Energy Supply
If current predictions are to be believed, Freie Universität Berlin will be faced with a huge increase in energy costs in 2023. This follows the average twenty-five percent increase in energy costs which already occurred in 2022. As things stand, it is possible that energy costs may even double in the coming year. However, the changes made to individual rates will undoubtedly vary depending on the energy source.
Looking to 2023, it is probable that natural gas will see the highest price increases – despite the fact that gas markets are relatively relaxed at the moment. As the university sources approximately a third of its heating from natural gas and approximately two thirds from district heating (that, in turn, is generated in combined heat and power plants powered by natural gas), we will also see these price developments reflected in the university’s energy costs.
However, we cannot yet provide an exact estimate of the extent to which prices will rise. The federal state of Berlin is currently in the process of re-evaluating its energy procurement across multiple suppliers – as a public higher education institution in Berlin, Freie Universität belongs to the state of Berlin’s energy procurement pool. The official energy management office (Energiewirtschaftsstelle) for Berlin informs the city’s universities of the rates for the upcoming year in December.
As electricity costs have accounted for almost two thirds of all energy costs at Freie Universität in the past, the increase in electricity costs will likely have a large impact on Freie Universität’s energy costs as a whole.
In 2021, electricity accounted for approximately one third of the energy consumed at Freie Universität – almost thirty-seven million kilowatt hours (kWh). Gas makes up around one quarter of Freie Universität’s energy consumption – approximately twenty-seven million kWh. In turn, district heating made up around forty-three percent of the energy consumed at Freie Universität – just under forty-nine million kWh.
This means that Freie Universität has a high dependence on natural gas, particularly as a heat source. Freie Universität relies on natural gas for approximately one third of its heat consumption. The other two thirds are sourced from district heating, more than half of which is sourced from power plants (with cogeneration) that are powered by natural gas.
Energiebezug
Image Credit: Susanne Wehr
In the short term, Freie Universität is limited in its capacity to replace natural gas and district heating with other energy sources. Currently, the university has four cogeneration plants. As these generate heat and electricity at the same time, they make very efficient use of the natural gas that we do source. In Berlin as a whole, district heating is primarily generated through combined heat and power plants and is thus very efficient.
In the mid- to long-term, making the switch to renewable energies is the best option if we wish to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. This is something Freie Universität is committing to, which is why we are swiftly organizing the construction of more solar systems on campus. However, natural gas and district heating remain the most available and most efficient sources of heating to date. With regard to electricity, Freie Universität has been sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources since 2010. This was part of a decision made by the Berlin House of Representatives.
Currently, Freie Universität is also evaluating the feasibility of a project that would establish a system for re-using organic waste (e.g., hedge and tree cuttings, dung). This would generate vegetable carbon while also enabling the heat required for the carbonization process to be used as room heating. This technique is considered a “negative emissions technology.” By implementing projects such as these, Freie Universität is taking steps toward achieving its aim of becoming climate neutral by 2025. Unfortunately, this project will not be able to be implemented this winter or in the winter of 2023/2024.
Using a range of different measures and incentives, Freie Universität has managed to considerably reduce the amount of electricity and heating consumed on campus since winter 2000/2001 – by 30%, to be precise (without taking the increased floor space into account, this figure would be even higher at. 34%).
This means that the amount of electricity and district heating required by the university has plummeted. Heating oil is also more or less a thing of the past at Freie Universität. Over the years, our natural gas consumption has increased by around 14%; this is because several buildings previously heated by heating oil made the switch to natural gas. From an environmental perspective, this was a move that ultimately led to additional savings in carbon dioxide (CO2).
When looking back over how our energy consumption has changed over the years, it is important to note that our consumption was only reduced by 4.7% in 2020 and 2021 as compared with 2019, despite fewer people on campus as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bei allen Energieträgern sank der Verbrauch an der Freien Universität.
