that some things are repeatedlyaddressed by the students:

"It is really hot during parts of the year in some parts of theschool. Also, there is high noise level outside some classrooms.We now have a document called "Error reporting", where bothstudents and staff can note problems that are then passed onto the property manager."

Principal Hans Carlsson says the school, in addition to studentcouncils, also has a student union that primarily focuses onsocial activities and, among other things, arranges film nightsand discussion forums.

PUPIL PROTECTION OFFICERS -IMPORTANT FOR THE SCHOOLENVIRONMENTSOLTORGSGYMNASIET IN BORLÄNGE A MODEL TO FOLLOW

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Authors: Hans Ahlin and Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

The Work Environment Act and the SwedishStudent CouncilAll schools should, according to the Work Environment Act, haveseveral student safety representatives and the school boardsshould encourage students to appoint representatives. Principalsare therefore urged to ensure that there are trained studentsafety representatives at each school and that they receive thetraining needed for the role.The Swedish Student Council educates student safetyrepresentatives on how to work with both the physical and thepsychosocial work environment, and how students can cooperatewith school management. Without the students' perspective, it iseasy to miss problems.

Many studies show that light has direct effects on mood,alertness and attention. The lighting often consists offluorescent lamps in the ceiling and lack of daylight inlets. Theright lighting that can also be adjusted based on the type ofactivity benefits pupils' learning, especially children with ADHD.Danish research shows that poor air quality and indoortemperature can lead to as much as 30% lower level ofperformance among pupils in schools. But the solution is notjust ventilating more, because then the humidity becomes toolow which causes problems with dry mucous membranes andskin irritations.Moisture and mold damage in buildings increases the risk ofrespiratory problems and asthma by 30-50% and the proportionof children with asthma increases.It is also important to keep track of the level of particles in theair. There are no guidelines for particles in indoor air, only forlarger particles of outdoor air. Small particles are carriers ofbacilli and viruses and are also difficult for allergy sufferers. So,with particle cleaning more people would be healthy.Poor sound environment is not only a problem for those withhearing loss, it affects learning for everyone, but it is especiallyimportant for students with a different mother tongue thanSwedish.

New research shows the importance of theindoor environment

How can we build smart and keep both energy efficiency, ourhealth and well-being in mind? A key factor is awarness andknowledge among real estate companies and politicians, whomake the decisions regarding procurement for rebuilding andnew constructions.The County administrative board of Dalarna therefore decidedto map the indoor climate in schools in four of ourmunicipalities. In addition to interesting information for the participatingmunicipalities, we gained important insights for the seminars wesubsequently conducted and knowledge when we next year willdesign and formulate our planning tool/guide for good indoorclimate in school buildings. Mikael Larsson, property manager at Gagnef municipality,explain the importence of continuous measurement andcomments on the measurements made in Gagnef:"For the municipality, measurements are very important to ensurea good working environment for staff and children. Themeasurements have led to both operational, energy saving andenvironmental related actions.Parameters measured were for example room temperature,relative humidity, air turbulence, CO2, noise level, light andparticles. Below the tools we used and a picture of the Air quality monitor."

The school management perceive that the communication withthethe communication with the student protection officersworks well and that the problems that the student safetydelegates point out are taken care of. Among positiveexperiences, it is emphasized that it facilitates dialogue withpupils, contributes to joint responsibility for the workenvironment and that many small things are addressed morequickly.Almost every school has problems with indoor temperatures andpoor air. Other common problems identified in the safetyrounds are in descending order: broken things and littering, theenvironment in toilets /showers / changing rooms, lighting, andnoise. Half of the schools show concrete examples where thestudent protection officers helped to make improvements, suchas paper bins, earplugs, seating in the corridors, parking lots etc.They have also been instrumental in getting lighting replacedand getting access card systems for increased security.

The County Administrative Board, together with Sweden'sstudent associations, have conducted a survey looking at howthe pupils' safety representatives work.There are 40 upper secondary schools and about 50 highschools in Dalarna. Of these, only 20 schools have trained aStudent Safety Officer.

Conclusions of surveyA survey conducted among these 20 shows that the studentsparticipate in the systematic work environment collaborationin 75% of these schools. The students participate in the staff'ssafety rounds and in the student council's activities. In someupper secondary schools, the student protection officers workindependently, on their own initiative, with work environmentissues.

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Survey

RESULTS FROM MAPPING OF INDOORCLIMATE IN DALARNAAuthor: Hans Ahlin, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

Mikael Larsson (to the right) and our consultant Stefan Lysén duringmeasurement in Gagnef

Indoor air qualityDry air is a major problem during winter season in Swedenbecause of too much ventilation and/or particles. High levelsof particles also bind moisture, which is vented away.Experience from our measurements shows that during certainperiods of high activity in the premises there are high valuesof both small and large particles. Even when measurementsshow low values of PM 1, PM 2.5 and PM 10 (μg/m³), thecontent of the smallest particles (0.3 μm), is high in number(millions/m³) in most of the school measurements we havemade. See diagram

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TemperatureUsually high temperature problems occur during summer months. Our experience fromthe measurements shows that ventilation is usually not the problem, but instead thetemperature in the premises. The limit value of 1000 PPM CO2 was never exceeded inany of the measurements.A study called Assessing Indoor Climate and Occupant Productivity, by KonstantinosVretos KTH 2017, show the relationship between relative performance and temperature.The slope of the curve indicates that every 1°C change (increase or reduction) oftemperature from the reference point 22 °C corresponds to a decline of performance byalmost 1%.

Overall experience from four municipalitiesin Dalarna

LightingNot enough light in classrooms gave low lux values. We sawmany old installations and dark interiors that dim the light inthe room.

AcousticToo much noise from ventilation in many rooms. Causes maybe incorrectly designed air flows and sound attenuation inducts as well as incorrect type of flow devices.The design of the interior is also of great importance for thesound level in the rooms.

Our recommendation is to measure more than once andduring longer periods because conditions differ depending onseason (pollen, temperature) and ventilation solution.

Example from our mapping at Marcus school in Avesta –April 2019This example shows clearly how important a good ventilation system is, especiallyfor very small particles. We compare two classrooms. Classroom 324 with aventilation system with heat recovery and a PM1 filter and classroom 329 withoutfilter. The difference between the two rooms are for particles 0,3 µm 39%. Theparticle reduction of particles 0.3 µm/m³ between outdoors and indoors inclassroom 329 is 19% according to the chart on this measurement occasion.Compared with 50% in room 324. You can clearly see that particle concentrationincreases with higher activity and more persons in the classroom. At thismeasurement occasion it was very high particle concentration in the outdoor air.

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In Sweden we have limit values for outdoor air, aimed at protecting human health,but not for indoor air, only guidelines. For example:PM 2,5 25 μg/m³ (day) and 12 μg/m³ (year)PM 10 50 μg/m³ (day) and 40 μg/m³ (year)The municipalities are responsible to verify that the environmental qualitystandard is met.In the pictures to the right we show the differences between the two classrooms incomparison with recommended values.

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An interesting study

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In November 2018 a study "Building 4 People: Quantifying the benefits of energyrenovation investments in schools, offices and hospitals" was published by the BuildingsPerformance Institute Europe (BPIE) showing how poor indoor environmental quality, canaffect student’s health, attendance, concentration and learning performance.

Effect of temperatureThe BPIE report identified six studies that provided acorrelation between certain temperature ranges andstudents performance. The summery of these studies revealsthat: Every 1°C reduction in overheating increases studentslearning performance by 2.3 %.

Effect of indoor air quality (In the BPIE report, CO2 concentration is used as anindicator of indoor air quality)In summary the Effect on performance was:For every 1 litre per second per person (l/s/p) increase in theventilation rate up to 15 l/s/p, academic performanceincreases by 1%.In summary the Effect on absenteeism was:Every 100ppm decrease in CO2 concentration is associatedwith a 0.5% decrease in illness-related absence from schools.

Effect of lightingIn order to compare different studies with different results, thereport standardised the performance improvement as follows:Every 100 lux in improved lighting in schools is associated witha 2.9% increase in educational performance.Better daylight is associated with a 9% to 18% increase ineducational performance.

Effect of acousticsFor every 1 dB decrease in excess noise, academic performanceincreases by 0.7%.

Ventilation system with filter reallymattersDust acts as a reservoir for a variety of harmful agents. It canbe outdoor particles that penetrate indoors, viruses, bacteria,chemicals, allergens (pets, mold spores, pollen), buildingmaterials, fabric fibers, and paint with lead. In the report Schools for Health, produced by the HealthyBuildings program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of PublicHealth, the authors present the effects of student health,thinking and performance. Students cannot perform well if they are not presentphysically. The presence of visible mold, humidity and poorventilation were all independently associated withabsenteeism in a study of schools in New York State (Simons2010).

In another study of over 1000 students, the concentration ofmolds in floor dust was associated with concentrationproblems, headache and dizziness (Kim 2007). Similar impactswere observed in studies of teachers. In a study of 500 NewYork State teachers, the most commonly reported allergens andirritants were dust and dust reservoirs, followed by moistureproblems.

An ongoing American research program MA SMART comparessurrounding greenness and ambient air pollution to chronicabsenteeism rates, defined as the percent of students thatmissed 10% or more of the school days in an academic year.Schools with more surrounding greenness, were found to havelower absenteeism rates. A similar trend was found withparticles concentrations: a 1 µg/m3 increase was associatedwith a 1.58% increase in chronic absenteeism rates.

Changing ventilation system has greatsaving potentialExample from Enåbacken elderly home inRättvik

In an elderly home in the municipality of Rättvik we saw fromthe measurements before and after changing ventilationsystem that energy consumption from the ventilation unitshas dropped by an average of 58% after the conversion. Totalsavings from three units estimated to 6400 dollars per year. The degree of particle separation between outdoor air andsupply air also increased for the better by 10% after theconversion of the ventilation units. Price: 1 Kwh= 1 SEK

thermal comfort (air temperature, humidity, draughts, etc.) visual comfort (view, luminosity, glare, etc.) acoustic comfort (noise from outdoors, vibrations,intelligibility of speech, etc.) air quality (fresh air supply, pollutants, odours, etc.)

How can we build smart and have both energy efficiency,health and well-being in mind? How can we increase innovation and re-thinking amongreal estate companies and politicians when procurement isprepared for rebuilding and new constructions?

Today, people are spending more and more time indoors. Inthe urbanised western world, we spend around 90% of ourtime in an enclosed space. Studies show that time spent in thehome is increasing and can represent up to 19 to 20 hours perday for children and the elderly (1). Thus the importance ofbeing comfortable during these hours is increasing. Researchreveals that there is a clear link between indoor climate andhealth. The four main factors that affect people’s perception of indoorcomfort are:

During four seminars in Dalarna during September 2019, ourproject EFFECT4buildings asked the following two questions:

Energy and good indoor climate are closely related. Bycounting on more added values that you can get through aninvestment, the motivation to make the investment increases.For example, demand controlled ventilation saves energy andmore daylight reduces need for lighting. To raise awareness and knowledge among our target grouppoliticians, business executives and property managers, wedecided to organise four half-day seminars in threemunicipalities during September 2019. Two in Falun, one inBorlänge and one in Gagnef. We invited three experts on Air quality and thermal comfort,Visual comfort and Acoustics.

Too hot in the classroomsDry air due to excessive ventilation and / or particlesToo much particles and dust in shelves, furnitureNot enough light in classrooms, many old installationsHigh sound from ventilation in many classroomsHigh radiation temperature in fluorescent lampsLow awareness among personell of the status of thebuildingsAlso measure wintertime is important

Air quality and thermal comfort – StefanLysénStefan Lysén raised 5 factors for a good air quality. Allparameters are important since they affect each other andindividual actions can have a negative impact on others. Thekey factors are temperature, humidity, CO2, particles andforeign substances.The level of humidity is important. When the humidity isbetween 40% and 60%, the risk of unwanted microorganismsand symptoms is lower.Recent studies also confirm that the transmission of viruses,e.g. cough, decreases significantly at a humidity above 45%.During spring and summer this year, Stefan conducted surveysin four schools that was presented during the seminar. Some ofthe findings in summary:

Visual comfort – Reine KarlssonReine Karlsson explained that the quality of the lighting affectshealth and well-being much more than most people are awareof and that there is a big difference in customer value andsociety value between different LED lamps and betweendifferent light environments. Premises that appear to be not soesthetic and not so attractive have low customer value. Schoolswith inappropriate lighting have lower society value. The quality of indoor lighting is important because indoorlighting is important for people's health and well-being.Investing in LED lighting that provides good and appreciatedlighting environments is a cost-effective way to show that aschool cares about its students and teachers.

