The energy consumption of buildings accounts for the majority of the cities’ carbon footprint and, in most cases, it also represents the lion’s share of the carbon footprint of an individual building. In Tampere too, the main sources of emissions in 2018 included district heating and consumers’ electricity consumption. However, energy efficiency measures for residential buildings have been introduced very slowly, mainly because building owners have been unaware of their opportunities for cutting their energy costs.
The aim is to make energy consumption data easily accessible
In the autumn of 2020, Smart Tampere’s AI and Analytics-themed quick trial sought a solution to how building data could be presented in an understandable way and combined into an accessible and easy-to-use form. The aim of the project was to find ways to help and encourage residential building owners to introduce energy efficiency measures. The proposal selected based on tenders was submitted by Sitowise Oy.
As a result of the project, they developed a method to assess the energy efficiency of apartment blocks by area as well as measures for reducing energy consumption. The final result is an energy model and a browser-based application covering all apartment blocks in Tampere, which produces estimates of regional energy efficiency and potential for improving energy efficiency in each area.
“For us at Sitowise, this project was a fascinating challenge where we had the opportunity to combine our in-house expertise in real estate, energy and geography with data analytics. The project, therefore, required expertise in numerous fields as well as close and smooth cooperation between experts in various sectors. We feel that we were particularly successful in this respect, and in the end, that is what allowed us to combine the energy model and the browser-based application into a user-friendly service,” says consultant Pasi Haapakorva from Sitowise.
The application utilises Tampere Building Control Department’s data on energy efficiency renovations, renewable energy production installed in buildings and other relevant information, such as the construction year of buildings.
The City of Tampere enhances its energy counselling
The new model will come to benefit a number of actors. It provides housing companies with information on the most effective energy efficiency measures, the city with information on regional trends and companies with information on the most relevant measures at a regional level.
“The quick trial will allow the city to focus its energy counselling on the areas with the greatest potential. It also creates the grounds for the city’s ongoing energy counselling development work. On the other hand, we also hope that, based on this trial, local companies will start to make more efficient use of the open data available on buildings when developing new energy efficiency services,” says Juho Rinta-Rahko, Project Manager at the City of Tampere.
The City of Tampere aims to be carbon neutral by 2030. To achieve this goal, a Sustainable Tampere roadmap has been created, committing several city actors to various carbon neutrality measures in their operations.
One of the measures of the Sustainable Tampere roadmap is to increase energy counselling given to city residents and, on the other hand, to enhance the use of open building data in the development and marketing of the services provided by energy-efficiency companies. Another goal is to cooperate with housing companies and train property managers in energy-efficiency issues.
You can explore the Energy Calculator here: http://ec2-52-211-235-20.eu-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com/tampere_energia/