For nearly ten years, a small shut-off valve in the ventilation system at the nursery school in Bodø had been left open. The slip meant that the annual electricity expenses in the nursery were NOK 40,000 higher than they should have been. In total, the open fire damper cost the municipality around NOK 350,000, according to energy advisor Ole Arne Torsvik in Bodø municipality. – There is a cost to not having control, he notes. High electricity prices have taken a heavy toll on municipal budgets in Norwegian municipalities in the past year. In the Nordland municipality of Fauske, they have simply moved out of the municipal building to save money. Other municipalities switch off the street lights, lower the temperature in their buildings and close swimming pools to reduce the electricity bill. The table shows the municipality’s electricity expenditure in municipally owned buildings Table one of oneOslo196,798,000Eigersund8,917,000Stavanger79,434,000Haugesund20,680,000Sandnes30,410,000 In Bodø they consider themselves happy that they employed their own energy consultant. In four years, he and his staff have made the municipality’s energy consumption more efficient. So far, they have saved more than NOK 7.1 million in electricity. Energy consultant and automation engineer Ole Arne Torsvik in Bodø municipality is one of the success stories of electricity saving in Municipality Norway. Photo: Anne Jortveit / Norwegian Climate Foundation Bodø is one of the success stories of electricity saving in Municipality Norway, according to the Norwegian Climate Foundation. The example from Bodø has a central place in a new publication that the climate foundation has published. Våler in Viken, Rendalen, Tvedestrand and Stjørdal have also worked actively to cut energy consumption. The aim of the publication is to inspire municipalities to save and produce more energy. – An important job And it will be important in the future, according to Anne Jortveit. She is deputy chairperson of the Norwegian Climate Foundation. – Norway is facing a deficit in electricity within a few years. Both because society will be electrified and because new industry will be established that requires large amounts of power, she writes in the foreword. Anne Jortveit of the Norwegian Climate Foundation is impressed by municipalities that really invest in energy efficiency. Photo: Norwegian Climate Foundation As owners of large building blocks, treatment plants and waste disposal facilities, Norwegian municipalities and counties are large consumers of electricity. The municipalities and counties are also major builders. Annually, they invest several tens of billions in new construction and rehabilitation of buildings and facilities. In the autumn of 2022, Jortveit visited several municipalities that have invested in measures that cut electricity consumption and electricity bills. Including Bodø. – It is impressive and inspiring to see how much responsibility some municipalities and counties are taking to invest in line with the major energy transition. Investments that can also contribute to lower electricity bills in the long term. Municipal buildings consume electricity Bodø municipality has 53,000 inhabitants and owns 80 buildings. The buildings have a total area of around 260,000 square metres. It was therefore no small job Ole Arne Torsvik took on when he agreed to the task of cutting the electricity demand in the municipality. The fire damper in the kindergarten is just a small example of what Torsvik and his staff discovered on the municipal properties. – What we discovered was that many buildings were consuming more electricity than necessary. You simply had no control over the technical facilities in the municipality. No one at the nursery had discovered what had happened. The open fire damper meant that the indoor air went straight out without being recovered. And cold outside air came in. Hunstad secondary school from 1978 has received geothermal heat pumps. Bodø municipality has installed geothermal heat pumps in five buildings and is planning a sixth in 2023, explains energy advisor Ole Arne Torvik. Photo: Anne Jortveit / Norwegian Climate Foundation Ventilation systems work so that instead of taking in cold outside air directly, 80 percent of the indoor air is recovered through a recycling system. If a system does not work, cold outside air enters directly. It costs much more than recovering the indoor air. The kindergarten is not the only example. At a nursing home, it was discovered that a recovery motor on a ventilation system had stopped. – It was only discovered half a year after it had happened, and caused the municipality NOK 150,000 in extra costs, says Torsvik. Correcting the error only cost NOK 10,000. Produces its own energy When he was hired, the aim was to save electricity equivalent to 6.4 million wives in three years. Together with electricians, plumbers and ventilation workers in the municipality, he can state that the target was reached. And so it was. This is how Bodø municipality achieved the goal Bodø city council decided in 2017 to hire an energy advisor. In order to achieve the municipal council’s goal of cutting electricity demand, the municipality’s FDVU department – management, operation, maintenance and development prepared a plan to: Reduce energy consumption to a minimum in the buildings: Optimize technical facilities, professionalize the operation of central operating facilities (SD facilities) and energy monitoring systems (EOS), upgrade technical facilities (SD and automatic systems, ventilation systems, heating systems, etc.), install heat pumps with energy wells and increase U-values on the building body to passive houses – the latter will simply mean that the buildings must be better insulated. Producing renewable energy: By solar cells, solar collectors or otherwise. Store produced energy: By batteries, hydrogen or other. Job number one was to provide for and automate the operation of the buildings. Today, a separate facility ensures that the operation of the buildings is controlled and optimized from a central point of view. In 2022, Bodø Rehabilitation Center has been heavily upgraded. The building has been insulated, new windows and solar cells have been integrated into parts of the facade. The power requirement has so far been reduced by 18 percent. The target is 25 percent. Photo: Anne Jortveit / Norwegian Climate Foundation At the same time, they have worked on retrofitting buildings and replacing old windows. The municipality has then gone ahead with producing the energy itself. Facade panels on several buildings have been replaced with solar panels. – It’s a win-win, because then you also get electricity generated, says Torsvik. Asphaugen kindergarten in Bodø became the municipality’s pilot project for solar cells. 20 solar panels produce just under 3,700 kWh per year, which covers around 10 per cent of the nursery’s electricity needs. Photo: Ole Arne Torsvik / Bodø municipality By 2030, the goal is to reduce its total climate footprint by 50 percent compared to the emissions in 2017. Torsvik thinks that the goal is so concrete makes the job easier. – Having a clear plan for when we are going to carry out the plans for energy efficiency and emission cuts, we avoid rematches. The discussion has been held, the targets have been set and both the administration and the politicians know why we must make the individual investment. The table shows energy use per m2 of owned area (kWh) Table one of oneOslo100Eigersund122Stavanger118Haugesund145Sandnes105
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Solar panels and rock heating save Bodø millions – news Nordland