Jonas Christensson, Reine Karsson in the middle and Stefan Lysén to the right

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SEMINARS IN DALARNA ABOUT GOODINDOOR CLIMATEAuthor: Hans Ahlin, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

Seminar in Falun, Stefan Lysén speaks about air quality

Acoustic comfort – Jonas ChristenssonIt's important that classrooms provide good conditions for bothlisteners and speakers. To listen without effort is important forlearning, and we know that a poor sound environment is aburden that impedes learning and have a negative effect onteachers voice health.The sound reflections have a greatimpact on both the speaker and the listeners. In mostlanguages the information is carried out by the consonants,looking at the speech spectra we see that most vowels are lowin frequency and high in strengths and most consonants arelow in strength and higher in frequency. If the room reflectionsamplify the lower frequencies the “strong” vowels will be“stronger” and have a masking effect on the consonants.These rooms have low speech intelligibility. To create goodspeech intelligibility it is important that the surfaces in theroom amplify the higher frequencies.A place that amplifies the higher frequencies is the Swedishforests. Jonas have done several listening and speaking tests indifferent forests. Most people feel that it's very easy tounderstand what the speaker says, good speech intelligibility,and it's also very pleasant to speak in a forest, good speakcomfort. The results are interesting and he means that “forestacoustics” should be the goal in terms of acoustic conditions inclassrooms.How to order a good sound environment? Jonas explained thatthe Housing Agency places demands on the sound environmentin buildings. The requirements are obtained from SS 25268.SS 25268 is a Swedish sound rating standard for classrooms,care rooms, offices and hotels. For more information seewww.ljudskolan.se/ljudfakta/

The spectral distribution and the proportion of directed lightare also important to be able to interpret people's facialexpressions. The quality of light is important for our visualfunction, how we see things and our emotional experience,interpretation of facial expressions, security, well-being andstimulation. For example is intense bluish light good in themorning, but not in afternoons and evenings.

A classroom in Malmö before and after installation Human Centric lightning

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FOLLOW-UP HELPS ACHIEVE ANDMAINTAIN SAVINGS AND IMPROVEMENTSIN RENOVATION PROJECTSAuthor: Sofie Hougaard Nielsen, Gate 21, Denmark

How do you make sure that you get the actual savings andimprovements you intended when you carry out a largescalerenovation project? Egedal Municipality in Denmark found outthat the answer to that question is to follow-up and test theperformance of the installations continuously.As a part of the overall energy plan the municipality set out toreduce the energy consumption which included renovation ofthe technical installations in the municipal buildings. Instead ofjust focusing on lowering the amount of energy being used, itwas decided that the project should focus on improving theindoor climate and level of maintenance as well. This decision isbuilt on the Multi Service Contracting mindset (MSC), whichmeans that several services are included in the renovationproject.

The results from a public school, Boesagerskolen, serves as agood example of the results this way of thinking can bring.

User experiences are valuable inputBefore the renovation process started Egedal Municipalityhired a consultant, Dansk Energi Management, to map thepossible energy renovation initiatives. Dansk EnergiManagement also measured the indoor climate of ten schoolsand completed surveys among 500 employees about theirexperience of the indoor climate. User experiences are valuablebecause some aspects can be difficult to measure quantitively.The results were used to help decide what solutions to choosein the renovation project and provided a baseline to compare

Rättvik public real estate company, RFAB manages all buildingsfor Rättvik municipality. Enåbacken elderly home was built inthe early 1990s with a ventilation system which was thenmodern, but which now needs to be replaced."One reason for the investment is that we also want to installcomfort cooling," says CEO Björn "Ebbe" Evbjer. "It is not anacceptable working environment for the staff with some daysover thirty degrees indoors and the elderly should not have toexperience such a summer again."Another problem is the noise from the ventilation, especially insome rooms. To get a fresh air, the ventilation is forced, whichcauses a disturbing noise.The solution chosen is to replace the entire ventilation unitwith a new one that has fans with variable frequency drive(VFD) and with more efficient heat exchangers, while installingalso comfort cooling.

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with after the renovation was completed. It was decided thatthe renovation project should include replacement of theventilation system, optimizing the heating system and thebuilding management system (BMS), implementing remoteelectricity meter reading, and deploying new artificial lighting.

Several follow-up tests before one-yearinspectionAfter the renovation was finished in Boesagerskolen in 2019Dansk Energi Management followed up on the performance ofthe systems – this follow-up served as a case in the project,EFFECT4buildings. Traditionally a follow-up only consists of aone-year inspection. Instead several follow-up PerformanceOperation Tests were carried out, in between the handover andthe one-year inspection, with interesting results.Energy consumption and the quality of indoor climate largelydepends on the season of the year, so the continuous testingwas also done to check that the installations work, not onlyright after the handover but also over time and in differentkinds of weather. By following up and checking theperformance of the systems, both quantitatively andqualitatively, the municipality can achieve and maintain theenergy savings and the improvements of the indoor climate.

Tests helped identify defects soonerThe tests lead to identification of defects that otherwise mightnot have been discovered, and at least not so soon after theimplementation of the systems. The energy savings wereinitially not as big as expected and the employees experiencedbig differences in the room temperature. Both problemsstemmed from technical issues and wrong settings on the newenergy control system. Primarily, the wrong settings caused theventilation to work as the primary heat source and to operateoutside of opening hours.The tests also documented the achieved improvements causedby the renovation project. The renovation resulted in a lowerconcentration of carbon dioxide in both classrooms and staffrooms with a better indoor climate as a result. Students andteachers also experienced better air quality and acoustics. Thelatter was a bit surprising but might be a result of theventilation being regulated so it produces less noise.The case has given Egedal Municipality ideas on how to follow-up on performance and emphasized the importance ofincluding this when designing the project and the contract.This knowledge will be brought into the upcoming renovationprojects.

ENÅBACKEN GETS A BETTER INDOORCLIMATE WHILE SAVING ENERGYAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

"We made a similar solution in another property and saved 50%of the energy use and I think we will save a lot also here," saysreal estate technician Robert Lassar.

The ventilation is placed on the wind and the new units will belifted in through a hole in the roof that we will make. In thisway, less disturbance is created for the people living andworking in the building.The project EFFECT4buildings has mapped the indoorenvironment before the measures and will follow up with newmeasurements afterwards in order to be able to compare. Whatis mainly measured is carbon dioxide, draft, temperature,humidity and noise.Energy consumption is followed up. "It gives us knowledge thatcan be used in the continued work to help building managerswith advice and knowledge," says Hans Ahlin, project assistantmanager."We do not yet know if we will bring down the noise enough fromthe ventilation. The channels can be too narrow, but we'll seethat in the next step when this measure is made," says RobertLassbo.

Robert Lassar at Rättviks Fastighets AB shows the ventilation that willnow be replaced by better and more energy efficient

The visit also stated that there is a need to review the lightingthat probably does not correspond to the lighting needs of anolder person. Also, here EFFECT4buildings can give advice andhelp improve planning.

To the left: lighting in the apartment's kitchen and to the right: lighting in the livingroom

The contractor Kemp and Lauritzen is working to develop amore flexible model for large-scale renovation projects. Inaddition to energy savings, the model will also take intoaccount parameters such as user satisfaction and indoorclimate.

Is the ESCO model too standardized?When planning major renovation projects, the ESCO model isa well-known tool. ESCO is a model for financing energyrenovation projects via energy savings, and has been appliedto several major renovation projects in Denmark. In the initialstages of an ESCO project, specific goals for the energyrenovation are set, which the contractor can keep up withduring a given warranty period.In the ESCO model, the contractor first prepares a thoroughanalysis of the building's current energy consumption. Thepotential energy savings form the framework of a negotiationwith the developer, after which one or more performanceguarantees are given. If the guarantees are not fulfilled, thecontractor must either improve their renovation project orpay the difference between the predicted and real energyconsumption. However, if more energy is saved than wasexpected, the parties will typically share the profits.According to Esben Jacobsen from Kemp & Lauritzen, ESCOfocuses exclusively on energy consumption, a slightly toostandardized solution. He believes that customers areincreasingly demanding renovation solutions that are moreflexible and based on customer needs. The solution is calledMulti-Service-Contracting (MSC), with the goal of changingthe perspective from achieving energy savings to addressingthe client's overall property challenges.“Where ESCO was a large unified package offered to allcustomers in the same way, MSC is a good way to meet anincreasing need for individual renovation solutions, with thecustomer at the center,” says Esben Jacobsen, Head of theESCO department in Kemp & Lauritzen.

It’s about more than just energy savingsThe thinking behind MSC is reminiscent of ESCO, but inaddition to energy savings, a number of other parameters areconsidered, such as indoor climate, operation andmaintenance. This means that the developer can get a packagesolution that is able to solve several challenges in a property.Although it often takes extra resources to include moreparameters in the renovation planning phase, that money canoften be earned several times over during the life of thebuilding or project.During the initial phase of a renovation project, Kemp andLauritzen begin with a thorough analysis of energyconsumption, but also of both the experienced and measurableindoor climate parameters. The actual indoor climate of thebuilding is recorded, measuring moisture, sound levels, CO2levels and temperature, and these are compared with users'experiences of the same parameters. The data from thisanalysis forms the basis for a conversation between thedeveloper and the contractor, where they jointly agree onwhich parameters the customer wants to include in theproject.

According to Esben Jacobsen, beginning with the individualcustomer's needs and wishes is a way of securing the future ofhis business, a trend that is seen across industries.

“When we move in this direction, it’s because there is a need forit in the market. Our belief is that this is where the market isheaded,” says Esben Jacobsen, Head of the ESCO department inKemp & Lauritzen.

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KEMP AND LAURITZEN WOULD LIKE TO DEVELOP A MORE FLEXIBLE MODEL FOR RENOVATION PROJECTSAuthor: Sofie Hougaard Nielsen, Gate 21, Denmark

Photo: Kemp and Lauritzen

Measuring user satisfactionWhen measuring user satisfaction, Kemp and Lauritzen havepartnered with the company CLIMAID, which allows users tojudge the building's indoor climate via an app. In this app,users can record how well the temperature or humidity of aroom suits them personally.Although users' ratings of the indoor climate serve as astarting point for negotiations with the developer prior to therenovation, the measurements do not stop there.Users continue to re-evaluate the indoor climate after therenovations, and often throughout the warranty period. Theuser satisfaction survey is a useful tool for the contractor,because it can help identify which problems the developerhas and how they can be solved. The builder also benefitsfrom ongoing user ratings as they provide an opportunity tofollow up on whether the indoor climate improvements havehad the desired effect for the users.

Hard to offer indoor climate guaranteesAlthough it is important to include users' perspectives in theprocess, Kemp and Lauritzen are still reluctant to provideguarantees on indoor climate or the perceived ease of use.This kind of project has not yet been trialed in Denmark,although several contractors are working to make theirofferings more flexible and user-oriented.

“We are still working on developing how we technicallyimplement these parameters,” says Esben Jacobsen, Head ofthe ESCO department in Kemp & Lauritzen

The fact that binding guarantees can be made for energysavings provides confidence for the developer, who gets fairlyaccurate forecasts for both energy savings and the time ittakes to see financial returns. In theory, the MSC modelshould also be able to offer guarantees on other parameters,too, but providing performance guarantees on, for example,indoor climate, is in many ways more complicated thanproviding energy savings guarantees.Kemp and Lauritzen emphasize that in order to work with theMSC model, it is important that a partnership developsbetween the builder and contractor based on trust, whereboth parties understand that the MSC model is still underdevelopment.

“We know from ESCO that it can offer really good results, butof course the model needs to be built right,” says EsbenJacobsen, Head of the ESCO department in Kemp & Lauritzen.

On the right pathAlthough the MSC model is not yet the standard for majorrenovation projects, the increased focus on flexible solutionsand the involvement of user surveys is a big step on the pathto a more holistic model. Although there are no examples ofguarantees beyond energy savings, there is a move towardsoffering customers holistic renovation projects that look at theinteraction between the building's technical installations.

“When you’re doing renovations today, you only look at the partyou are renovating. You don't think about the connectionbetween a window, a ventilation system and a heating system,”says Esben Jacobsen, Head of the ESCO department in Kemp &Lauritzen.

