As a result of the Energy Saving Ordinance, Schleswig-Holstein’s larger cities have reduced their electricity consumption and also saved on heating. This was the result of a survey by the German Press Agency among larger cities in the country. The volume of savings was up to a quarter.
Lübeck saved an average of around 25 percent on heating in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, said a spokeswoman. The result is weather adjusted. This means that the different weather conditions in the comparison periods were taken into account. The absolute consumption values have fallen by around 18 percent. Among other things, the Hanseatic city has limited the water temperature in indoor swimming pools to 26 degrees Celsius and lowered the room temperature in the city administration to 19 degrees. Hallways and stairwells are no longer heated. Street lights go out earlier in the morning and later in the evening. The luminosity was reduced by 30 percent, public buildings are no longer illuminated from the outside.
Kiel also recorded significant savings. Around 800 city properties were checked, a spokesman said. In the properties, weather-adjusted heating energy has been reduced by around 17 percent compared to the comparative period of 2020 and 2021 thanks to lower temperatures and different heating times. “The highest savings for a building was around 26 percent.” In the case of electricity, the average volume saved was 12.1 percent compared to the same period. “Here, the highest savings for a building were around 23 percent.”
The temperature in the offices in Flensburg was also reduced to 19 degrees. It had gotten noticeably colder there, a spokesman said. “Due to the lower temperature requirement in the administration buildings, the heating requirements of the buildings have definitely decreased.” Because the office space was less utilized in December 2021 due to the corona pandemic, the absolute effect was not always immediately measurable. The city registered a significant drop in electricity consumption, in the case of the museum building by around 22 percent in December.
The Hamburg environmental authority assumes that the regulations of the Energy Saving Ordinance are observed on one’s own responsibility. When asked, she could not specifically quantify the savings that the measures had brought.
