We Find Improvement Opportunities in All Our Buildings, Including New Installations.

Midgard Gruppen has chosen Energy Control as its partner for sensor-based energy management. Wireless sensors and EC Dashboard are now being rolled out across a large part of the company’s property portfolio.  

– In our portfolio of approximately 75 commercial properties, we have selected just over 30 buildings that are initially candidates for sensor-based energy management, says property manager at Midgard Gruppen, Anders Garmel.  

Focus on energy optimisation Midgard Gruppen is one of Bergen’s largest property players. The company has a property portfolio of approximately 100 buildings with a combined area of around 500,000 square metres. They take a long-term approach to property management, which includes placing energy optimisation, good indoor climate, and sustainability at the forefront.

– Our properties are to be developed and managed with as little environmental impact as possible. We therefore spend a lot of time maintaining and upgrading existing buildings. Energy optimisation is a natural part of this work, says Garmel.  

He explains that they have therefore long been looking for a management system that enables them to monitor and manage buildings in the most appropriate and efficient way possible.  

– We were in dialogue with Energy Control at an early stage and have been working with them for several years. In the beginning, this was about wanting to monitor our buildings so that we had control over what was happening at any given time. This was when energy prices were low, so the cost focus was not as strong. The focus was therefore on good indoor climate and increased comfort for our tenants, while of course also being an important part of our sustainability commitment, says Garmel.   As energy prices began to move seriously, energy costs became an increasingly hot topic. Midgard then intensified the search for the best energy management system for its buildings. After evaluating several systems and solutions, from the very simple to complete SD systems, they came back to Energy Control.  

– Energy Control’s solution gives us not only an overview of what is happening in our buildings, it also enables us to control ventilation, indoor climate, and energy use, says Garmel.  So far they have installed wireless sensors from Airthings and implemented EC Dashboard in ten of their buildings. The results have been so positive that they have now decided to roll out similar solutions in more of their properties.  

– We find improvement opportunities in all our buildings, including new installations. These are deviations or optimisations that would have been difficult to identify if we did not have sensors continuously monitoring the system, says Garmel.  

Provides increased control

He underlines that many of the buildings were designed and built at a time when energy was almost free and energy consumption was therefore not an issue. The measures they are now taking are therefore not about the buildings having been poorly managed previously.  

– It is about times changing and about us, as a modern and professional property player, continuously taking the steps that enable us to manage our buildings as efficiently as possible. Wireless sensors and new property technology mean that it is now possible to manage buildings in a completely different way than before, and we naturally want to take advantage of that, says Garmel.   In one of their premises, for example, they found out, based on information from the sensors, that the ventilation requirement was significantly lower than the building had been designed for.

– This was a tenant who had changed their use and makes extensive use of home offices. This resulted in a significantly reduced ventilation requirement in the premises. We were therefore able to adjust the ventilation system and thereby reduce energy use for the tenant. The sensors give us information and control over operations that we previously did not have. We are therefore now rolling out sensors and EC Dashboard in a great many of our properties, says Garmel.

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