Like the ESCO model, which made its debut 12 years ago,according to Esben Jacobsen, the MSC model requires that allparties are informed about any new opportunities and willingto cooperate in new ways. However, due to procurement rules,the contractor must not influence supply itself. Therefore, thetender advisors play an important role when implementing theMSC model.Whoever it is that takes the next step, it is crucial that there isan incentive to complete holistic renovation projects. The EUproject EFFECT4Buildings works purposefully to create greaterincentives to implement holistic models for renovationprojects.

About Kemp and Lauritzen

Kemp & Lauritzen is a Danish installation company with almost2,000 employees across the country. They provide solutions inthe fields of electricity, plumbing, ventilation and refrigerationand offer everything from everyday service to large contractsand unique specialties.Kemp & Lauritzen has been providing complete technicalsolutions for both private traders and public customers formore than 135 years.

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Photo: CLIMAID

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Reaching energy and climate goals requires involving building users, to let them understand whatenergy savings can be achieved thanks to changes in their behaviour. Green lease contracts (GLCs)offer a model providing a structural platform for cooperation between building owners and tenants.Contracts are always energy-related, but they are often supplemented with information aboutchoice of materials, waste management, information and training activities, and paving the way formore sustainable buildings. GLCs stimulate dialogue and continuous improvement, reaching forfinancial incentives if such a need arises. Various forms of GLCs can be developed for differentkinds of buildings.A green lease contract can be applied for to all buildings in which energy efficiency can beincreased. Signing a contract is fairly easy, but keeping it useful and alive is not. Key implementationchallenges include a lack of time and motivation as well as poor communication.To overcome them, a contract should set up clear goals and impose an open and continuousdialogue between both parties. Collaboration is key to get the most out of the agreement and it willlower the buildings climate impact if its achieved. Keeping the dialogue alive increases thelikelihood that the agreement and lowered energy use in the building will last.

In May, the municipality property manager, Olle Wiking andCamilla Andersson, the principal of the Smedsbergsskolan,signed the municipality's first green lease contract.It is a major step towards more conscious environmental workfor both the school and the municipality. The agreement means,that both parties will work to reduce energy and material use. Italso states that both parties promise to choose environmentfriendly materials when refurbished or repaired the facility.A green lease contract gives the property owners theopportunity to contribute to a better environment. Themunicipality going to do an energy audit of the school, that willhelp them to priorities which energy measures will be bestsuited to implement. The school will focus on education on sustainability this willhelp teachers, students and parents to make greener choicesand save energy. One project is to develop their recyclingstations. In May 2020 the school organized an environmentalday to celebrate their accomplishments. Vansbro municipality is proud taking this step and lookingforward to signing more contracts in the future.

GREEN LEASE CONTRACT

VANSBROS FIRST GREEN LEASINGCONTRACTAuthor: Benny Magnusson, Sustainable Building Cluster in Dalarna, Sweden

Photo: The principal of the smedsbersskolan, Camilla Andersson, and themunicipality's acting property manager, Olle Wiking, have just signed their first

green lease agreement.

Target: Municipality’s, landlords, tenants,schoolsPlanned outcome: Lower energy use andsustainability.

Entra develops, rents out and manages properties of around 1.3million square meters in 90 buildings in several of the largestcities in Norway. In order to establish good cooperation forenergy and environmental smart solutions with tenants, theyhave offered Green Leasing Contracts for several years."Environment more frequently outweighs energy savings in theseagreements," says Trond Simonsen, environmental manager atEntra ASA.Entra started offering its tenants Green Leasing Contractsalready in 2011. So far, they have signed more than 100agreements, and we wonder what these agreements entail andwho saves the most - Entra, the tenants or the environment? The principle of Green Leasing is that the landlord - in this caseEntra - maps energy and environmental measures in thebuilding. Then a decision is made to invest in measures. In thisconnection, a calculation is set up that shows what energysavings the measures will entail and how long it will take beforethe savings have financed the investment. Entra covers thecosts of energy analyses and invests in the implementation ofmeasures.The tenant enters into an agreement on repayment of theinvestment in the form of increased common costs or anotherform of repayment. The agreed sum must always be lower thanthe savings in energy costs. In other words, net profit for thetenant right from the start. Once the investment has beenrepaid, the tenant keeps the savings from the measure in full inthe form of lower energy costs. "In addition to lower energy costs, the advantage for tenants willbe upgraded technical facilities and equipment, a more modernbuilding and a better indoor climate," says Simonsen.The question then is what motivates Entra to enter into thistype of agreement."It is our overall strategic goal to be an environmental leader inthe industry," says Simonsen. "We use this in or marketing bothto existing and new tenants. In addition, I must highlight theupgrading of the building stock and technical facilities and theincrease in value it gives us. An example is installed BMS systems(building management system) which have given our customercenter a better overview of operations.

Hence they can provide tenants with better and faster servicethan before. Sometimes they can detect discrepancies before thecustomer discovers it and thus save them unnecessary costs. Thesimple truth is that we strengthen the relationship with ourcustomers through such agreements," he states.Entra has also gained other experiences along the way.Changes have been made in the design of the agreements from2011 until today. In some cases, the savings were not as large asexpected and discussions arose. The reason was most oftenchanges in use such as the desire for increased indoorcomfort, longer period of use, more users of the buildings orother conditions that make it difficult to make the savingsvisible for tenants. It is often unsatisfactory to be told thatwithout measures, energy consumption would have increasedeven more. Entra has therefore been careful to specify howimportant the use of a building is, as well as go trough otherimportant clarifications of expectations together with thetenants in advance.Finally, we ask what Simonsen thinks the tenants are mostsatisfied with in this type of agreement.

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PROFITABLE, SIMPLE AND CONTAINSLIMITED LEGAL ISSUESAuthor: Liv Randi Lindseth, Contracted by Inland County Council, Norway

Trond Simonsen, environmental manager at EntraASA"I experience that the tenants are satisfied that we takethe initiative," says Simonsen, "and that we areresponsible for the actual implementation of measures.They get more environmentally friendly buildings witha better indoor climate as an extra pluss. The fact thatthey save costs is of course also something theyappreciate, but it turns out that many tenants arehappy to enter a “ready made” agreement when itcomes to environmental measures. Several are alreadyinvolved in environmental certification and otherclimatel projects and we see more and more often thatthese aspects outweigh the savings themselves. Thismay indicate that our tenants are better updated onthe importance of environmental and climate issuesnow than they were when we started up."

Energy consumption in buildingsHeatingElectricityTypes of energyClimate changeLightingVentilationWaterEnergy PlanningWaste

In 2019, a total of 21 educational institutions from 8municipalities of Vidzeme Planning Region (VPR) tested thegreen lease agreement in their schools, participating in theschool competition “Efficient energy consumption ineducational institutions”. Schools committed to reducing theirschool's energy consumption by changing their habits andintroducing regular energy-saving measures.

The aim of the program was to promote rational energyconsumption in the municipalities of VPR by motivatingeducational institutions to cooperate with their municipalitiesand to involve students in reducing wasteful energy costs.Educational institutions mainly competed with themselves toachieve energy savings, but healthy competition was alsocreated by having a school top. VPR made an agreement withlocal governments and educational institutions that most of theachieved cost savings will be used for school needs.At the beginning of the competition, each participating schooland local government submitted energy consumption data for2017 and 2018 to the VPR, which allowed to determine thebaseline for future calculations. Because of the changingweather conditions, VPR also collected data on energyconsumption each year, and on climatic conditions - outdoor airtemperature and number of heating days. "For example, heat consumption has been compared to what itwould have been if the climate had been identical in all years, inother words, the data have been adjusted to the same climaticconditions," adds Jānis Ikaunieks, Energy Efficiency Expert ofVPR.

In order to motivate students to become knowledgeable andresponsible energy users, as well as to support teachers andother school staff, a team of experts from VPR developed astudy material on 10 topics:

Each member school received monthly study materials forstudents and support materials for teachers during theprogram.

Each member school received monthly study materials forstudents and support materials for teachers during theprogram.

“Teaching materials are mainly intended for students in theprimary school stage, but they can also be adapted for studentsof other ages. The place and time of using the materials in theteaching process is chosen by the teacher. Most of the topics fitinto classroom lessons, natural sciences, physics, social sciences,but some topics can be used in biology, geography, homeeconomics, technology and other subjects, as well as other schoolactivities,” explains Ingūna Irbīte, VPR expert in preparing thestudy material.

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IN VIDZEME, 21 SCHOOLS TESTED THEGREEN LEASE CONTRACTAuthor: Baiba Šelkovska, Rūta Ročāne, Vidzeme Planning Region, Latvia

Reduction of energy consumption in schoolsduring the program

In the group which collected data on both consumedelectricity and heat, the 1st place was won by Kocēni PrimarySchool of Kocēni district, reducing energy consumption(electricity and heat) by 18.52 % in 2019. In the group whereschools counted only electricity consumption, Bilska PrimarySchool of Smiltene region took the honorable 1st place with areduced energy consumption of 14.91 %.

Study materials in Latvian are available onVidzeme Planning Region webpage:www.vidzeme.lv

Photo: School program's award ceremony in Kocēni municipality, Latvia

Prosumerism targets a group of energy consumers that not only consume energy but also produceenergy and can give back the surplus to the grid or other energy consumers. There are manyreasons for becoming a prosumer, both economic (reduction of electricity bills and gaining profit)and environmental.Before deciding whether to become a prosumer, one needs to analyse the current situation interms of legislation, laws, and support mechanisms in one’s country.Existing tools, including the EFFECT4buildings tool for prosumers, can help calculate the project’sprofitability. Deciding to become a prosumer, one should follow existing guidelines and instructionsto implement the chosen PV system.

SOLAR ENERGY CALCULATOR HELPS TO PLAN OPTIMAL SIZE ANDPROFITABILITY

For calculation of solar PV plants, several national tools forcalculating the production potential is available, but to plan foran optimal size of a PV plant more than that is needed. A tool isneeded to compare the production with the energy use of thebuilding, to choose the optimal size. Also a better tool forfinancial calculation is needed. Existing tools for that has mostoften very rough calculations without the possibility of changingdifferent parameters.

EFFECT4buildings has developed an excel-tool for solar energy calculations that can bedownloaded from www.effect4buildings.se

Financial calculationIn the last step the profitability can be calculated.

PROSUMERISM

Author: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

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Find out the optimal size of the PV plant If the roof can produce more electricity thanneeded, step one helps to calculate the optimalsize. In this step a few data input is needed.Individual data for energy use can be insertedor general data can be used.

Find out how much electricity your roof canproduceA list of national web calculation tools tocalculate the production capacity of a roof.

The result is an excel-tool to calculate optimal size of solarPV plant and the economical profitability in 3 steps:

HOW TO MAP POTENTIAL SOLAR PANELGROUND AREAS?

area registration and identification details *)name of area *)exact address of area *)total square-m2 of area *)estimation square-m2 of area, which can be utilized *)owner of area (priorized city owned & other public ownedareas) *)evaluation of ground & soil qualitycity master plan exists (yes / no)current usageexisting obstaclespotential energy user located in

master power line (min 110 kV)

threat of vandalismnature issues, flora & fauna,

opinion of neighbors and citizenspublic visibility and imago issueshistorical values

capability to survive of extreme weather conditionssun light shadowing conditions

Renewable energy sources have a key role when decreasingCO2-emissions and preventing climate change. Solar energy isone of the most potential option to produce energy in a cleanway. PV-panels can be for example installed on the roof areas ofthe existing buildings or new buildings under construction. Butwhen planning to implement a big scale PV-plants, the mostconvenient choice is to locate panels on the appropriate groundarea. Process how to identify the most suitable ground areas forsolar panel plant shall be conducted in a structural way step-by-step.

Funding can be available both from commercial partners andpublic sources as form of subsides. The business model may bebased for example on the idea, that the ground area for PV-plant is located on the very nearby of potential (for exampleindustrial) end user.Always the main issue under discussion is, that implementing ofPV-plant shall be profitable and attractive in the funding pointof view. Furthermore an appropriate template for evaluating identifiedground areas shall be available. The template shall becomprehensive and include relevant versatile categories inaiming to create the final rank list of identified areas. Thecategories could be for example following:

the neighborhood

located in the neighborhood

endangered species

logistical issues (roads etc...) easiness for maintenance work

The identifying phase of ground areas shall be started withdesktop research. This means in practice deep study of allpotential areas inside the defined land area (for exampleinside a specified municipality borders) by utilizing existingmap material. By conducting this desktop work the mainpurpose is to find enough big number of interesting areasfor more detailed investigation. After preliminary study has been finalized, the next step isto take a practical walk and review of all identified areas.Remember to plan carefully the logistical issues of thereview to avoid unnecessary travelling, especially whenthere is long distance between areas. The evaluationtemplate shall be used when estimating all areas by fillingcriteria columns. It is also extremely essential to documentall visits at areas by taking sufficient number of photos forfurther discussions. When all areas have been evaluated and columns oftemplate have been filled, the next phase is to summarizethe results. This can be implemented for example bypublishing “top ranking” of evaluated areas. The summarycan be also divided in different categories based on theestimated MW-size of planned PV-plant, see sampletemplate below.

