"Together less...", with this message the Fachhochschule Dortmund called on students, teaching staff and employees to save energy in the fall of 2022. Lights off. Turn down the heating. If possible, take the stairs more often. Did it help?
"It actually really helped," says Prof. Dr. Torsten Füg, lecturer in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Together with Joel Heim, a student of energy management, he has evaluated the data on the use of thermal energy. The result: "The available figures from the UAS locations Sonnenstraße and Max-Ophüls-Platz show savings in the consumption of gas and district heating of well over 20 percent," explains the energy expert. The effects of the weather have already been factored out.
"The savings are higher than the targets in the relevant regulations," praises Sebastian Kreimer from the Sustainability Office, the Office for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR Office) at Fachhochschule Dortmund. A large part of this can be attributed to the changes in behavior of all university members. "The slogan 'Together less' has become a reality," says Sebastian Kreimer.
"To save efficiently, we need data."
The campaign is not intended to be a one-off. Fachhochschule Dortmund is currently working on setting up a permanent energy management system. "In order to make efficient savings, we need data to understand how consumption is made up and how we can have a positive impact on it," explains Prof. Füg. The aim is to prevent savings being made in the wrong places. "Because in winter, we sometimes sat in lectures in our ski underwear," reports Joel Heim. But instead of letting people freeze in the lecture halls, the aim is to heat efficiently. This means optimizing where heat energy is consumed unnecessarily. The energy experts and the CSR Office are working closely with the UAS building management team to achieve this.
At the same time, a climate manager started work at the beginning of the year. "The first task is to balance our greenhouse emissions," explains Sebastian Kreimer. This is followed by an analysis of potential. All with the aim of being climate-neutral by 2030 at the latest. "We are on the right track at Fachhochschule Dortmund," praises Prof. Torsten Füg. Energy and environmental management must become a matter of course at universities. "We are training future specialists and managers in Business Studies and administration. If we set a good example, we also create a new awareness," says the professor. Fachhochschule Dortmund is thus living up to its social responsibility.