Reduced Energy Use in a “New Build” by 25 Percent

– By using EC Dashboard and sensors from Airthings, we have managed the output of the ventilation system based on actual demand. This simple measure has led to an immediate reduction in energy use of 25 percent, says CEO of Paal Kahrs Eiendom, Christine Kahrs.

The building she is referring to is the Biltema store in Godvik, which she owns. The company has over several stages upgraded the property, including adding insulation to the roof and installing an air-to-water heat pump which, when it was installed, was the largest of its kind in Norway. In practice, the building is therefore almost equivalent to a new build.

– I have been committed to making sustainable investments in the building, says Kahrs, who for many years also sat on the board of Norsk Eiendom and as leader and member of the Urban Development Resource Group at Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Together with Tommy Hagenes at Energy Control, she has gone through the building and together they have taken the first steps to energy-optimise it. The building has, among other things, been 3D-scanned to get full control over floor areas, and together with IoT sensors this has given full control over the building's technical systems. Everything has been connected to EC Dashboard, where Kahrs can follow energy use from second to second.

– I have received a quote for solar panel installation on the roof, but reducing energy use is the best and cheapest measure you can take. Right now I have reduced daily energy use by approximately 250 kWh. At an electricity price of four kroner, that is 1,000 kroner saved every day, says Kahrs. Hagenes explains that large retail buildings — so-called BigBoxes — are very often operated as though the store is full of people 24 hours a day.

– It is not "Black Friday" with a full house at Biltema every day. Yet a very large number of retail premises are managed as though it were "happy hour" every single day. It clearly is not, and with more active management of the ventilation, significant amounts of energy can be saved, says Hagenes.

The challenge with many of the measures a building owner makes in their own building stock, according to Kahrs, is that it is the owner who bears the investment costs while it is the tenants who benefit from the reduced energy costs.

– That is much of the reason why the green transition is still progressing slowly in the property sector. Many property operators are not interested in bearing costs for which they themselves do not receive the benefit, says Kahrs. One solution to this can be a so-called Green Lease. A green lease is a supplementary agreement to the commercial tenancy agreement, and aims to raise the environmental standard of the leased premises/property by increasing the property's energy efficiency, improving resource utilisation and reducing emissions/waste in the operation and maintenance of the property.

Normally it is the building owner who bears the financial costs of the environmental measures. At the same time, the green lease allows for the tenant to pay an annual supplement to the rent (based on the property's allocation key where there are multiple tenants). The contribution is based on the investment cost, an agreed interest rate, and the economic lifespan of the measure (the latter determined by the building owner). In return, the environmental measures will normally lead to a reduction in the tenant's annual energy costs. If the environmental measures are only of benefit to a smaller number of tenants, only these are included in the calculation and allocation of the annual supplement. https://www.norskeiendom.org/publikasjoner/miljoavtalen

– If we are to succeed in creating a more sustainable property sector, building owners must lead the way, while at the same time tenants must demand and require energy-efficient buildings. The Green Lease is an important and good tool that regulates how such investments can be made, says Kahrs.

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