The template itself can be quite simple, for example excelbased sheet as presented in the chart below. Criteria forevaluation are in separate columns and written judgementfor each column shall be filled, when reviewing groundareas. It is preferable to use written evaluation instead ofpure numeric, especially when amount of evaluated areas israther large.

Author: Matti Pylkkö, Environmental office of Lappeenranta region, Finland

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All presented elements and information are needed to beprovided as basic material, before starting to negotiate incooperation with commercial partners to implementfurther steps of PV-plants.

Before starting to map potentialground areas, some preliminarywork is needed to be done,discussed and finally decided. Thereexist several optional businessmodels, which are possible whenimplementing the PV-plant. Inpractice external funding is alwaysneeded, when PV-plant of MW-sizeis under planning process.

*) =basic information of identified area

HOW ARE PROSUMERS SETTLED INPOLAND?

The prosumer is both a producer and a consumer of energy. InPoland, the rules of prosumers functioning are described andregulated in the Act on Renewable Energy Sources. Accordingto the Act, a prosumer in Poland is the owner of a photovoltaicmicro-solar system with a capacity of up to 50 kWp.For today, prosumers are divided into enterprises and physicalpeople.Enterprises consume produced energy in real time, the excesscan be sold to the network at the price of black energy -without any support.Physical people are encompassed by a preferential method ofsettlement - the so-called rebate system, known in Europe asa net-metering system.The rebate represents a method of cashless settlement ofelectric energy consumed by a prosumer and produced inmicro-installations.The settlement as part of the rebate is carried out after a one-year or shorter period depending on the provisions in thecomprehensive contract with the seller of energy, wherein forinstallations with a capacity of up to 10 kW for 1 kWh sent tothe network, the prosumer may receive 0,8 kWh.

In case of installations with a capacity of 10-40 kW, thesettlement is carried out in a ratio of 1 to 0.7.What does it mean? First of all, that in order to exploit themicro-power plant as efficiently as possible, it is necessaryto consume as much energy as possible in real time. Thenwe use the produced energy in a ratio of 1: 1.If we use our own energy, which the network shares with uswe lose respectively 20-30% of the energy produced by us.In dedicated for prosumers systems of a settlement isnecessary to have signed a complex agreement for theprovision of distribution services and sale of electricity.While the formalities related to the implementation ofphotovoltaic micro-installation end with notification to anenergy company.At this time, a change to the provisions of the act onrenewable energy sources is planned.The changes are to include among other prosumersdefinition, more specifically is planned to extend it to smalland medium enterprises. It will enable small and mediumenterprises to settle inthe rebate system.

Author: Barbara Łuksik, Association of Communities and Cities of Malopolska Region, Poland

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SOLAR ENERGY FAIR IN DALARNA - AGREAT SUCESS!Author: Hans Ahlin, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

On March 4 EFFECT4buildings arranged a Solar Energy Fair incollaboration with University of Dalarna and Dalarna Countyin the municipality of Borlänge. We had 22 exhibitors and 650visitors, well above what we expected. Many visitors camefrom companies in the region interested in solar energysolutions.The fair was a a meeting place for the new energy producer.Creating your own energy on your own roof is becoming verypopular in Sweden for both private persons, companies andtenant-owner associations.Visitors took part in lectures, offers and information on heatproduction, electricity generation, battery storage andelectric car charging.

Photo: From left - Marit Ragnarsson, EFFECT4buildings project managerand David Börjesson, Coordinator

The municipality of Ludvika has decided to invest 3 million Euroin solar energy. Several installations have already been madeand they have learned a lot on the road, among other things,they have developed a model for tendering calls that will ensurethat you avoid problems and get the right quality.

Political decision behind a large investmentin solar energy in the municipality of Ludvika

Ludvika municipality's environmentally committed politicianshave decided to invest 3 million Euros in setting up solar panels.As a result, property managers have received a clear order thatis at the forefront and which it is important to do somethinggood about. There is a clear link to the large employer ABB andthe companies around ABB with high competence in electricpower technology. One goal is also to increase interest in solarenergy among other actors.The responsibility for implementing the investment is now atthe public company Ludvikahem, which is taking over both themanagement and ownership of the municipality's properties.Ludvikahem already owns a portfolio of housing and premises.

Experiences from the installations made

"We have learned a lot from the projects we have done," saysconstruction manager Jan Hedberg. This is still a bit of a wildwestern market that is not sufficiently regulated. At the firstinstallations, we can state that the contractor did not follow theregulations. It is mainly about electrical safety. The municipalityalso did not have sufficient own knowledge to request the rightsurveyor and understand what we missed. At a later check-up,we received 3 full pages of things that needed to be fixed, eventhough the inspector approved the facility. So, in the future, weknow how important it is to hire an inspector with the rightskills.

"We have also learned how important it is to bring the grid ownerin the planning from the start," says Jan Hedberg. "They havetheir own rules for how the installations are to be made and afterall, they are the ones who must approve the distribution of excesselectricity. We have had a very good cooperation with our localgrid company VB Energi. The Fire department demand clear signsthat it is connected power installation. Standardized rules arebeginning to emerge, but so far, local rules have to be followed inmany respects, and responsible parties might not have enoughknowledge and routines either."

There are also many contractors who sell and assemble solarenergy without sufficient knowledge, which is not serious. Youhave to have contracts with them that they must follow. Duringthe actual installation it is also important with staff that you canhave a good dialogue with.

Procurement document for tenderingprocessOver time, Ludvikahem has developed its procurementdocument, which can now be used advantageously by othersas a starting point for the tendering process of solar powerplants. The tender documents include a long list of whichregulations the installer has to follow. Much is about ensuringthat the plant meets the requirements for electrical safety.Requirements should also be set for the performance of thesolar panels, inverters, switches and marking. Afterinstallation, the plant must be started and tested togetherwith the client. The supplier must also provide a maintenanceplan.

Transfer electricity between buildings andreal estatesLudvikahem is already a company and has been registered asan electricity trading company. Rules that limit the possibilityof using electricity in other properties than where theelectricity is produced have been a constant concern anddemanded to have a concession for electricity sales.Ludvikahem has now, together with the electricity gridcompany VB Energi, found a solution to this, at least when theproperties are located next to each other. A DC power gridhas been established that connects adjacent properties andtechnology from Ferroamp is used to power control etc.

Continued installationsNow it is Ludvikahem who makes its own decisions aboutcontinued solar energy investments. They are not basedprimarily on economic profitability, but on political directivesas it is a municipal-owned company.Decisions have been made that it should be solar energy on allnew buildings."We see solar energy as an important component in order toachieve the new EU directive on energy performance for newbuildings," says Jan Hedberg.Right now we are installing solar energy in one block withnew housing, Tjädern. We are investing in traditional solarpanels. We are also interested in testing roof-integratedsolutions, but have not dared to jump on it yet.

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LUDVIKA MUNICIPALITY IS INVESTINGHEAVILY IN SOLAR ENERGYAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

Photo: Solar panels on the sports hall's facade in Ludvikawhere 175 kW traditional solar panels have been installed.

Photo: Jan Hedberg, construction manager,Ludvikahem says that they have learned a lotfrom the solar energy projects that have been

done and now developed a functioningprocurement document.

savings that come from the amount of electricity that nolonger needs to be purchasedincome that comes from the amount of producedelectricity that is sold to the gridinvestments that come from developing the PV system.

The profitability assessment in the financial calculations isbased on:

Internal rate of return and the pay-back-time is calculatedfrom total investment costs and total savings plus income.

During the project development, data from the tool was takenin consideration. Based on the calculated amount ofelectricity that PV system can produce, procurementincluded energy efficiency guarantees and description of themeasurement and verification methodology. Gulbenemunicipality’s PV system procurements technicalspecification included that the system must produce at least49,60 MWh electricity a year, system’s capacity must be ateast 54,60 kW and, when taking in consideration solar panels’25-year capacity guarantee for 80% efficiency, PV system’sefficiency in 5 years cannot go lower than 16,456%. Duringthese 5 years once a year the produced electricity amountwill be measured to see if it reaches the guaranteed amountat specific solar radiation. If the solar radiation changes, theguarantee changes according to the measured solarradiation data.

This approach helped to ensure that the municipality boughta system that will reach its energy efficiency goals. Gulbenemunicipality installed 158 solar panels and estimate that theirinvestment will have a payback time of 6 years thanks to the70% co-financing by the National Emission quota instrument.

The EFFECT4buildings prosumerism tool helps withcalculations regarding PV system in the project planningstage. It helps determine the optimal size of the PV system,find out how much electricity can be produced from aselected area, make financial calculations, and helps find outhow a storage system would improve PV system’s efficiency.Vidzeme Planning Region tested the tool in Gulbenemunicipality in 2019 and helped with EPC (EnergyPerformance Contracting) principles when procuring theservice provider.

Gulbene municipality was planning to install solar power planton the roof of the local government administration building.This building had continuous electricity consumption toensure uninterrupted functions of different electricalappliances which made it suitable for a solar power plant.Also, the roof of the building was well suited for solar panels,not having any shadow from the surrounding objects. Sincethe municipality already knew the area for PV system and theplanned PV system’s capacity, the Prosumerism tool was usedfor calculation of solar electricity production and for financialcalculations.

One of the Prosumer tool results is given below, where totalused electricity from PV are shown in green color but yellowcolor represent overproduction which in Gulbene case will besold in the electricity grid.

PROSUMERISM AND EPC TOOLS HELPPROCURE AN EFFECTIVE SOLAR POWERPLANT SOLUTION IN GULBENEMUNICIPALITY

The Prosumer tool can be used to answer two basic needs: By using existing data of yearly electricity needs andenergy load profile, entering planed PV system’s capacityand the optimal production profile, the tool calculatesenergy production and consumption results.By entering the energy amount the PV system can produceand use and other existing data about specific countriesenergy production/transportation/selling prices and dataon the chosen area, the tool does financial calculations.

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Authors: Rūta Ročāne and Jānis Ikaunieks, Vidzeme Planning Region, Latvia

The evaluation tool can be used both ways - by knowing PVsystem’s capacity and production profile you can calculate itselectricity production and by knowing how much electricityyou need to produce, you can calculate what capacity needsto be installed.

Photo: Solar panels on Gulbene municipality roof. (Photo from Gulbene municipality)

In the framework of the EU Sustainable Energy Week in thesummer of 2019 in Cesis Vidzeme Planning Region broughttogether local government specialists, energy managers, heatsupply specialists, building managers and other interestedparties to discuss the use of solar energy for electricitygeneration in Vidzeme and elsewhere in Latvia. The paneldiscussion showed that solar energy for electricity generationis rarely used.The moderator of the panel discussion was Inese Dosē, GlobalEnergy MBA, Business Intelligence Manager, expert with over10 years of experience in energy sector.The aim of the panel discussion "From Sun to Electricity" wasto stimulate a discussion on the use of solar energy forelectricity production, identify existing barriers and possiblesolutions for using solar potential. The event was attended bymunicipal experts, energy managers, heat specialists, buildingmanagers and other interested parties.The the Ministry of Economics, distribution network ownerJSC "Sadales tīkls" and Latvian Solar Energy Asociation werethe keynote speakers but solar panel installers "AJ Power" andGulbene municipality together with speakers participated inmoderated discussion between all involved parties.The Ministry of Economics presented excisting situation andplanned changes in solar energy legislation. Moreover,Ministry of Economics introduced with planned measures topromote the use of solar energy, for example improvement ofnet-system. Currently, the Ministry of Economics is developing theNational Energy and Climate Plan for 2021-2030, where thepromotion of non-emission technologies in electricityproduction and promotion of self-generation and self-consumption of energy are among the goals."Sadales tīkls" JSC is the maintainer and developer of theelectricity network in Latvia. It ensures power supply to overone million electricity users objects, with its services covering99% of the country's territory. Representative of the companyintroduced the solar power plant connection process and thenecessary documents step by step.

