Energy-efficient and tidy

Electricity is used in almost everything we do these days: in our homes, at work and when travelling. The municipality of Tuusula uses around 24 gigawatt-hours, or 24,000,000 kilowatt-hours, of electricity per year. Until the end of this year, the electricity supplier is Keravan Energia; from then on, for at least three years, it will be Köyliön-Säkylän Sähkö Oy. The municipal executive board decided on the matter in March.

When the electricity purchaser is a large-scale customer such as a local authority, the purchasing and sales process differs from that of a private individual. In addition to the electricity supplier and the transmission company, Tuusula’s electricity procurement process involves a portfolio manager, whose tasks include risk management and ensuring price predictability. Tuusula’s partner is VENI Energia Oy.

One aspect of a portfolio manager’s role is to implement price hedging; the aim is to protect clients from significant price fluctuations caused by changes in market conditions.

Effectively but healthily

The largest electricity consumers in the municipality are large schools, nurseries and, for example, the health and social services centre. Indoor sports facilities, such as swimming pools and ice rinks, are also among the top consumers.

In recent years, Tuusula has significantly expanded its service network by building new schools and nurseries on an unprecedented scale. Almost without exception, the newest buildings are more energy-efficient than older ones; for example, they have better thermal insulation.

However, this does not necessarily mean a significant reduction in the municipality’s electricity bill, as most properties in the municipality of Tuusula are heated using district heating. Instead, electricity is consumed in buildings by basic building services systems, such as ventilation and lighting. The ability to cool buildings, which has become increasingly common alongside heating, also consumes energy.

Energy management is indeed a key consideration in building design in many ways; the room temperature must be suitable, as must the humidity level. There must be sufficient air exchange, but without those inside feeling a draught. The aim is to manage all this as effectively as possible, whilst also being cost-effective, through the high quality of both the building itself and the technology it contains, as well as their skilful operation.

In both new and older buildings, savings are being sought through measures such as upgrading lighting fixtures. Older technology is being replaced with LED lighting, and systems are being automated so that, for example, the lights dim or switch off when the room is unoccupied.

Savings through a variety of measures

Building services are being modernised in many other ways too, such as by replacing ventilation units and implementing more precise controls. High-quality ventilation helps to ensure indoor air quality from the perspective of both the buildings and their occupants; occupants feel better and the buildings do not require refurbishment due to air quality issues. Both air quality and energy consumption are also continuously monitored.

Measures to save electricity also include diversifying energy sources. In Tuusula, many municipal buildings already have solar panels on their roofs, which capture some of the energy required. Over the course of the panels’ lifespan, their purchase price is recouped many times over, as less energy needs to be purchased.

The Metsäpirtti camp centre and Riihikallio school utilise geothermal heating, whilst the Rykmentinpuisto school and nursery building uses an air-to-water heat pump. In addition to these, several municipal properties have air source heat pumps, which are mostly used for cooling but also partly for heating. In future projects, municipal properties currently heated by oil will be converted to use both geothermal and air-to-water heat pumps. 

Both affordably and cleanly

In addition to saving energy, Tuusula therefore pays attention to its source. When the municipality begins planning the construction of a new building, the calls for tenders issued to contractors always include the possibility of earning extra points for the use of renewable energy.

The council is, of course, also looking to reduce its energy bills in outdoor areas; for example, electricity consumption for street lighting is being brought under control by replacing lamps with more energy-efficient models. At the same time, technological developments are being monitored in order to identify new solutions.

One way to save energy in the future could be through private energy storage systems, which allow the purchase of electricity to be timed more efficiently to coincide with the cheapest periods. At the same time, these storage systems can help to reduce the sharpest peaks in consumption, which arise from activities such as food preparation and heating in schools and nurseries. This type of energy storage could help both by reducing the overall cost of purchasing electricity and by lowering the power charges that have been much in the news recently.

This content has been translated using AI