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Real-time monitoring of energy consumption saves money!
- Tuesday, 18 December 2018
Within the TOGETHER project our Association installed smart metering system in 9 pilot buildings located in municipalities of Besko, Raciechowice and Żyraków. The system measures real-time electricity and heat consumption and should not only help in optimising energy management (and thus reducing energy bills) but also give immediate feedback on the real effects of implemented energy-saving measures. And we can already see the first of them! One of the pilot buildings is the Town Hall in Besko, which has been experiencing problems with reactive power since the installation of central UPS (uninterruptible power supply). Such energy is not included in the energy consumption but is treated as an undesirable phenomenon and scrupulously measured by modern energy meters. In a bimonthly billing cycle the charges for reactive power only reached 500-800 PLN (approx. 120-190 EUR) depending on the season. Two companies undertook effort to compensate this power but with limited success as nobody could precisely indicate the times the phenomenon occurs and its intensity.
Energy-saving tips for public buildings managers and users
- Wednesday, 17 October 2018
Public buildings are used by many people: workers, service persons, visitors etc. Studies and common practice are unanimous in saying that user behaviour matters a lot when it comes to improving energy efficiency and reducing the building’s carbon footprint. Even the technical-only measures one can adopt (such as a building’s retrofitting) are more effective and less expensive when combined with educational and motivational activities, as well as better operation and maintenance of the new or modernised systems and equipment. In order to encourage more conscious use of energy, the consortium of the TOGETHER project, where our Association is a partner, prepared three sets of energy-saving tips addressed to three different users’ groups:
Bridging European and Local Climate Action - BEACON
- Wednesday, 10 October 2018
To successfully implement the Paris Agreement and the European climate and energy targets for the year 2030 and beyond, climate action needs to be enhanced on all relevant levels of governance. National governments need to create effective policies and framework conditions. A crucial contribution to the achievement of the EU climate protection goals will be made by municipalities and local actors. These stakeholders can be pioneers and drivers of profound decarbonisation and social transformation processes as their actions have considerable potential for increasing energy efficiency and saving greenhouse gases. Schools and other educational institutions in particular can play a key role by reducing their own energy consumption but also educating future generations for a climate-friendly world.
Invitation for Covenant Cities
- Wednesday, 19 September 2018
Dear Energy Cities members,
Here is an opportunity you wouldn’t like to miss!
The Covenant of Mayors – Europe has launched the first Covenant Cities in the Spotlight call, and the awarded cities/towns will win a trip to the International Conference on Climate Change 2019 in Heidelberg, which happens to be held back to back with… your favourite network’s annual conference - yes, Energy Cities’.
This call is open to all cities and towns committed to the Covenant of Mayors - Europe.
We would be delighted to see one (or more) of our members win!
All information on this call is available here.
We wish you the best of luck!
And again, there was energy!
- Wednesday, 27 June 2018
The 8th Beskid Good Energy Festival is already behind us. The weather was perfect, and the number of participants exceptionally high. Nearly 800 preschoolers in colourful attire holding balloons in the colours of the rainbow as part of the "Bielsko Balloon Release" action, followed by students of primary and secondary schools with teachers in the number exceeding one thousand. The programme of this year's festival was based on a comic book already known to the residents of the city, entitled "Bielski and Biała Save the City", which in a humoristic way presents the subject of environmental protection and energy saving by the inhabitants of Bielsko-Biała. In the previous heating season, anti-smog workshops were organised in municipal kindergartens, which used the comic book as a didactic tool, and every preschooler received a copy as a souvenir. In addition, each of the five categories of the 8th edition of the "Respect Energy, Protect the Climate" competition, the final stage of which took place during the festival, referred to the content of the comic book. The effects of the competition efforts could be viewed during the event in the form of a presentation of competition entries, such as the original performances by two of the kindergartens entitled "Exile of the Smog" or a comedy show performed by high school students entitled "Smog Off". There were also living figures of a stork and a frog - heroes of the comic book. There were excellent presentations of works by primary school students, i.e. posters promoting district heat inspired by activities based on the fairy tale "Red Riding Hood. Black Smog Mission" (by PK Therma) and spatial figures of the Eco-Ant - the hero of the comic book "How the Eco-Ant Taught Bielsko Residents to Segregate Garbage" (by Zakład Gospodarki Odpadami S.A.). And all was supplemented by dance performances with participation of Sebastian Chmiel and teachers from the Cuban dance school of Mikołaj Strzyż and Agnieszka Jarosińska, a magic show by Adrian Mitoraj, sand animations by Tigran Vardikyan, fairytale animations by Roman Baran from “Cartoon Studio” in Bielsko-Biała and giant soap bubbles dancing floating around throughout the festival day. Could it be more joyful and fairytale-like? There were also, of course, workshops popular among younger students, run by secondary schools: Copernicus High School No. 1, High School No. 5, "Mechanic" High School, "Gastronomy" High School, and "Gardener" High School, and as many as five stands organised by the Bielsko-Biała Industrial School. The subject of the workshops varied: from solar cells, through 3D printers, mechanical robots, to planting plants and trees, fashion design and the creation of tasty muffins, delicious beverages and natural cosmetics organised for the first time by the Kopaliński Language School. The students, along with the teachers of the Technical and Trade School, immortalised the images of the new Climate Ambassadors who came to the photo studio set up on the stage in front of the Bielsko Cultural Centre. Long queues awaited the chance to climb an inflatable wall set up by the Bielsko-Biała Sports and Recreation Centre, assisted by trainers from Primaroca.