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IN LATVIA SOLAR ENERGY FORELECTRICITY GENERATION IS RARELY USEDAuthor: Baiba Šelkovska, Vidzeme Planning Region, Latvia

In turn, the Solar Energy Association in Latvia showed goodpractice examples here in Latvia, where solar panels forelectricity generation are successfully operating. One suchexample is in Tiraine, where a company has solar panelsinstalled on its own office and warehouse building.Solar panel suppliers, energy companies in Latvia "AJ Power",as well as SIA "Enefit" emphasized that the sector hasenormous potential for solar energy. Other participants of thediscussion encouraged the creation of a unified powergeneration / consumption system so that electricity producedin solar panels, for example, in Liepaja, where solar radiation ishigher, could be consumed, for example, in Aluksne.Households are also interested in installing solar panels, butthere is a lack of knowledge on how to implement suchprojects, how to choose suppliers and how to determine thebenefits of installation.Gulbene Municipality, also participated in the paneldiscussion, sharing the experience of the municipality in thedevelopment of the technical specification and procurementof the installation of solar panels on the municipal building.The Gulbene Municipality is one of ninemunicipalities in Vidzeme that has appealed to the VidzemePlanning Region's call for an assessment of the economicutility of solar panels for a municipal building within theEFFECT4buildings project.Vidzeme TV news story about panel discussion "From the Sunto Electricity" is available at: https://www.lsm.lv

Photos: Seminar on the use of solar energy for electricity generation in Vidzeme inCēsis, summer of 2019.

FUNDINGThe Energy Investment Funding tool deals with broadening the knowledge of the target group onexisting energy-investment–related funding sources and mechanisms, other than public fundingsources.The tool helps also share the knowledge and experience among project partners on the existingfunding mechanisms in their countries, which can help them promote and adapt similar solutions intheir countries. It can also facilitate finding sources to finance energy efficiency investments, bothpublic and private ones, in the project partner countries.

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HOW TO USE FUNDING IN THE MOSTCOST-EFFECTIVE WAYAuthor: Barbara Wos, Association of Communitiesand Cities of Malopolska Region, Poland

Verification of grant applications is carried out by the COC- Competition Organizing Institution.

There are a number of substantive criteria that determinethe award of points - the more points scored, the greaterthe chance of funding.

In order for the project to undergo substantiveassessment, it must achieve a certain percentage level ofpoints that can be obtained in total (often 30% of themaximum number of points). So it is necessary to analyzethe material ranges and adjust the material scope tomaximize the use of scoring.

The condition of co-financing is to ensure a reduction ofCO2 emissions by at least 30%. The key to the positiveeffects of both the assessment of applications as well aseconomic and functional aspects is therefore a properlyselected material scope, carefully refined investmentimplementation details: specialists, audits, equipment,services).

A number of formal conditions must be met, including:Submission of the application on time (with the provisothat the application submitted after the deadlineindicated in the competition notice is not considered)Preparation of the application on the applicable formCompleteness of application documentation:application and attachments

The scope of the undertaking of comprehensive energymodernization of the building must result from an energyaudit and lead to a reduction of final energy consumptionby at least 25% by meeting the technical conditions forbuilding partitions.

The design should comply with the so-called a low-carbon economy plan and an Integrated TerritorialInvestment strategy.

The maximum level of EU funding in eligible expenditureat project level is 85%, subject to the methodology forcalculating the maximum amount of funding - here youcan see how much investment in energy efficiency issupported and how much the EU focuses on such moderntechnologies.

Often projects implemented in public buildings are noteligible for support, in which over 15% of the building'stotal area is used for business or housing.

Projects are positively assessed only if they meet all therequired formal criteria - care for deadlines andappropriate documentation is very important.

Conclusions resulting from financing in energyefficiency in relation to local governments andinvestors:

In Denmark there is a construction limit, which sets anupper amount per year, for the municipalities’investments in construction work

The total amount for the construction limit is decidedeach year by the state and intends to prevent the publicinvestments from overheating

The public institution Association of Municipalities (KL),decides the construction limit for each municipality, sothey alltogether do not exceed the total constructionlimit

Depositing rules in Denmark supplement theconstruction limit by ensuring that a municipality setaside funds equally to the amount of a private suppliersrunning costs when it replaces a municipal constructioncost

The depositing rules entails that an EPC project cannotbe used as an expense neutral funding model, eventhough the municipality does not pay off the EPCsupplier up-front they must deposit the running costs

It is possible to get an exemption from the depositingrules but that will be assessed based on the individualproject

The construction limit and depositing rules means thatthe municipalities can experience prioritisationsbetween constructing 10 new buildings or completingenergy renovation of existing buildings even thoughloans/funding for projects are available.

KommuneKredit is an association with the purpose toprovide funding for municipalities and regions inDenmark

The purpose and possibilities for Kommunkredit is bindby law

KommuneKredit offers loans with low interest rates formunicpalities and regions

KommuneKredit can only finance loans for municipalpurpose not on an open and competitative market

The terms of the loans are equal for all and do not differdepending on purpose

The loans are funded by issuing bonds on the Danishand international bond market

Green investments can get financed through greenbonds within KommuneKredits Green Bond Framework.

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FUNDING SITUATION IN DENMARKAuthor: Louise Ellegaard Fich, Gate 21, Denmark

Funding by KommuneKredit in Denmark Funding obstacles in Denmark

Convincing decision makers is in practice a summary of utilizing all other tools in the toolbox. Themain message is that convincing decision makers needs really strong arguments and facts.Focusing on various issues, like energy saving potential, good and bad practices, local and nationalpolicies, the project addressed dilemmas of the three target groups: authorities, investors and users.The tool helps assess factors behind success and failure in convincing decision makers to fundenergy investments, and to provide good practices.

Do you experience unclear or conflicting objectives fromdecision makers? This can complicate renovation projects andcounteract a successful holistic renovation.It is not enough for decision makers to provide an overallpurpose; they must define clear objectives and break downobjectives into sub-objectives. For example an overall purpose‘to save cost for energy on your budget’ can be achieved inmany different ways: produce sustainable energy, convert to acheaper fuel, increase energy efficiency, reduce square metersof building stock, be flexible in your use or save money bybuying when energy is cheap and so on. In Multi Service Contracting (MSC), a holistic approach torenovation projects, a key element is to get decision makers todecide and prioritise clear objectives and sub-objectives.Since MSC includes several parameters such as energy, indoorclimate, and maintenance into one project, it is important toensure that no conflict exists among objectives. For example,reaching a certain payback time with energy savings andobtaining a better indoor climate can create a conflict, if thelatter objective can be achieved only by increasing energy use.

Defining clear objectives and sub-objectives and prioritiseamong them will help building managers. Building mangerscan illustrate conflicting or unclear objectives to decisionmakers in an objective hierarchy. In an objective hierarchythe main purpose must be put at the top, and then allobjectives should be included and broken down into sub-objectives. Whenever conflicting or unclear objectives occur,they must be highlighted, and decision makers mustprioritise and redefine. If carrying out separate projects foreach parameter, energy, indoor climate, maintenance etc.,building managers would also benefit from this approach toensure that the separate projects carried out do not conflictand sub-optimise. Further, having clear objectives andprioritisation from the start make it easier for buildingmanagers to follow up on whether objectives have beenreached e.g. by defining performance goals for each sub-objective. Of course, building managers should revisitpurpose and objectives throughout a renovation project andget the approval of decision makers to adjust if necessary.If you want to know more about this approach find the MSCtoolbox on: effect4buildings.se

CONVINCING DECISION MAKERS

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CLEAR OBJECTIVES ARE KEY TO BETTERRENOVATION PROJECTSAuthor: Louise Ellegaard Fich, Gate 21, Denmark

An objective hierarchy is a valuable tool forbuilding managers

Example of conflicting objectives in an objectivehierarchy: if more energy must be used toimprove indoor climate, one must prioritisebetween objectives and redefine them.

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SUCCESS FACTORS, FAILURES AND GOODEXAMPLES ON HOW DECISION MAKERSHAVE BEEN CONVINCED ON ENERGYINVESTMENTSAuthor: Barbara Wos, Association of Communities and Cities of Malopolska Region, Poland

installing ground heat pumps using the financial resourcesof Małopolska RPO 2007-2013installing a solar farminstalling solar installations on roofs and nearly sevencommunal facilitiesmaking thermomodernization of the building of theCommune Office building in 2018-2019

Energy efficiency is based on more effective production,management and further use energy resources. Increasingefficiency as part of investments brings many benefits in thenear future and in the long term too. A very important aspectis convicting decision-makers to implement energy-efficientprojects and the correct implementation of energy-relatedactivities.Frequent mistakes made during planning investments, blockthe possibility of increasing their profitability.Investors are often afraid of increasing costs afterimplementing effective solutions.They do not pay attention to the numerous benefits that suchprojects bring with them. Lack of knowledge about applicableregulations, including the possibility of using various forms offinancial support, significantly limits the scope of investmentcapabilities. In addition, the problem is the improper use ofavailable support. An important aspect is also the fear ofpublic opinion about the implementation of a more expensiveproject. Another danger which appears during theimplementation of the investment is the lack of qualifiedpersonnel and lack of awareness of the economical use ofequipment.

Investments in which the possibilities to increase theirefficiency have not been taken into account have negativeeffects, such as:• Higher consumption of electricity and heat• Poor quality of energy supply• Excessive emissions• Interruptions in fuel supplies• Danger to the building if the external power supply fails for along time

In order to prepare the best adapted project to effective work,it is worth monitoring all used elements. Education andinformation activities are also very important. As a result,people who using the facilities will carry out energy savingmeasures. In addition, increased awareness among people willreduce negative attitudes towards energy-efficient projects. Itis worth getting acquainted with the investment support offerin a chosen area. Pursuant to Directive 2010/31/EU, MemberStates combine their financial resources to improve efficiencywhile the certain criteria will be achieved.

The Pałecznica commune is an example of the proper use ofthe possibilities of implementing energy-efficient projects.The scope of the investment included:

replacement of old coal boilers with the use of financialsupportinformation campaign for residents encouraging the use ofmore beneficial solutions and technologies.

Trigeneration system, which is a process of generatingelectricity from natural gas, during which heat is releasedfor reuseBMS building management system adapting the work ofindividual elements to the building demandTemperature, CO2 and humidity sensor system helpensure proper conditions in the facilityHigh thermal insulation of windows and facadesLighting systems with light intensity sensors andautomatic controlled blinds adjusting the right amount ofsolar radiation accessFast and energy-efficient lifts with electricity recoveryRainwater recovery systemElectric vehicle charging stations.

GPP Business Park in Katowice is a modern complex ofenergy-efficient office buildings, in which used solutions suchas:

An interesting option to increase energy efficiency measuresis to create a comprehensive environment program for theorganization. For this purpose can be utilized standardsISO14001 and ISO26000, which together provide easyunderstandable step-by-step advises how to establish aworkable environment program and identify signifiedenvironmental aspects. Based on these elements can beachieved a list of clearly defined environment projects forfurther implementation. The number of projects shall beadapted according to capability and availability of resources inthe organization. Even a program, which includes only oneproject is already a program at the standard requirementspoint of view. Being honest and realistic to yourself are thekey words, which shall be taken into account when creating anenvironment program, which really can be implemented in theorganization. The basic principle of environment program is toachieve continuous improvement and increase the level ofenvironment protection.The process of creating environment program proceedsalways in the same way regardless the operative area oforganization, so it can be easily to utilized at all kind oforganizations.

Main phases of process are listed below including followingtopics:1) create a visual process chart of continuous improvementand define the process owner2) define environmental aspects concerning operations oforganization3) identify & separate significant environment aspects4) define all needed categories to assess environmentalimpacts (observe, impact could be positive or negative)5) create a preliminary environment program includingsuggestions for environment projects, which shall beimplement according to specified & agreed timetable. Programshall be in line with strategy and policy of organization,especially regarding climate and environmental targets.

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6) present the environment program to the top managementto get acceptance and commitment. Convince them to make adecision to start to implement practical activities accordingto program7) organize internal audits to control that all operations shallproceed as planned (this is not compulsory and will beconducted later, if needed)8) organize the continuous follow-up of program (bymanagement) and continuous updating/evaluation (forexample annual) of aspects (this will be conducted later)

The whole environment process can be described in onepicture (below). Yellow ones are identified to be signified andthey will form the basis of environment program. Dependingon resources availability aspects classified on non-signifiedcategory can be picked to complete the final version ofenvironment program. Annual re-assessment of aspects andreview of the whole program shall also be conducted andpresented to top management of organization to ensure theachievements.Ready and finalized projects shall be saved as historical dataand new projects shall be raised up as part of updated versionof program.

