In Denmark alone there is a huge energy saving potential in buildings and an unexplored market potential at appprox. 5 mia. EUR[1] for Danish SME´s with energy efficient solutions and knowledge about energy efficient installations including intelligent energy management. CLEAN´s pilot project ”Hand on energy” has tested  how to engage private home owners  in a better energy behavior. In private homes in district heating areas an average of 9 % energy savings and a variation 3-28 % has been shown, when installing an intelligent energy management system with a low investment at approx. 1300 EUR per house.

16 homeowners from Odense, Middelfart and Kolding has taken part in the CLEAN project “track of Energy”, where a wireless system has controlled heat and electricity. The result provides between 5-10% savings on electricity and heat for the participating homeowners. It is a large fluctuation in savings for the test households, but at the same time shows that there is a market for this type of green solutions, which is still untapped by Danish companies.

-“In the future there will be even greater emphasis on saving energy than there is today. In addition to higher energy prices, we will soon see that the energy will have different prices over a day. It will motivate the consumer to move energy consumption to times when energy is cheapest. Therefore, there will be need to get built-in intelligence in our home which helps the consumer to save energy without compromising on comfort, “says Jesper Plass from the global player Schneider Electric – a participant in the pilot project.

The future points to easy and affordable, automated solutions for energy management. The project has created attention to market opportunities by involving local suppliers in the process and the network. . The market potential in Denmark and maturity in relation to energy management is high compared with other countries the because of our energy policy and energy awareness, our high-energy consumption in buildings as well as relatively high-energy prices on electricity and heat. Therefore, there are good opportunities to involve local SMVér, says Project Director Lotte Lindgaard Andersen. An analysis of export potential, also shows that Sweden and Germany and to some extent France are the best markets for Smart Metering ^[2] .

The selection of a test area in project types as a grip on energy, is essential for the project’s potential success. Kolding Municipality laid a portion of energy in selecting the appropriate test area and catch the citizens ‘ interest in the project through personal letters, the municipality’s website and Facebook, info posters in the local school and children’s Centre, as well as local marketing.
“The information meeting was held in the local area on a weekday evening, so that the household the right easy to participate. In relation to the local business community, it is our hope that projects like track of energy, causes an increased attention on the local energy artisans, “says Climate Coordinator in Kolding Municipality, Torsten Zinck S.

Lotte Lindgaard Andersen, project manager in CLEAN supplements. There are lots of useful learning from this project. Thus, it is found that the special are the homeowners, who already have done a little, but would like to do more, which can be mobilized. However, they must clearly be able to see what they get out of it. It motivates is to be part of a pilot project, access to exciting new technique and ability for comfort improvements and energy savings.
-“We have learned that a pilot project of this type requires more follow-up and service than we had envisaged. But fortunately we have collaborated with two skilled installers who have been great to deal with the challenges which have arisen during the course of the project. Installers have been very quick to take the new technology for themselves, “says Jesper Plass from Schneider Electric.

Widely different savings

Overall, users have saved on average 9%, equivalent to 5539 kWh on electricity bills in the test period, compared with the period a year earlier. The largest savings potential is assessed to be found on the heat consumption. In this test, there are a total of saved 9% on heat consumption during the experimental period, equivalent to 25355 kWh. The total savings on electricity and heat have a value of 28000 USD or on average DKK 1750 per household in the testing period. The expectation was at the commencement of the project 10-15%. Based on similar experiments with active temperature control and additional theoretical studies, it is assessed that the potential savings can be up to 30%, depending on the House’s energy class and family consumption patterns. ^[3] +[4] The largest savings potential will be to find on houses, located outside of district heating regions with a high energy consumption, typical houses which are oil heated and built before 1980.

All users, except two, achieves a saving on heating bills during the experimental period. The achieved savings lies in a range between 3% and 28%. The consumption-weighted average saving is 9% after seasonal correction of consumption data (degree days correction). This is based on the total heating Bill, which includes hot water. Outside the warm domestic water (which is typically assumed to be approximately 20% of the total heat consumption) saving on space heating alone will be higher.

About the system 
Wiser system is a wireless system that controls home’s appliances and energy consumptive water based heating system. End-user benefits of intelligent energy management accommodates both energy savings and comfort. The system minimizes standby-consumption, and adjusts the temperature for optimal heat exploitation without losing comfort. The system can be used from a PC or tablet.

About the Pilot project “Hand on Energy”

The aim of the project was to promote the demand for intelligent energy management and low-cost insulation solutions through visualization and mobilization of homeowners. In addition, there developed a financing model, small and medium-sized local companies are involved and export opportunities assessed.

A total of 16 homeowners from Odense, Middelfart and Kolding (Denmark) has participated in the project with energy control on heat and electricity in a testing period from 1. November 2014 till 1. May, 2015.

Partners: CLEAN (clean tech cluster), Middelfart Sparekasse (bank), TREFOR (energy supplier), Schneider Electric (global connected technologies supplier), Saint-Gobain ISOVER (insulation supplier) and Odense, Kolding and Middelfart Municipalities.

[1] Wittchen, K. B. (2009). Potentielle energibesparelser i det eksisterende byggeri. Statens Byggeforskningsinstitut, SBi, Denmark. Potentialet for energibesparelser ved at forbedre de tekniske installationer er 36 mia. DKK.  40% af den totale energiforbrug bruges til bygninger. 28 % af EU’s samlede energiforbrug er til bygninger med boligformål. 80 % går til bygninger mindre end 1000 m2.