Saving heating costs » How to reduce operating costs sustainably
A considerable part of the energy consumed in companies is used to heat the premises.
A look at the heating costs statement will tell you how much money your company spends on heating each year. Energy prices are high and will rise in the long term.
So it can be worthwhile to critically review your company's heating supply.
After all, high heating costs reduce operating profits.
High costs for heating are mainly caused by non-modernised company buildings with exterior walls without insulation
How can heating costs be reduced?
Measures to sustainably reduce commercial heating costs across the board are based on two points. On the one hand technically outdated components such as thermostats, actuators and
and heating pumps with modern and energy-saving models. This allows you to use heating energy much more efficiently, without having to buy a new heating system.
On the other hand, it is a matter of using an intelligent heating control system to heating according to demand and at the right time. In this way you avoid expensive overheating of the rooms.
This not only wastes valuable heating energy, but also harbours the risk of the danger of catching a cold due to the large temperature differences between inside and outside.
In offices and workrooms an optimal temperature in the range between 20 and 21 degrees Celsius is recommended.
In addition, you should regulate the room temperature depending on individual use and occupancy of the room. Already reduction of the average temperature by 1 degree Celsius leads to heating cost savings of up to 6 percent.
If the temperatures are lowered after work, at the weekend and during the day unused rooms during the day, you can exploit further savings potential.
Heating
Intelligent heating controls are suitable helpers for saving energy.
They enable dynamic heat output by allowing you to specify to the minute, within the framework of heating plans,
at which time a certain target temperature should be reached in the individual rooms. With an individual timeline, rooms can be
be heated more or less according to their requirements. This increases comfort and saves energy.
The room temperature can be measured directly at the digital radiator thermostat or a room thermostat transmits the information by radio to the actuators on the radiator.
This is recommended if there are several radiators in a room.
The set-up, control and temperature adjustment is carried out via displays on the thermostats, via an app on the smartphone, via PC software or by voice control on demand.
Once configured, the systems automatically take care of the heat regulation.
If desired, a weather weather-compensated control, similar to the adjustment of the flow temperature depending on the outside temperature.
It automatically switches on the heat generators in the room as soon as, for example the outside temperature falls below a certain level.
Indoor thermostats
What advantages do networked heating components offer?
Networked thermostats and radio thermostats can be controlled centrally.
With the help of the communication-enabled thermostats, responsible employees can set the temperature for several rooms, departments and floorswithout having to visit each individual room themselves.
Via networked thermostats, radiators or underfloor heating can interact with other sensors in the building, such as motion detectors or presence sensors. In this way, the radiator in a meeting room only gives
energy until the selected setpoint is reached, as long as employees or guests are present. If the last person leaves the room, the energy output is temporarily reduced.
In interaction with window sensors or by means of room temperature monitoring based on the cold air, programmable thermostats automatically detect open windows. The devices
then interrupt the heat supply during ventilation. Falling below the selected temperature limits is prevented except during ventilation. Reheating ultimately costs more energy than
more energy than continuous heating.
Is it worth replacing old heating pumps?
Efficient water pumps are an important component in the heating and hot water circuit.
To keep costs low, it is important that the pumps use electricity sparingly.
But many heating pumps are outdated and inefficient. They always run at the same speed and thus often provide more power than is needed. Replace
older, inefficient pumps with new models that are more efficient, economical and environmentally friendly.
High-efficiency heating pumps are electronically controlled. They continuously adjust their output to the actual heat demand of the building. As a result, they consume significantly less electricity
and cause lower electricity costs. Dynamic pump operation reduces the energy consumption
of the heating system as a whole and thus the heating costs, because the boiler does not need to produce
hot water for the heating circuit than is absolutely necessary.
Save on heating by using renewable energy?
By using renewable energy for heating, you reduce the consumption of expensive fossil fuels such as oil and gas.
Renewable energy sources such as the sun, geothermal energy or biomass are available in unlimited quantities. With modern heating systems they can be and thus sustainably reduce heating costs.
A solar thermal system is a resource-saving option to use energy for central heating backup and for hot water.
How high the energy savings through solar thermal energy are and how much money you can save with solar thermal heating depends on the efficiency of the system and the condition of the building and can be determined within the framework of an economic efficiency calculation.
Generating heat using environmentally friendly energy sources such as sunlight reduces the CO2 emissions of your commercial building. You contribute
the climate in the long term and improve the ecological footprint and environmental footprint and the environmental balance of your company.
Photovoltaic / solar systems
Save on the hot water circulation system?
A part of the heating costs is spent on hot water preparation, but it is often underestimated, that there is also energy-saving potential here. To ensure that sanitary rooms, kitchens, coffee
corners and production rooms and, if necessary, also in production rooms, hot water flows out of the tap immediately the hot water circuit is equipped with a circulation pipe.
The associated circulation pump prevents the pipes from the heat generator to the point of use from being filled with cold water, which must first flow out before you receive hot water.
The pump should not run 24 hours a day, however, because the hot water loop acts like a cooler for the heated domestic water. It must be constantly reheated in the heat generator.
If the pipes are also insufficiently insulated, a lot of heat is unnecessarily transferred to the masonry.
Modern circulation pumps with control and regulation systems ensure economical operation.
Controllers measure the hot water demand and only switch on the pump when hot water is needed in the company.
What are the benefits of heat recovery?
Heat recovery offers additional possibilities to save heating costs in the company. Heat recovery makes energy usable that would otherwise be lost through windows or ventilation systems,
that would otherwise be lost through windows or ventilation systems. This energy is used to preheat the room air or to heat water.
If warm air escapes during ventilation and is replaced by cold air from outside, the temperature in the room inevitably drops. This drop in temperature must then be compensated for by the heating system. It is better if the
warm exhaust air, even before it is discharged to the outside, transfers its energy to the cold supply air via a ventilation unit with heat recovery.
The fresh air is then already noticeably preheated when it is led into the room. The heating thus has to generate less heat.
Heat recovery can also help save heating energy in production plants.
Air-water heat pumps use the radiant heat emitted by machines and systems to support the heating in winter and cooling in summer. The heated exhaust air is no longer blown outside unused and no longer heats up the environment unnecessarily.
Tips for lower heating costs
Raise ecological awareness: Motivate your team members to be more to use heating energy more consciously. Tropical heat in the workplace is unnecessary and expensive. The flexible control options of modern thermostats make it easy to regulate the room temperature to suit the current subjective need for warmth.
Expose radiators: In offices and recreation rooms, radiators should be as free-standing as possible to ensure unobstructed heat emission. By optimising the optimised furniture placement will improve the efficiency of the heating.
Ventilate properly: If you ventilate for five minutes with the windows completely open less heat escapes than leaving the windows tilted all day. Vigorous ventilation not only saves energy and prevents mould growth, but also promotes concentration and work efficiency through plenty of fresh air.
Regular maintenance: Have your heating system checked regularly. This includes check whether there is air in the radiators or the heating water circuit. Regular maintenance ensures that the heating works in the optimal range.