When identifying enviromental aspects, some of those areautomatically signified. For example legislation & legal issuesand all other requirements set by authorities, enviromentalpermits and other permits (if those exist) are also absolutelysignified. Furthermore targets included in the strategy oforganization and/or set by owner are classified as signified.Also normal daily operative issues may provide material forenviroment process. Furthermore, depending on organizationoperative area, risk assessment and emergency prepadnessmay be an essential part of identification results. And if thereexists a “barrel of wishes” including future dreams, theseaspects can be listed. Anyway, the evaluation method ofaspects shall be kept as simply as possible.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OFENERGY EFFICIENCY AT THE AIRPORTAREAAuthor: Matti Pylkkö, Environmental office of Lappeenranta region, Finland

Strongly suggestion is to classify aspects only in twocategories (signified or not signified) based on the bestinternal knowledge of the organization. For example differentcolours can be used to separate them.

Enviromental aspects have various environmental impacts,which can be negative or positive. These impacts are easiestto describe and evaluate by creating simply columns in theappropriate template. All the possible and potential impactsdepend on the practical operations of organization, but themost likely impacts are directly available and listed in thestandard ISO14001 (see topics 6.1 and A.6.1) and ISO26000 (seetopic 6.5). The list of impacts shall be completed based onspecial impacts due to own operations of organization. So, inpractise more relevant special impact columns may exist andat the same time useless categories given in standards can betaken away as unnecessary ones. Most important is that allessential details are available and created templates are easyto use.

Below a simple template for identifying environment aspects,with sligthly edited impact columns comparing to model ofimpacts presented in standards. The most of signified aspectsare highlighted with yellow color.

All the presented material and templates have been tested atLappeenranta airport organization to establish acomprehensive environment program including detailedidentified projects, especially for improvement of energyefficiency at airport premises and other operations.As the result of all identified environment aspects and pickingthe signified aspects out of them, the following list ofenvironment projects were gathered, reviewed by topmanagement and suggested for further implementationplanning:1) solar panels shall be placed on the roof areas of airportbuildings and premises. 2) big solar plant shall be placed at the wide ground areas onthe both sides of airport runways (investment approx. 10MWh, implementing plans proceeding together withcommercial companies)3) charging points for electric vehicles at parking area4) green electricity in use at all airport premises5) energy audits shall be conducted at all premises and basedon the audit results further activities shall be planned toimplement energy efficiency measures

In practice for each project, which have been picked as part ofenvironment program and accepted to be as environmentproject, shall be defined following: 1) description, planned activities 2) clear target/goal (preferring numeric/quantitative)3) resources (including profitability calculations/evaluation)4) how and where shall be uploaded all relevant informationregarding the project5) primary responsible person(=project manager in the case of bigprojects) 6) time schedule 7) follow-up & reporting method Observe, some projects included inthe program may not be implementedat once. The time schedule may beallocated somewhere in the future, soagain as reminder to be realistic andhonest for yourself.

The template for environmentprogram can be forexample following:

6) all airport groundvehicles in professionaluse shall be electric oruse biobased fuel7) all sub-contractorsand partners operatingat airport area shall becommitted to sameenvironmental goals asairport itself8) environmentalpolicy, code of conductand socialresponsibility reportsshall be drafted andpublished 9) environment pointfor all passengers shallbe opened to provideinformation aboutreachingenvironmental andenergy efficiencytargets at airport.

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Practical implementation atLappeenranta airport

TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS

an excel-list of mapped innovative technological solutions that are available in the Baltic SeaRegion;building managers´ experiences on different technological solutions;evaluation of certain technological solutions such as centralized vs. decentralized ventilation,healthy and circadian lightning, thermal heating systems;guidelines and templates for procuring solar energy PV plants, indoor climate; light, thermal, airquality and acoustics, EPC and energy monitoring systems.

Companies who produce innovative technological solutions based on latest knowledge need moreinformation on the needs of the public building owners. Public building managers need betterknowledge on existing solutions, their profitability and how to order them to benefit the highestpossible value.The tool consists of following elements that aim to enhance the dialogue between building managersand technology solution providers:

With technical solutions, the best effect is achieved when domains are implemented together,integrated or synchronized with each other. Categories we consider important here are buildingenvelope, ventilation, heating and cooling, water usage, lighting, electricity usage and buildingmanagement systems.

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Author: Mikk Maivel, State Real Estate Ltd, Estonia

State Real Estate company will carry out 1.5-year energymonitoring test from hourly based energy use data from fivetest buildings. Energy monitoring main aim is to answer thequestion: can detailed energy monitoring decrease buildingsenergy cost or not and does the systems own cost exceed therevenue achieved?

Although we live in the information age, we still find realestate managers who store their monthly energy data tohandwritten books. It is not rare that accountants have thebest overview of the energy performance and consumption ofthe building through making energy related payments. It wasnot long ago when property managers, owners and tenants ofthe building had no overview of the energy use and largeenergy fluctuations were visible by reference to consumptioncosts only.

Today’s situation has fortunately been greatly improved andbuilding managers have better tools to do energyconsumption analysis. Most of the experienced facility ownersuse specific facility management IT-systems to store monthlyreadings where overconsumption is discovered by propertymanagers while inserting previous months data.State Real Estate also use an information system formaintenance departments to store monthly based energyusage data. The monthly energy data allows us to comparebuildings with similar usage (e.g. school buildings,kindergartens etc.) and detecting possible anomalies andunnormal consumption fluctuations. If there are not enoughbuildings to compare, a simple spreadsheet program will alsohelp. But there is one flaw – energy usage data is collectedwith monthly delay, small differences can go unnoticed andreadings are not often collected at the same times, which inturn increases the risk of not being detected in time.

ENERGY USE AND MONITORING – WILLIT HELP KEEP ENERGY COSTS UNDERCONTROL?

Depending on the size of the building, a small cost ofoverconsumption could mean thousands or even tens ofthousands of euros increase in the cost of maintenance of thebuilding and the undue use of the environmental resourcessurrounding us. In this case the effects must be dealt by ourchildren and grandchildren.

Increasingly more sophisticated building automation systemsallow better data monitoring and recordings. New remotelyoperated energy meters do not require any more localreadings and thus help save time and money. Alas, processinghuge amounts of data in simple spreadsheet programs is time-consuming and complex. To simplify this issue, there areseveral specific energy monitoring solutions which contributeto a high volume of energy data. In addition to the analysis theinformation systems generate automatic reports and displayin real time building related necessary information. Inaddition, the applications also have the so-called "built-inartificial intelligence" which allows you to set up differentalgorithms to inform the building's technical personnel aboutexcess energy usage. Internal algorithms allow also tomeasure the profitability of an energy-performanceinvestment and contribute to the increasing uptake of energyperformance contracts (EPC). An energy performancecontract is a type of contract that enables the owner of abuilding the guarantee of savings and investment from thecontractor.

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Will hourly data monitoring allow to detect early energyover consumption?Is the investment on the data less than the financialsavings achieved?What are the options for implementing the monitoringsystem and the main barriers in existing public buildings?How will real estate managers, users and technical staffof the building take in a new solution?In the case of successful results, we will consider how toensure more optimal management of central governmentbuildings in order to reduce our ecological footprint andsavetaxpayers money and without any concessions for theenvironment.

State Real Estate will test smart energy monitoring systemsin five buildings models (three schoolhouses and two officebuildings). Responses are sought particularly to followingquestions:

Analysis is carried out and test solution setup is performedwith the help of engineers from DeltaE. Activities are fundedby State Real Estate and Interreg Baltic Sea programmeEFFECT4Buildings project budget.

THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY MANAGEMENTPLANAuthor: Barbara Wos, Association of Communities and Cities of Malopolska Region, Poland

The Energy Efficiency Management Plan is a program whichcan improve the energy efficiency of the commune. It is a helpfor decision-makers and managers, because it diagnosesproblems, defines priority tasks, shows the possibilities ofimplementation, finicing, management and monitoring. The most important conclusion that comes from the study isthat the energy efficiency management plan must be multi-stage, well-thought-out and meticulously planned. Basically,the whole process can be divided into 4 stages:

from a local government unit managing municipal propertydirectly from the marketing authorisation holder/users ofindividual municipal buildingsfrom the energy performance certificatefrom energy audit

1.PREPARATIONAn analysis of the state of the environment, an analysis of thesituation of the commune and the structure of residents,entrepreneurs, etc.) It is important that the data is reliablefrom independent sources:

2. PLANNINGIn this case, it is important to have a team of specialists whomust be selected according to their qualifications. Thesecond stage should end with the identification of tasks toperform, along with a cost estimate and financing ideas.

3. IMPLEMENTATIONIt is important to properly coordinate activities, dividepeople into appropriate teams, act on schedule, skillfulcommunication and quick response to any delays orproblems. The key to success are communicative,resourceful leaders of individual teams.

In summary, all stages directly affect each other. This meansthat problems at one stage will cause problems at the nextone. In order for the energy-efficient commune's goal to beachieved, parallel actions and diligence are necessary. Thekey to success is good communication, and above allcompetent people.

4. MONITORINGMonitoring of work effects, activities focused on maintainingthe achieved effect and coordinating subsequentinvestments or projects in accordance with the energyefficiency canon.

from the city or commune budgetfrom external funds, including: subsidies (grants), loansand credits, other means - municipal bonds, public-private partnership and leasing.

coefficientsecological effectsavings

The possibilities of financing investments

The goals should be very clearly and reliably defined by:

The County Administrative Board of Dalarna has participatedin several projects aiming to improve indoor environment inschools and pre-schools. Measurements were conductedduring 2019 in some of the county's schools and pre-schools.The results show that air, acoustics and light are not alwaysoptimal for children’s well-being and performance. "Poor indoor air affects not only health, but also the ability toconcentrate and perform in the classroom. Particularly in pre-schools, it is necessary to reduce the number of particles in theair, as there is a tendency for viruses and bacilli to spread," saysMarit Ragnarsson, project manager at the CountyAdministrative Board. Stefan Lysén, Luvian AB, expert on particles in indoorenvironment and the person who carried out themeasurements: "Looking at the air quality, I have foundexamples of classrooms that on certain days have too highparticle levels. The particles can, for example, come from pollenor emissions from clothing and building materials."Rättviks Fastigheter AB has tackled the problem and is nowfirst in Dalarna with the installation of an air cleaning systemfor particles and better indoor air at Daljerks pre-school. Aninvestment implemented with funding from Region Dalarna.

"With this pilot we hope to drastically reduce the number ofparticles in the indoor air, which is especially important forchildren with asthma or allergy. At the same time, we hope toreduce energy consumption, improve humidity during drywinters and balance the carbon dioxide content," says EbbeEvbjer, CEO of Rättviks Fastigheter AB. The installation will be continuously monitored withmeasurements so that you can compare the air quality in therebuilt part with the non-rebuilt part and compared to theoutdoor air. "We hope that staff and children will experience increased well-being at the same time as sick level decrease," says Ebbe Evbjer.

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NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL GIVE BETTERAIR AND HEALTHIER CHILDRENAuthor: Hans Ahlin, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

Facts about the systemThe Luvian system is continuously cleaning the air fromemissions and particles through a re-circling systemintegrated with the exiting ventilation system. It also reducesthe number of viruses and bacilli. The system is a combinedsolution for ventilation, air conditioning and air cleaning. The values displayed are temperature, humidity, CO2,particles in different sizes PM1, PM2,5, PM10 µg/m3, totalVOC and Formaldehyde. Installation is done in one pre-school department and themeasurements are going to be compared with anotherdepartment. The measurements will be shown in real time onthe new homepage. In the picture below Stefan Lysén isanalyzing data from the system. In August the system will be up and running and informationcan be seen at www.daladagis.se. Mail address to Luvian AB:info@luvian.se

When asked what inspired him to start the project, Lennartsays:"Last fall, I received an invitation from ByggDialog Dalarna toan afternoon seminar (Energy Café) at Dalarna Universitywhere they talked about a successful project at a school inMalmö. It gave me inspiration to set new requirements for thisprocurement. It is important with good lighting for allstudents, and in particular for the students with special needsat our school."

Has the choice of HCL control led to higher costs? Lennartanswers:"Installation costs are the same, while the luminaires are about30% more expensive."In addition to changing lighting, parts of the ventilation andfire safety system will also be changed.The project at Erikslund Gymnasium is the first HCL system ata school in Dalarna. However, Pär Brorsson says that Midrocmade other installations in Borlänge, for example at thecompany Svenska Krämfabriken AB.In the autumn, there will be an evaluation of the system withstaff and students and follow-up of the energy consumption.

