Energy monitoring as a tool to achieve climate targets
The real estate sector faces major challenges when it comes to sustainability and energy efficiency. Especially in times of rising energy costs and increasing environmental regulations, it is crucial to optimise the energy consumption of buildings. Union Investment, as one of the leading investment managers for commercial properties, relies on energy monitoring systems, among other things, to increase the energy efficiency of its properties. Commercial properties include a wide range of technical building equipment that continuously consume energy. Not all consumption is obvious. Hidden electricity and heat consumption or operating systems that are not optimised often result in considerable costs.
In 2018, Union Investment launched a pilot project in which ten office properties in Germany were equipped with energy monitoring systems in order to record and reduce the energy consumption of the common areas. One of these properties is the Bülow Carré in Stuttgart.
"Our aim is to use energy monitoring across Union Investment's entire real estate portfolio by 2025." Hella Matzen-Lembcke Sustainability team at Union Investment
Bülow Carré: A modern property with high energy consumption
Bülow Carré, a striking multi-tenant ensemble built in 2013, is located in the centre of Stuttgart. Union Investment acquired the property in the same year for the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland. The building combines modern retail, restaurant and office space and has its own underground car park. Despite its high construction standards and LEED Platinum certification, the property had an above-average energy consumption of 216 kWh/m²/a. For this reason, Bülow Carré was one of the first properties to be commissioned with energy monitoring. The collaboration between Union Investment and Apleona, one of Europe's leading real estate and facility managers, and their Building Advisory team based in Düsseldorf began in 2018.
In order to efficiently monitor energy consumption at Bülow Carré and identify optimisation potential, Union Investment's sustainability team placed specific requirements on Apleona, such as setting up a digital metering infrastructure, real-time monitoring and regular reporting.
"It was questionable for us whether there was any significant savings potential in such a modern building. However, the results surprised us." Julius Otto Team Head Energy Monitoring at Apleona Real Estate GmbH
Launch and implementation of energy monitoring in Bülow Carré
The energy monitoring system was installed in three stages. The first quick wins were identified during the initial property inspection, resulting in energy savings of around ten per cent:
- Optimisation of switching times: Adjusting the operating times of ventilation and heating systems to reduce energy consumption.
- Setting up a public holiday programme: special programmes for the building management system (BMS) to minimise energy consumption on public holidays and weekends.
- Avoidance of simultaneous heating and cooling: Elimination of inefficient operating states through detailed consumption recording.
Within six months of the initial property inspection, the final meter concept was implemented and the data analysis started. ‘After starting the data analysis, we were able to identify the first low-hanging fruit in the first three to four months. In other words, measures that can be implemented with low investment and bring immediate savings,’ adds Hella Matzen-Lembcke from Union Investment's sustainability team. In the second phase of the project, the focus was on analysing consumption data in detail using the energy management system (EMS). This detailed analysis of consumption data makes it possible to gain an in-depth understanding of the energy flows in the building. In the third phase, the focus was placed on optimising the technical building equipment.
‘Thanks to the good initial situation in the property in terms of the number of meters and existing systems that we could connect to, we were able to set up comprehensive energy monitoring at a manageable cost,’ says Julius Otto, Team Head Energy Monitoring at Apleona Real Estate GmbH.
The challenge in implementing the measures is to significantly reduce energy consumption without compromising operational processes or the comfort of the tenants. Raising awareness among those involved at an early stage led to a common understanding and successful cooperation at Bülow Carré.
Success stories from Bülow Carré
1. Analysis of water consumption
By analysing the water consumption, it was determined that the main time of use in the building is from Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm. The building is used less at weekends. However, electricity consumption remained high until 10 p.m., which indicated that the ventilation systems were not optimally adapted to the actual times of use. Adjusting the switching times led to a reduction in electricity consumption.
2. Optimisation of the underground car park ventilation
The 24/7 operation of the ventilation system in the underground car park was replaced by an intelligent system that adapts the switching times to the times of use and humidity. This measure saves 182,500 kWh per year and reduces CO2 emissions by 110 tonnes.
50 % energy savings: award for the use of energy monitoring
Since the start of the project in 2018 until 2023, energy consumption for heating and general electricity has been almost halved - the cumulative energy savings amount to 10,059,066 kW/h and the financial savings total € 370,000.
‘The Bülow Carré is a special building for us, as we have achieved savings totalling 50% for electricity and heat and there is potential for further savings.’ Julius Otto, Team Head Energy Monitoring at Apleona Real Estate GmbH.
One thing is certain: to keep Bülow Carré on the climate path and prevent it from becoming stranded, energy consumption in the property must be further reduced. To this end, Union Investment is using further instruments of its ‘manage to green’ - strategy and can thus draw on the energy modernisation roadmap that has already been drawn up to implement measures in a performance-friendly manner.
Bülow Carré is a prime example of how even highly certified buildings can still have considerable potential for savings. The success of the energy monitoring project shows that significant energy savings can be achieved through targeted measures and analyses. Nevertheless, the challenge remains to implement these measures on a permanent basis and to monitor them continuously. The commitment of all those involved, from facility management to property management and asset management, is crucial for long-term implementation.
Union Investment and Apleona 2024 were honoured with the RealGreen Performance Award from the Deutschen Unternehmensinitiative Energieeffizienz e.V. for their success at Bülow Carré.