The contractor purchases approximately 150,000 MWh of natural gas annually for the TU Darmstadt. Due to plant losses during the conversion of natural gas into the respective energy type, the TU's annual consumption for electricity amounts about 55,700 MWh, heat about 56,100 MWh and cooling about 8,100 MWh. Together, this amounts to about 120,000 MWh of energy. This is roughly equivalent to the energy consumption of all households in a small town like Griesheim.
Over 90% of the energy supply is covered by contracting, a contract concluded specifically for this purpose. The contractor operates the energy center on the Lichtwiese campus and supplies the university with 40% heat from the Darmstadt North district heating network, which is fed by the Darmstadt waste-to-energy plant. 75% of the electricity is generated by combined heat and power plants and supplemented with 25% purchased electricity. In addition to the contractor´s central energy supply, and other decentralized properties of the TU that are supplied with energy via individual energy contracts.
The heat consumption of the buildings supplied via the energy center is monitored approx. every 15 minutes. The electricity quantities of the contractor are not building-specific, but the meter structure is currently being retrofitted. The aim is to establish the closest possible monitoring of energy consumption via a digital meter infrastructure. In the electricity supply, we know the consumption via the contractor's invoicing at monthly level, but not via the external electricity contracts.
2021, TU paid 20.5ct/kWh for electricity and 8.8ct/kWh for heat. This brought the total amount to approximately 11 million euros for electricity and 5.5 million euros for heat last year. For 2022, the energy prices agreed with the contractor will still apply. From January 2023, energy costs will rise significantly. The electricity supply is expected to double and the heat supply to triple.
The heat consumption of the buildings supplied via the energy center is monitored approx. every 15 minutes. The electricity quantities of the contractor are not building-specific, but the meter structure is currently being retrofitted. The aim is to establish the closest possible monitoring of energy consumption via a digital meter infrastructure. In the electricity supply, we know the consumption via the contractor's invoicing at monthly level, but not via the external electricity contracts.
TU Darmstadt has PV systems in the order of 2.1 MW in the works and in planning, both subsidized and unsubsidized by the state of Hesse.
The largest system will be installed in 12/24 on the Ruthsstrasse parking garage with 339 kW. A system on the Lichtwiese multi-storey parking lot with a capacity of 204 kW will be installed in 2023.
- Windows are replaced based on how they fit in with other measures and prioritized according to the highest savings measures, so that they are only replaced gradually.
- Inquiry: Can I find out when my building is due?
- There is no isolated renovation roadmap for windows. The refurbishment program of the future is currently being revised and is subject to a certain dynamic, so we cannot make any promises as to exactly when a building envelope will be refurbished.
These are technically easy to control on a small scale, e.g. For example in a household. For the complex and diverse structures at TU Darmstadt, it is currently not clear how costs and benefits relate to each other. In particular, it is not clear how high the costs for maintenance and support of the devices are and how the issue of battery waste is to be assessed. Against this background, it was decided not to use smart thermostats across the board for the time being.
In a scientifically monitored field test, which is meaningful in terms of scope, findings are to be gained as a basis for an evaluation. If you are interested in taking part in this field trial, please contact the energy management team.
There is no measurement technology in the buildings that are not connected to the district heating network. This means that no evaluable data is available.
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