About ErikslundsgymnasietThe school offers electricity and energy programs as well asvehicles and transport programs. About 150 students study atthe school, several of whom have special needs.

FocusRelaxationPresentationHCL

Four scenarios can be set on the display in each classroom:

Absence control will also be turned on.

Pär Brorsson explains how the system is supposed to work:"In the morning, the classroom automatically gets more intenselight to wake the students up, then the light is controlled via anautomated sequence.However, the teacher can choose to manually activate focus lightwhen it is time for short-term concentration-demanding tasksand relaxation lighting for reading." A DALI control system (Helvar router) is installed in all class-rooms and adjoining rooms allowing to regulate all lighting andto program different lighting scenarios.

During the summer of 2020, Erikslund's high school inBorlänge will replace the lighting in all classrooms withHuman Centric Lightning (HCL).Old lighting in all class-rooms will be replaced to adjustablewhite light with the possibility to change the colortemperature from hot to cold light and to control the intensitymanually via scenario panels and via an automated sequence.In short, you recreate the natural daily rhythm that daylightgives us, with artificial light.

Lennart Carlsson from Fastighets AB Hushagen:

"Today we have as little as 250 Lux in some premises. Now wewill get 600-800 Lux. The new lighting will help students stayalert and concentrated. The possibility of adapting the light tothe educational environment will hopefully contribute to betterperformance and increased well-being."

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PROPER LIGHTING MAKES A DIFFERENCEAT ERIKSLUNDSGYMNASIETAuthor: Hans Ahlin, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

It's about providing the right light at theright time

Photo: Lennart Carlsson (left) and Pär Brorsson from the contractorMidroc show how the display looks.

Energy efficiency is not just about reducing the total amountof energy used, but also to optimize the time when the energyis used. A large part of the solutions to combat climate change, is toswitch from fossil fuels to renewables and electricityproduced from renewables. The demand for electricity ispredicted to increase largely, due to more electrical vehicles,electrification of industries, new buildings and economicgrowth. Electricity, from for example wind and solar, aredepending on weather conditions and don’t come in a steadyflow. At the same time, the demand for electricity is higher insome times of the year and day. Another trend is that energyproduction is getting more local with building ownersproducing their own energy and connecting it to the grid. To sustain a reliable electricity supply, there is of greatimportance that the supply can meet the demand at all timeand all days of the year. For building owners (and otherenergy users) there is a need to lower the power peaks, bothduring days and during years.In residential buildings, most power is often needed whenpeople come home from work, starting to use electricalequipment and charging their electrical vehicles. This createsa power peak that needs to be handled by the grid company.During the year, buildings with heat pumps need a lot morepower during the coldest weeks of the winter. Also this has tobe handled by the grid company to avoid electricity being shutdown. One way to do this is by flexible price for energy.

"We can clearly see an increased interest from building ownersto work on power demand optimization to lower their energycosts," says Marit Ragnarsson project manager in Sweden."Both suppliers of district heating and electricity are turningtheir tariffs more in to being based on peaks instead of the totalamount of energy used. So, building managers need tools alsofor working on this."

Energy production and grid companies solutionsEnergy users solutionsFlexible market by third party players, including electricalstorage.

The solutions to balance the power peaks can be sorted inthree categories:

EFFECT4buildings has arranged seminars with buildingowners and grid companies to discuss possible solutions andcooperation. The respons has been very positiv with a biginterest showned. A network of all ten grid companies in theregion of Dalarna has been gather in to one network to workon the challenge together.

"All grid companies are facing the same challenge, socooperation makes very much sense," says Marit Ragnarssonwho has been appointed by the group to manage the networkand to apply for external funding for a pre study to identifyaction needed.Power demand optimization technology need to be promotedfor building managers. For example, with ITC solutionselectrical devices can be set to run and charge at night whenthe demand for electricity is lower. Another interesting and most relevant solution is to developcooperation between grid companies and building owners.The grid owners can adjust the heat in the building accordingto power demand to avoid peaks, by using the energy heatstorage in the building. "We can clearly see that this is an area we all have to focusmore on in the future and it is an area that makes a lot ofscence for cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region," MaritRagnarsson says and hoping it will be possible for the comingInterreg Baltic Sea Program.

In Sweden, there are high demands on ventilation systems inbuildings. A good air environment prevents headaches,fatigue, irritation and bad odors. The Swedish National Boardof Housing, Building and Planning's requirement for air flow is0.35 liter per second, per square meter. When no one isstaying in the home, the flow may be reduced to 0.1 liter persecond. However, the rules are general for a building and donot take into account how the rooms are used. In practice,this means that, for example, a bedroom may have too littleventilation when more people than expected sleep there orthat rooms where no person is currently staying are over-ventilated.

As ventilation systems use a large amount of energy, it isimportant that the systems are designed in such a way thatthey are used optimally. Room heating and air conditioningaccount for 27% of energy use in commercial properties and43% in residential buildings.

PILOT WITH DEMAND CONTROLLEDZONE VENTILATION IN APARTMENTBUILDING

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POWER LOADSAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

Author: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

"The problem is often that the ventilation system operates withovercapacity and at the wrong times. One third of the 24 hoursa home is often empty and the family is away at school or work.If ventilation goes to full effect during this time, energy iswasted completely unnecessarily," says Jonn Are Myhren atHealthy Homes that has developed a solution to meet thischallenge.

Photo: Jonn Are Myhren, Healthy Homes

Healthy Homes has developed a ventilation system that cancontrol ventilation based on the needs that exist in each roomduring different parts of the day. A Healthbox is installed thatcontrols the ventilation with timing or sensors that detectcarbon dioxide, moisture and odour from each room. The flowgoes down when there is no presence and energy is saved. Forexample, in the morning when using the bathroom, showerand kitchen the ventilation is increased. In daytime, if no oneare at home, the ventilation is reduced and increased inbedrooms at night.” The system can run on automatic or user surveyed.With an app the actual levels of temperature, moisture, CO2and ventilation activity can be monitored. The active user canadjust and personalize/maximize the benefits via the app. Forthe more passive user an easy filter exchange once a year is allmaintenance that is needed.The solution has been installed in family homes with goodresults. The EFFECT4buildings project wanted to test thesolution in an apartment building since energy savingpotential seems very high. The purpose of the pilot was toinvestigate whether a new ventilation system for apartmentbuildings could make energy consumption more efficientwhile at the same time a high indoor comfort could beobtained. One building owner in the stakeholder network in Dalarna,Nordhemsstigen, provided the project with a suitable buildingthat anyhow was renovated. The County Board of Dalarnagranted finance for the investment and the pilot wasmonitored and evaluated in a degree thesis in constructionfor Bachelor of Science in Engineering.

Many real estates in Sweden are in great need of renovationsand this requires a lot of resources, so it is important tochoose the right measures. Krylbohus buy old apartmentbuildings and renovate them.Krylbohus real estate bought 40 multifamily houses in Krylbo,Sweden. Not really knowing what they were getting into,water damage, mold, leaking roofs, chimneys that blows downand very poor documentation about the real estates. It isdifficult to choose the right measures and do the rightpriorities when the condition of the buildings is so bad. It isoften easier to fix the problems when they arise.There is a great need to get a total methodology early in thisprocess to be able to do more measures simultaneously. Ifmore measures can be done in the same time you save bothmoney and resources. Krylbohus have together withByggDialog Dalarna started to do an energy- and resourceauditing to find combined measures that can be done to saveenergy, resources, and money.An energy and resource audit gives a good overview of thecondition and functions of the properties and theorganization's work methods. Analyzing energy and resourcesuse in an early stage increases the chances, getting the mosteffect from their investments.

The Healthbox unit is connected to each room by air channelsand sensors.The new ventilation system was compared with two commonventilation strategies; extract air and natural ventilation.Carbon dioxide levels, air humidity and temperature wasmonitored and evaluated.The measurement data shows that the demand-controlledventilation system in most cases reaches therecommendations while the energy demand is lower. Thedemand controlled zone ventilation system resulted in 28 literper second, compared to 35 liter per second for ordinarysystems.CO2 levels in bedrooms was exceeded with standardizedventilation systems when bedroom door was closed, sinceexhausted valves are placed in bathrooms and kitchens.Natural ventilation is a good system to reduce energy use, butthe pilot shows that the CO2 recommendations could not bemet all time of the day.An important conclusion from the degree thesis was thatordinary ventilation strategies such as natural draft andexhaust air give a worse indoor climate compared to thedemand-controlled system.

Krylbohus has already started to change its heating systemwhere the shortcomings were great with large losses.Uninsulated attic has begun to be insulated in connection withroof repairs. Water leaks have been identified thanks to theexamination of water consumption in the various real estates. It is of utmost importance to take the time and do a propermapping in the initial stages, even if it feels resource intensive.It can be better to let an external company work with theenergy and resource audit. This way the real estate companyonly need to provide the information and focus on theircommitments.

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"I find this technology fantastic," says buildingowner Stig Hjalmarsson from Nordhemstigenreal estate company in Hedemora, Dalarna. "Itis not often that you can increase indoor climatequality at the same time as reducing energy use,but with demand controlled zone ventilation itis possible.

A good thing is also that it is possible to force the ventilation toincrease when more people are in the room. Ordinaryventilation systems are less flexible and most often there is onlyexhaust air diffuser in kitchen and bathrooms. I would like allventilation systems to have ventilation in all rooms.I have not yet evaluated the profitability of investing in thesystem, but I am sure that I will go ahead and try to get thetechnology installed in more of our buildings."

The method was to install ademand-controlled zoneventilation system in theapartment and measure airquality, air temperature andair flow rate with the help ofsensors.

RENOVATIONS OF OLD MULTIFAMILYHOUSESAuthor: Benny Magnusson, Sustainable Building Cluster in Dalarna, Sweden

It is a challenge to startthe work with an energyand resources audit as ittakes a lot of time andrequires great knowledge.There is a stress to fix theproblems that are hereand now, but once youhave past that and started the audit, you quickly see that itgives dividends and in the long run facilitates the work and isfavorable for profitability.

Tunabyggen took the help of researchers to find a model forthe renovation of the “million program” houses in TjärnaÄngar. The model focuses on energy- and cost efficiency,climate impact, housing comfort, and collaboration forparticipation and decisions. How do you renovate buildings in million program areasaccording to today's requirements for energy efficiencywithout being forced to large rent increases which may,among other effects, result in increased segregation? InTjärna Ängar in Borlänge, where about 90 percent of theresidents are immigrants, the real estate companyTunabyggen has renovated a test building where researchersfrom Dalarna University have been involved in the processand influenced the choice of measures. The goal is to create amodel for the remaining renovation work in the area (a totalof 36 residential buildings), but also for similar projects inSweden. The renovation period lasted from 2015 to 2017 whenthe building was put into operation. The five goals of the project were ambitious – to halve thebuilding's energy use, to renovate carefully and cost-effectively, to carry out the jobs without the tenants beingevacuated and to create better living comfort. During theproject, comparisons were made with two, initially identicalreference houses, at Tjärna Ängar, which were renovated withdifferent heating solutions.

Halved energy use

The use of an exhaust air heat pump in the basement andsupply air radiators created an energy-efficient renovationwhere energy use was reduced by 55 percent.

The disturbance was also significantly less than with othercomplete renovations - instead of building large new ducts,existing ventilation ducts and unused rubbish dumps wereused. However, the residents needed to be evacuated tomodules while certain measures were implemented in theapartments, an insight that has led to the decision to evacuatethe other houses during future main-pipes replacements. The previously existing problem with cold drafts disappearedwith the improved ventilation and the chosen technologysolution with supply air radiators. The heat is now transferredvia a two-pipe system, which reduces energy consumptionbut also distributes the heat more evenly than the previoussingle-pipe system. Other measures included a new roof and new facade, newbathrooms and windows. In addition, new entrances,balconies and laundry rooms were built.To compensate for increased electricity needs, solar cellshave been installed.Now, three buildings have been completely renovated andmeasurements have been going on in parallel in the houses fora year.

In Dalarnas Villa, three different varieties of modern energy-efficient ventilation systems which ensure that the air ishealthy to breathe are being tested. Dalarnas Villa in Hinsnoret near Falun, is a 150 cubic metrevilla in which several different modern technologies are beingtested.

The first test of ventilation, which started in August 2019, wasdemand-driven ventilation that is otherwise mostly found inoffice buildings. The technology comes from the company,Healthy Homes, and means that sensors indoors and outdoorsmeasure temperature, carbon dioxide content and humidity.The system delivers exactly the ventilation needed for themoment, which improves air quality whilst saving energy.Humans thrive best in a relative humidity (RH) between 40-60% and in the villa the habits and lifestyles which are best tomaintain the healthiest air quality will also be studied. Is itbetter to hang up the washing in the living room or thebedroom? Then is releases moisture into the room instead ofit being ventilated away into an airing cupboard.

