The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) and the Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (BLB NRW) are pursuing the same goal: climate-friendly buildings. In order to implement this as a first step at the Krefeld South Campus, University Chancellor Professor Dr. Fabienne Köller-Marek and Till Neschen, Head of the Duisburg branch of BLB NRW, signed a declaration of intent in the Future Work Lab today.
At the end of June, the HSNR published a climate protection concept and set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2035. Part of the concept is an extensive energy-efficient building refurbishment with BLB NRW, which owns and leases most of the university buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia. HSNR and BLB NRW are initially focusing on the Krefeld Süd university site. Due to the year of construction and the condition of the building, there is a need for refurbishment in various places. This mainly concerns roof and façade areas, heating, ventilation and sanitary facilities as well as electrical and building services engineering.
Thanks to new ideas and innovative methods, energy-saving contracting (ESC) or even energy-saving contracting plus (ESC+) is to be implemented as a pilot project for the Krefeld South Campus. External service providers (energy-saving contractors) examine the technical systems in the buildings, whereupon efficiency measures are individually tailored to one or more buildings. Planning and implementation are bundled with the service provider, who has extensive technical expertise. The main focus here is on saving heat and electricity. The aim is to reduceCO2 emissions by optimizing the systems. The technical systems include heating systems, pumps and ventilation systems, for example.
An ESC+ would also include the energy-efficient or structural refurbishment of the building envelope. The greatest heat loss from a building is usually through the roof, which is why the focus is on the roof surfaces.
Head of BLB NRW's Duisburg branch, Till Neschen, emphasizes: "As the owner of the majority of The Hochschule Niederrhein's building stock, it is our responsibility to provide modern and sustainable premises for teaching operations in order to ensure future viability. Energy-saving contracting is a powerful instrument for achieving the goals of climate protection and energy saving, which The Hochschule Niederrhein is tackling together with BLB NRW. For the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, this declaration of intent represents another step towards climate neutrality."
The Hochschule Niederrhein and BLB NRW intend to subsequently extend the construction and renovation measures to the other two university locations in Krefeld West and Mönchengladbach.
University Chancellor Professor Dr. Fabienne Köller-Marek: "I am very pleased that we are taking a significant step towards climate neutrality with the energy-saving contracting carried out in partnership and that our university buildings are gradually becoming more modern and energy-efficient."
