City of Chemnitz prepares energy-saving measures

The City of Chemnitz is developing measures for all energy sources to deal with the ongoing global energy crisis. This concerns both the price trend, which has been increasing since late summer 2021, and the shortage of supply, which can lead to supply bottlenecks.

As a winner of the European Energy Award in Gold, the city of Chemnitz has already been implementing measures for many years. For example, the lighting in the administrative buildings is being converted to LED. In the summer months, the heating systems in administrative buildings are switched off from June to August. The heating systems and hot water systems are also switched off during the holidays, where possible, in school buildings where there is no holiday care or occupied caretaker flats, as well as in gyms and sports facilities.

Immediate measures have also been defined. For example, the summer closure of the sauna in the municipal swimming pool will be extended until 16 October 2022 for the time being. As soon as there is clarity about the energy situation for the autumn and winter, a new decision will be made about opening the sauna in the Chemnitz municipal swimming pool. The newly built Golfbad sauna in Chemnitz-Rabenstein will remain open, as it already has renewable energy sources such as geothermal energy and photovoltaics and can therefore continue to be operated for the time being, also taking into account the overall situation on the energy market. The pool water temperatures in Chemnitz's indoor swimming pools will be reduced from 28 degrees to 27 degrees.

Further immediate measures are being examined for the autumn, which will then be discussed with the city councillors.

Lord Mayor Sven Schulze appeals to all Chemnitz residents: "The austerity measures that we are implementing immediately may mean restrictions for individuals. But everyday restrictions are part and parcel of these times. In the coming weeks and months, we should practise sacrifice and solidarity for the common good. After all, every kilowatt hour saved will help us get through the winter."

An internal energy task force has also been set up within the administration to present a package of measures by the end of August. This package of measures will be structured into short-term, medium-term and long-term measures and will also be discussed with the city councillors.

Non-investment measures that can be implemented in the short term

These are mostly organisational, regulatory and user-related measures that serve exclusively to optimise the system. Some measures have already been implemented and have no impact on users.

Low-investment measures and measures that can be implemented in the short to medium term

The low-investment measures are small investments to reduce consumption. These primarily include limiting thermostatic valves, replacing light bulbs with LEDs, replacing pumps, replacing individual single-pane glazing, etc.

Longer-term investment measures

These are extensive refurbishment and modernisation measures. As these usually require more complex planning, tendering and implementation phases, they are unlikely to be able to contribute to the current heating period.

Nevertheless, corrections are still being checked or made to current plans and designs where possible. For example, the expansion of the photovoltaic systems at the Vettersstraße school building project and the Bernsdorf swimming complex.

Background:

As a large city, the city of Chemnitz has an energy requirement of approx. 3,440 GWh/a (gigawatt hours per year). The heat supply accounts for approx. 2,400 GWh/a, adjusted for weather conditions, and the electricity supply for just over 1,000 GWh/a. Around 45 to 50 per cent of the heat supply is covered by natural gas, while 40 per cent comes from lignite-based district heating. The remaining 10 to 15 per cent comes from heat pumps, solar, wood and oil, among others.

Looking at energy consumption (electricity and heat) by sector, the following picture emerges: 3 per cent public buildings in the city of Chemnitz, 51 per cent private households, 37 per cent industry, trade, commerce, services (GHD), 9 per cent other public buildings (source: Climate Protection Report of the City of Chemnitz 2019).