Image Credit: Susanne Wehr
Energy prices in general have risen over the past twenty years, with the costs for electricity having risen considerably. While the university only paid an average of 8.6 cents/kWh in 2003, this price rose to 21.7 cents/kWh by 2021 – an increase of more than 150%. This can be compared with the prices for natural gas and district heating, which only rose by 70% and 40% over the same time period, respectively. Nowadays, however, they are also beginning to catch up. Although Freie Universität has been able to reduce its energy consumption by around 30% over the past twenty years, energy costs have continued to rise at a rate of around 45%.
However, the following also applies: If Freie Universität hadn’t reduced its energy consumption by 30%, the university’s energy costs for 2021 would have cost approximately an additional 6 million euros. Thus, we can be proud of the fact that savings made in the past have tangibly strengthened the university’s ability to react to challenging situations in the present.
Entwicklung der Energiepreise
Image Credit: Susanne Wehr
Yes, the university introduced a comprehensive energy monitoring scheme in 2001. This means that we have access to two decades’ worth of data on the electricity and heating consumed in individual buildings.
In 2017, Freie Universität began monitoring its energy consumption online, collecting data from almost all buildings on campus. As such, any deviations or abnormalities in energy consumption can be recognized very quickly, and counter-measures introduced.
The most important figures regarding our energy consumption can be found in our sustainability reports, which are published every two years, and our environmental declarations (Umwelterklärungen, currently only available in German), which are published annually.
Freie Universität’s energy management system is heavily based on the data we have collected and continue to collect on our energy consumption. We have been monitoring how energy is consumed in almost all buildings on campus for many years now. Furthermore, the university introduced a monetary incentive scheme to encourage departments to reduce their energy consumption.
However, in order to be effective, energy-saving measures should take technology, organization, and behavior into account as factors that influence one another. Ensuring that the technology on hand is efficient, for example, by modernizing and regularly maintaining heating and ventilation systems, is, of course, very important. On the other hand, university members can also make a difference through their behavior. For example, employees can help reduce energy consumption by only heating rooms when necessary and turning down the thermostat before leaving work for the day.
Due to their energy-intensive equipment (laboratories, vents, greenhouses, phytochambers, autoclaves, etc.), the natural sciences have a considerably higher demand for energy than the social sciences, humanities, or administrative buildings. While, depending on their age and condition, the administrative buildings consume 30‒120 kWh per square meter annually, most of the buildings occupied by the natural sciences consume between 140 kWh and 300 kWh per square meter on an annual basis. Some consume even more than this.
However, the amount of energy consumed says little about what potential actually exists for saving energy in these areas. This is something that depends on a number of factors, for example, the condition of the building, the ability we have to regulate these facilities, or the potential that organizational and behavioral changes could have on consumption. Generally, detailed analyses of each building are required in order to identify and develop potential steps for saving energy.
Yes. The use of electricity and heating is already carefully monitored in buildings across campus. We also have data on how energy consumption across the university has changed over the years. This means that energy-saving measures being taken now will quickly become evident in the data, allowing individual buildings and the university as a whole to identify progress and evaluate the effectiveness of these measures.
We know a great deal about how electricity is consumed at Freie Universität. For example, since the beginning of the semester, the weekday electricity load of the institute buildings on our main campus in Dahlem can be summarized as follows: from 6:00 a.m. onwards, the power load increases considerably, reaching a peak of 4.7 to 5.3 megawatts (MW) around midday. After 4:00 p.m., consumption decreases dramatically to a base load of around 2.5 to 2.7 MW, which remains more or less unchanged – albeit slightly reduced – even over the weekend. This means that more than half of the electricity consumed by the university is consumed around the clock.
This purportedly high base load can be accounted for by the continuous IT operations that need to be run in our data centers, security lighting, heating pumps, and the basic ventilation required in laboratories and hazardous materials storage units. However, this high base load is also a sign that more equipment may be running than is actually required. This is why it is especially important that office and lab equipment are always switched off at the end of the working day and over the weekend – and not just left on stand-by.