Invitation to the TOGETHER workshop on leveraging behavioural change, Brussels (BE), 04.06.2018
- Sunday, 13 May 2018
All institutions interested in the topic of energy efficiency and demand side management are kindly invited to the workshop on leveraging behavioural change for energy efficiency in public buildings, which will take place in Brussels (Belgium) on the 4th of June 2018. The workshop is organised within the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE project called TOGETHER (Towards a Goal of Efficiency Through Energy Reduction), which aims at promotion & dissemination of the concept of integrated energy management in public buildings, also by involving building users in the process and giving them opportunity to follow real-time energy consumption through the installation of smart meters.
EDI-Net Newsletter Nr. 3 | August 2017
- Tuesday, 05 September 2017
The EDI-Net (Energy Data Innovation Network) initiative analyses and communicates sub-hourly electricity, gas and water smart meter data to identify waste and savings opportunities, reduce consumption and save money. The initiative is aimed at public authorities’ decision makers, financial planners, energy and building managers and building users. An online forum and workshops facilitate the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices to support public authorities during the implementation of their sustainable energy and climate action plans.
EDI-Net at a glance
- Tuesday, 25 April 2017
The EDI-Net (Energy Data Innovation Network) initiative analyses and communicates sub-hourly electricity, gas and water smart meter data to identify waste and savings opportunities, reduce consumption and save money. The initiative is aimed at public authorities’ decision makers, financial planners, energy and building managers and building users. An online forum and workshops facilitate the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices to support public authorities during the implementation of their sustainable energy and climate action plans.
Wanted: Municipalities serious about reducing energy and water use
EDI-Net is seeking cities and towns interested in improving the water and energy efficiency of their public buildings. By making use of smart metering to analyse and communicate electricity, gas and water data, local authorities can identify significant savings opportunities. These opportunities can lead to reductions in energy and water consumption by anywhere from 5 to 15%.
2nd webinar in the framework of the project "Polish-Norwegian cooperation platform for climate and energy conservation"
- Tuesday, 17 January 2017
You are warmly welcomed to participate in the 2nd webinar organized within the framework of the project "Polish-Norwegian cooperation platform for energy conservation and climate", which will be held on 18 January 2017 at 10:00-12:00.
A webinar will be devoted to the energy education of citizens and their mobilization to achieve the local climate and energy goals.
The speakers presenting their experience in this ares will be representatives of the Norwegian institutions: Laboratory of Climate and Energy and the Center for Education, as well as and Bielsko-Biala and Warsaw.
Search for training experts in the field of energy efficiency in public buildings
- Tuesday, 20 December 2016
The consortium of the TOGETHER project is searching for 4 thematic experts that could provide 1-day training each during the Master Train-the-Trainer workshop taking place in Cracow (Poland) on the 20-23 of February 2017. The training is addressed to project partners and aiming to increase their knowledge and training capacities in the area of technical, financial, behavioural and analytical solutions that may be implemented in public buildings to increase their energy efficiency. Therefore, we are looking for 4 types of experts:
- 1 training expert in technical EE solutions
- 1 training expert in financial EE solutions
- 1 training expert in behavioural EE solutions (behavioural DSM)
- 1 training expert in analytical EE solutions (analytical DSM)