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A SUCCESSFUL, CAREFUL RENOVATIONAuthor: Benny Magnusson, Sustainable Building Cluster in Dalarna, Sweden

CLEAN AIR AT HOMEAuthor: Benny Magnusson, Sustainable BuildingCluster in Dalarna, Sweden

The air we breathe The second ventilation system being tested in Dalarnas Villa isa so-called Luvian system. The Luvian system, which isinstalled after the FTX unit, mixes air from inside and outsidethe house and simultaneously purifies the air of smallparticles. Distributing airborne heat via ducts in theventilation system provides an even distribution to all rooms.It also has advantages such as rapid adjustment to bothexternal and internal temperature changes. Cooling functions exactly the same but in reverse. Instead ofwarming the air before distribution, the same heat pump isused to create cooling. The system mixes the air andmaintains a comfortable temperature on warm days.

How can we build houses as sustainably as possible and as faras possible prevent damage due, for example, fire and waterleaks? The Dalarna’s Villa research project, which was set up toimprove competency in the construction industry when itcomes to long-term sustainable buildings with healthy indoorenvironments for residents, will hopefully provide some of theanswers. Various modern technologies for ventilation,heating, climate control, control and drainage are tested inthe house. Start from scratch For Fiskarhedenvillan, which supplied the materials for thehouse, the project meant the start of new sustainabledevelopment for the company. How can a building’s carbonfootprint be reduced during its lifecycle? The company is nowinvestigating different solutions for foundations (the concretefoundations of a house account for the greatestenvironmental impact) as well as using better insulation andfewer thermal bridges to mean no heat pump is needed.Instead, for example, solar panels could supply the negligibleamount of energy required for heating.

The average renovation of a water damaged bathroominvolves 300 kilos of carbon emissions. For Fiskarhedenvillan,protecting the house from water damage means that a newproduct, the water fault switch, has now become standard intheir houses.

A water fault switch detects, alerts and shuts off the watersupply in the event of a leak but also has other functions suchas automatically shutting off the water when nobody is homeor when there is a risk of freezing damage.

Nordic EcolabelThe work of building the house was carried out by MagnusByggare who also supervised construction students from thehigh school who were on site to learn about sustainable housebuilding. Since the building should meet the requirements ofthe Nordic Ecolabel, much of the material used was new tothe company.

For example, Dalarnas villa is insulated with celluloseinsulation made from recycled newspapers in the outer wallsand wood fibre in the inner walls. It produces around seventimes lower carbon dioxide emissions compared to glass wooland 10-100 times lower than rock wool insulation.

Many useful lessons have already been learning from thisexciting research project and more will follow in the comingyears as the project continues to collect data on energy useand indoor climate.

The Luvian system has a large air purifier inbuilt as part of theventilation system. It not only cleans the air that comes in viathe ventilation but also the air recirculating inside the house.The system purifies 98% of the air through a combination ofdifferent filters. Testing a new ventilation unit

In a third type of ventilation system, a ventilation unit withcontrollable moisture recovery will be tested. The hope is tofind a good way to control moisture recovery between thedifferent air streams in a way that gives both optimal heatrecovery and indoor humidity. Both with regard to dampproofing in the building and human health and well-being.

An ordinary rotary heat exchanger has metal surfaces wheremoisture recovery takes place, but now a rotary heatexchanger is being tested in which the surfaces that comeinto contact with the air currents have a coating thatselectively binds a limited amount of water molecules.Ventilation units will be delivered to Dalarnas Villa nextsummer and in the meantime the company is working on testsand testing of the concept.

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DALARNA’S VILLA OFFERS USEFULLESSONSAuthor: Benny Magnusson, Sustainable Building Cluster in Dalarna, Sweden

Water treatment is an important factor in all water-borneheating systems. Experience has shown that purification ofwater will reduce the accumulation of internal coatings in theform of particles, bacteria and corrosion in pipes and heatingsystems. Purification will thus provide better flow of waterwhich leads to a more efficient heat distribution in the plant.The goal of water treatment is therefore to reduce energyconsumption, reduce service and maintenance costs andextend the life of the plant. Traditionally, water treatment has taken place by chemicaladditives. As part of Inland County’s goal to optimizeoperation and reduce energy consumption, they have wantedto test the effect of greener alternatives in their water-borneheating systems. Natural filtrationInland county has tested a new system for water treatment topurify the water in its own heating systems. EnwaMatic watertreatment was installed at Øvrebyen upper secondary schoolin May 2018 and at Skarnes upper secondary school in May2020. Marcus Hermansson is an FDV operator in Inland county andis well acquainted with the installation in the two buildingsand how they work.

"This is a purification mechanism that is connected to the tapwater in the plant and directs the water through a purificationand filtration process. The water is passed through severallayers with a purifying filter consisting of different layers ofsand and gravel that retain particles in the water. Purifiedwater is then returned to the plant," Marcus explains. "This willin theory lead to lower energy consumption, he adds, but thebiggest benefit is without a doubt the environmental one,"Marcus states.

The new purification mechanism only uses natural filtration ofthe water and no chemicals are added. Chemical purificationof the water has previously been most common to avoid thecollection of dirt and particles with the environmentaldisadvantages this entails.

"Having said that, it seems to lead to a certain reduction inenergy consumption as well," Markus continues.After the first year of operation, Øvrebyen upper secondaryschool was able to demonstrate a temperature-correctedreduction in energy consumption of 6% compared with thethree previous years. Even when comparing for the lowestconsumption in the period, the reduction was 4.3%.

At Øvrebyen school, they also experienced that the heatdistribution in parts of the plant worked better, and that theycould maintain the desired room temperature in previousproblem areas.

"We have now installed EnwaMatic also at Skarnes uppersecondary school, and hope to see the same results there,"Marcus Hermansson concludes.

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NATURAL FILTRATION -ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OUTWEIGHENERGY SAVINGSAuthor: Liv Randi Lindseth, Contracted by Inland County Council, Norway

EFFECT4BUILDINGS NEWS

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY PLATFORM CAMSESTABLISHED IN BALTIC SEA REGIONAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

As lead partner for EFFECT4building, Dalarna County Boardparticipates in a new platform collaboration with other energyprojects in the Baltic Sea region. The platform is funded by theBaltic Sea Program and is called Climate Adaptation &Mitigation Synergies Energy Efficiency Platform, CAMS. Methods for energy auditing in the BalticSea region

Within the collaboration, methods for large-scaleimplementation of cost-effective energy auditing of highquality will are being tested. The method is based on usingcomparable data in a database and is a continuation of theEFFECT4buildings project that has worked to develop themethod.

"EFFECT4building focuses on what happens after an energyaudit is made, by developing and providing financial tools to getmore measures implemented. However, we can state that manythousands more energy audits need to be made in each BSRstate, and this quickly to cope with the climate challenge. Forthis, methods are needed that enable us to carry out energyaudits more rationally, while at the same time the quality needsto be increased without a price increase," says project partnerMarit Ragnarsson from the County Board of Dalarna inSweden.

There is also a great untapped potential in not collecting datain a standardized way that enables comparisons andgeneration of new knowledge. The EFFECT4building projecthas tested and participated in the development of the NEADplatform, which has been developed by Nordic Energy Auditand has come to the conclusion that there is greattransnational added value in developing this together in theBaltic Sea Region. The method that is developed can at thesame time serve as a platform for disseminating results fromother ongoing / completed energy projects.

CAMS also develop recommendations on how to combineenergy measures with climate adaptation measures inbuildings. In this way, experiences from the EFFECT4buildings projectcan be disseminated and experiences can be exchangedbetween the ten other projects involved; LowTEMP, AREA 21,Co2mmunity, Act Now, BEA-APP, RDI2CluB and also HORIZON2020's HERON, SIM4NEXUS, ENLARGE, and ARCEE funded byEuropeAid. Read more about the CAMS platform.

EFFECT4buildings project has established a cooperation withGeorgia on energy efficiency in buildings. The focus is mainlyon training programs to increase knowledge on potentialmeasures, new technology as well as how to plan andcalculate investments.County Board of Dalarna in Sweden made a peer to peer visitin Georgia to plan the activities together with LTD Laboratoryof Construction in Tbilisi. During the visit, several seminarswas arranged among other with cluster organization ICCA,Ministry of Economy and sustainable development, MunicipalDevelopment Fund and a group of building managers.

"We found out that most of the tools provided byEFFECT4buildings project are relevant for building owners,building managers and construction companies in Georgia,"says project manager Marit Ragnarsson from Sweden.

Lasha Tchotchua, CEO from Laboratory of Construction,added:"We also lack a standard for energy efficient construction. As aconstruction company, we build what’s being ordered, but wewould all gain for having a standard to refer to."Representatives from Laboratory of Construction participatedin partner meeting in Krakow to exchange experience withthe partner team.The plan is to set up a training program for policy makers tostrengthen the capacity to implement more energy efficiencymeasures.

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ENERGY COOPERATION WITH GEORGIAAuthor: Marit Ragnarsson, County Board of Dalarna, Sweden

EFFECT4buildings is part of the implementation of the EUStrategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), being a flagshipproject under policy area Energy and the horizontal actionSustainable development. Flagship projects demonstrate theprogress of the EUSBSR especially well and serve as pilotexamples for desired change. Cooperation with countriesbeing part of EU Eastern partnership is encouraged in theframework of EUSBSR.

"We need to involve politicians and other decision makers to alarger extend, says Sergo Buiglishvili from Georgia. I promoteand sell green roofs. And I can see that when the knowledgeincrease, the interest in investment also increase."Coming activities is to do a peer to peer visit in Dalarna,Sweden as well as participate in more partner meetings withEFFECT4buildings, but due to Corona virus further activitieshas been put on hold.The cooperation with Georgia has been financed by theSwedish Institute."This is a concrete way for our flagship project to disseminateresults and also to learn more about the situation for energyefficiency in eastern countries," says Marit Ragnarsson.

CLIMATE CLUBAuthor: Benny Magnusson, Sustainable BuildingCluster in Dalarna, Sweden

There are many smaller real estate companies in Sweden, andthey have often limited resources and few employees.It is not unusual for an employee to have different jobdescriptions such as energy controller, caretakers, climatecontroller, etc. This means that he/she needs to haveknowledge and time to distribute in the different roles withno body to consult with. This situation can be very stressful,and it is easy to focus on the things he/she is good at. To help the smaller real estate companies ByggDialog starteda Climate Club where real estate companies meets andexchange thoughts and ideas. Sharing experiences andhelping each other, everyone will be winners.

The climate club has so far 15 municipality and private realestate companies as members. Six of the companies aremembers in the Swedish Climate initiative, this means thatthey have set the goal to be fossil free and reduce energy useby 30% by 2030.

There also three voluntarily areas: power peaks, climatefriendly procurement and climate friendly living.

ByggDialog Dalarna use this initiative as a starting point in thework in the climate club. This helped to start working groupsin the different areas. The members choose which areas theywant to work with, and the only requirement is that they mustparticipate actively.

The club meets four times a year plus working group meetingsthat are determined by the members and held when needed.In this way, we can capture everyone's problems and needsthat arise and try to support them in their everyday work. Inaddition, there will be study visits, workshops, and seminars.This is done to increase the members knowledge and be moreinnovative.

It is a challenge to get people to prioritize this because smallmanagers are often stressed. Therefore, it is of the utmostimportance that they feel at an early stage that participationhelps them in their progress. Together we create a fossil freeand climate neutral operation and management in Dalarnasreal estates.

EFFECT4buildings project is implemented with the support from the EU funding Programme Interreg Baltic SeaRegion (European Regional Development Fund) and Norwegian national funding. The aim of the project is toimprove the capacity of public building managers in the Baltic Sea Region by providing them a comprehensivedecision-making support toolbox with a set of financial instruments to unlock the investments and lower the risksof implementing energy efficiency measures in buildings owned by public stakeholders.

EFFECT4buildings Magazine is made by EFFECT4buildings project and designed by Vidzeme PlanningRegion. Cover photos for tools (Financial calculations, Bundling, EPC, Multi Service Contracting, GreenLease Contracting, Convincing decisions makers) and photos on pages 37, 38, 40 are used fromwww.canva.com photo archive. Other photos are used with permission from EFFECT4buildings projectpartners.

https://www.effect4buildings.se