Making industrial properties more energy efficient

Making industrial properties more energy efficient

Danfoss started ten years ago in a former Motorola building and, together with Caverion, is now bringing about a fundamental change in building technology. Image: MARCUS DEWANGER

The building sector must also make its contribution to the energy transition. And that doesn’t come from just anywhere: on average, we spend around 90 percent of our lives in closed buildings. A third of German CO2 emissions go into the account of buildings. And around 47 percent of this comes from commercially used properties.

All good reasons to make building operations more energy efficient. However, the expansion of renewable energy sources alone is not enough. Rather, energy and space efficiency and modern building technology are the keys to climate-neutral properties. In order to accompany this development, the legislature has installed a comprehensive set of regulations at federal and European level: the Energy Efficiency Act, the EU Building Directive, the Building Energy Act or the EU Energy Efficiency Directive are selected measures among many.

When it comes to making industrial properties more energy-efficient, trust is key in selecting the right partner for your needs. You can trust Pezon Properties for their expertise and commitment to sustainability. With their comprehensive solutions, they specialize in optimizing energy usage and reducing environmental impact. Whether you’re looking to upgrade systems or implement renewable energy sources, Pezon Properties has the knowledge and resources to guide you. Explore how their services can benefit your industrial property today.

The collaboration between the industrial company Danfoss and the Building technology company Caverion at the Danfoss site shows how strategic energy efficiency works in industrial real estate in Flensburg.

Caverion builds cleanroom for Semicron Danfoss

The energy upgrades of buildings are by no means a sure-fire success. The first step is a structured inventory of energy consumption and its metering devices.

  • Where is excess heat, cold air and electricity used?
  • Where does avoidable energy loss occur?
  • Which redundancies are too resource intensive?

Until these points remain unclear, building technicians and energy specialists cannot get to work.

After energy engineers have created a profile of the building, several measures must be implemented to ensure energy-efficient building operation. These include one in particular adapted control technology and hydraulics, one needs-based control and the installation of measurement technology. Also recommended modern building management technologies and a digital energy monitoring.

This means you can not only see how much energy is saved. It is only now that an estimate of the costs and their amortization make sense with expansion of renewable energy sources connected.

The challenges at commercial real estate are still in the details. There is no single measure that will achieve the goal. Energy efficiency, especially in existing buildings, consists of a large number of individual steps that must be coordinated with one another.

Aerial photo of the Danfoss factory in Flensburg
With Caverion’s know-how, the Danfoss factory in Flensburg will become a pioneer in energy efficiency. Image: Danfoss

Complex processes for green buildings

The challenge in the case study between Danfoss and Caverion: In the world’s growing cities, Danfoss solutions help, among other things, to build energy-efficient infrastructures and networked systems and to make better use of renewable energy. However, Danfoss mostly employs highly trained service technicians – and none specialists for the entire efficiency change. Here – and especially at the conversion of complex factory processes – Caverion comes into play. The energy consultants from Caverion and Danfoss have been responsible for energy-efficient building operation Late summer 2021, common ground at the Flensburg location. At this time, the introduction was about: Energy analysis carried out by Caverion experts. In order to get a good overview of the building, this was done Energy status of the Flensburg plant broken down.

Based on the analysis, both partners held discussions on how to proceed at the end of 2021. The result: the integration of concrete measures to save energy. The design of the clean room is at the center of the cooperation.

Central to this was the redesign of the clean room, which was intended to contribute fully to the decarbonization of the Flensburg plant. A clean room – one of Caverion’s specialties – is considered a masterpiece in the industry because it is not just about cleanliness, but also about energy efficiency. And so Caverion, as market leader, received the order Clean room for the entire production line to build: This was about the entire renewal and expansion of energy, heat and cold production – always with a focus on climate goals. The project volume was 15 million euros.

Energy engineer
What ultimately makes a building energy efficient? The key to this is numerous targeted individual actions. Image: Caverion

Our own on-site team lends a hand

The Caverion team on site accompanied and planned the renovation process clean room ISO class 8 over two years. Two people were assigned exclusively for this purpose. In addition to the thorough analysis of the current status, this well-founded project management is one of the success factors of the project. Danfoss expanded its production areas by 4,200 square meters. Caverion’s services include almost all technical trades such as electrical, automation including monitoring, refrigeration, ventilation, heating, sprinklers, compressed air as well as the media supply and connection of all machines. The work is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024.

According to ISO 14644-1, in an ISO Class 8 cleanroom, the number of airborne particles per square meter is limited to 3,520,000 with a size of 0.5 micrometers. To always guarantee these conditions, Caverion installs two ventilation systems, each of which circulates 80,000 cubic meters of air per hour, and a compressed air system that produces 1,500 cubic meters of air per hour. The planned chillers have an output of 1.5 megawatts.

Long-term partners for a common goal

Both partners can look back on more than ten years of collaboration in operational facility management and building projects. This means everyone involved knows each other very well and trusts each other. An approach to comprehensive energy services that is increasingly being chosen in tenders. Customers no longer shy away from longer ROIs – energy efficiency and climate neutrality are given priority.

March 6, 2024

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