Building in Bodø cut more than half its energy use for ventilation and heating

– We count ourselves lucky that we did this before electricity prices went through the roof. The measure more than halved energy use related to ventilation and heating and was paid off in about half a year, says managing director of Hundholmen Byutvikling, Thomas Jakhelln.

The company owns several buildings in Bodø. Some have modern technical systems, but not all. On the waterfront in the so-called Ramsalt area, right in the centre of Bodø, sits the office building Fabrikken. The building, just under 5,000 square metres, was built in the mid-1980s, but has undergone significant upgrades in recent years. Today it is a modern office building with a central location.

In 2024, the landlord chose, among other things, to carry out a pilot project together with Energy Control. The pilot was about demand-controlling the ventilation in one of the building's office floors, as well as gaining control over the property's ventilation units.
– We wanted to reduce the building's energy use and therefore got in touch with Energy Control, says Jakhelln.

From pilot to full rollout
Results came quickly. Data from the sensors revealed several serious faults. Among other things, some of the building's ventilation systems were running 24 hours a day.
– This was quickly rectified, and the result is that energy consumption related to ventilation has been reduced from 165,000 kWh to 70,000 kWh, says Jakhelln.

In addition to the ventilation systems ramping down in the evenings and at night, the systems are also demand-controlled. This means that on the relevant floor, they are automatically controlled according to how many people are at work.
– We have also gained control over heating. So far this applies to the one floor being controlled, but this has given an additional energy reduction of 20,000 kWh – from 50,000 kWh to 30,000 kWh. This investment was paid for by the tenants, who saw the benefit of gaining control over the heating of their own premises, says Jakhelln.

Going from a total energy consumption for ventilation and heating of 215,000 kWh in 2023, the company had by 2025 reduced this to 100,000 kWh. The measures were implemented in 2024 and therefore had their full effect from 2025 onwards.
– It goes without saying that we are very satisfied. The indoor climate has improved and the bills have gone down. We are therefore now in the process of a full rollout in the building in question, and we are also in the process of installing systems in one of our other buildings in Bodø, says Jakhelln.

Paid off in half a year
Jakhelln says the company, over the same period, has reduced the electricity bill for the building by 168,000 kroner, from 370,000 to 202,000 kroner. This also includes other consumption, but in practice the energy consumption and electricity bill related to ventilation and heating have been more than halved.
– Sensors, other hardware and labour have together cost us around 90,000 kroner. The investment was paid off in just over half a year, says Jakhelln.

The work was done during a period when electricity prices in Bodø were low. At 2026 electricity prices, the investment would have been paid off even faster.
– The higher electricity prices go, the happier we are about the investments we've made. That's why we are now installing sensors in yet another building, says Jakhelln.

Specific, but not unusual
Christian Hope at Energy Control has been responsible for the planning and follow-up of the project in Bodø.
– This is a typical building from the 1980s – a type of building of which there are very many in Norway. This is where our technology really comes into its own, says Hope.
He explains that many of these buildings are "dumb", without much technology.
– By installing our wireless sensors we often reveal faults in the systems, which means you can quickly and efficiently achieve major savings. In this case the fault was discovered almost immediately, meaning that within just a few days we had already achieved a significant energy reduction, says Hope.

In addition, Energy Control introduces automatic demand control, which effectively contributes to further energy reductions.
– When we now roll out the solution across the entire building, the landlord will likely see further savings, says Hope.

He adds that landlords should not normally expect energy reductions of this magnitude.
– I usually say that the normal expectation is savings of between 20 and 40 percent. But it is not unusual for us to achieve savings like those in Bodø, says Hope.

Facts:
Fabrikken, Sjøgata 27 in Bodø. The 4,850 sq m building was constructed in 1986.
What was done?: Sensors and EC connectors from Energy Control have been installed. This has given the landlord control over the building, which now controls ventilation and heating according to demand.
What has been achieved?: Energy use related to ventilation and heating has been reduced from 215,000 kWh to 100,000 kWh.
Payback period: The investment was paid off in approximately half a year.

‍