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Project Manager Tuomas Vanhanen in a webinar studio.

The purpose of the Energy Wise Cities project was to find new intelligent low-carbon solutions that improve the energy efficiency of residential and service buildings in cities. Service buildings are buildings such as schools, day care centres and sports halls. The project has also promoted the development of regional energy systems and the planning of zero-energy blocks. The Energy Wise Cities project was carried out by all of the Six Cities. 227 companies participated in project activities, including project events.

Results of the Energy Wise Cities project

  • The Energy Wise Cities project has developed a method of acquiring improved energy efficiency for the service buildings of cities as a service by renewing previous energy efficiency partnership (ESCO) models. The model was also piloted in the cities. Using the model, a number of buildings with potential for savings are selected. The companies study the buildings and submit quotes and the city enters into an agreement with the company with the best offer for extensive improvements to the buildings’ energy efficiency. The model generates savings for the cities, reduces emissions and provides companies with a less risky way to enter a competitive bidding process by receiving compensation for the initial study phase.
  • In the Energy Wise Cities project, pioneer areas for piloting energy efficiency solutions were established in the cities. The project has surveyed and experimented with new solutions in Hiedanranta (e.g. energy consumption and production simulations) and the Vuores zero-energy block in Tampere (plot conveyance terms and intelligent block-level energy solutions), Skanssi in Turku (e.g. survey concerning the utilisation of groundwater energy), Raksila sports area in Oulu (energy vision) and the industrial area of Petikko-Varisto in Vantaa (e.g. the energy refurbishments of companies).
  • The project has improved the energy efficiency of buildings without compromising on the quality of indoor air. From now on, buildings can be used as virtual power plants and their energy consumption can be controlled with demand response, which has been piloted in the schools of Helsinki, for example. The energy efficiency of buildings is also improved by the optimisation of ventilation and heating. The Energy Wise Cities project also produced an integration plan for technical building service systems for smart residential properties.
  • The project has piloted the calculation of the lifecycle costs and carbon footprint of construction and implemented these calculations in the planning of construction projects in Turku, Tampere and Helsinki.
  • Through experimentation, the project has studied how the energy and condition data collected from public buildings can be visualised in a form that is easily understandable and applicable to the users of the buildings and real estate professionals.
High building in the dark, visuals are screened on the wall. People in the front of the building.
Energy art competition in Hiedanranta area, City of Tampere. Photo: Hiedanranta Development Oy/Teemu Raassina.

What’s next?

  • The cities will continue applying the renewed energy efficiency partnership model. For example, the City of Oulu plans to use the model in the competitive tendering for an energy efficiency partner in 2021. Motiva is also investing in establishing the model.
  • In Tampere, VTS-kodit will apply the integration plan for building service systems developed in the project. The plan is also being considered for plot conveyance terms in Hiedanranta, Tampere. Open data and APIs are used in refining the energy data of properties in Turku, for example, which opens up new possibilities for future projects. In Espoo, the Saaga data pool is used to develop the use of energy, emission and condition data of properties. The results of the project will be taken into consideration in the City of Espoo’s procurement of an overall solution for controlling energy data and other types of data specified above.
  • The cities will determine the goals for visualising data as part of the efforts to improve buildings’ energy efficiency. In order for the visualisation to succeed, metrics, making data available to third parties and feedback from users are required.
  • Tampere and Helsinki are preparing experiments aimed at expanding and establishing the virtual power plant activities in suitable properties.
  • Carbon footprint and lifecycle cost calculations are being established as part of the project planning of major cities. Cooperation to promote these calculations between cities and various climate projects continues.
  • Turku has already begun using the plot conveyance terms improved in this project, and Tampere is following suit. The energy vision project of the Raksila sports area in Oulu is being planned, with the aim of cutting emissions by half and generating annual savings of EUR 120,000. The development of the Hiedanranta energy innovation ecosystem is being continued as part of the ecosystem agreement between the City of Tampere and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

See the Energy Wise Cities’ results page in English

The aim of the Energy Wise Cities project was to elevate the cities involved into international exemplar areas in energy-efficient living, zero-energy construction, the implementation of a multiform energy system, monitoring of energy efficiency, and user guidance. The project applied co-creation methods to integrate the views of cities, companies and users. Dialogue with the market, user-oriented service design and data metrics, modelling and simulation were used in the project. The City of Tampere was in charge of coordinating the project. Other project partners included EcoFellows; the cities of Helsinki, Oulu, Turku and Vantaa; and Valonia/the Regional Council of Southwest Finland. The project ran from 2 May 2018 to 31 December 2020, and its total budget was approximately EUR 3.3 million.

For more information, please contact

Ilari Rautanen
EcoFellows
ilari.rautanen(at)tampere.fi

Joni Leinonen
Project Manager
City of Espoo
joni.leinonen(at)espoo.fi

Timo Määttä
Project Manager
City of Helsinki
timo.maatta(at)hel.fi

Johanna Mäkelä
Project Manager
City of Oulu
johanna.makela(at)ouka.fi

Ann-Sofi Österberg
Project Manager
City of Turku
ann-sofi.osterberg(at)turku.fi

Ari-Santeri Talja
Project Manager
City of Vantaa
ari-santeri.talja(at)vantaa.fi

Jari Saukko
Project Manager
EcoFellows
jari.saukko(at)tampere.fi

Silja Ngobese
Project Manager
Valonia
silja.ngobese(at)valonia.fi