Energy savings in December

Current energy savings at a glance: This is how much heat and electricity we saved at the University of Stuttgart in December.

The energy crisis affects all of us. Therefore, in the winter semester of 2022/23, the University of Stuttgart, like all other public institutions, will have to comply with temperature and electricity reduction targets. "Furthermore, I would like to ask you all to work together to save even more energy," says Chancellor Jan Gerken. "Let's face this challenge together," says Rector Wolfram Ressel.

Under the motto "Think more. Use less. Save energy. Together!" we are launching an energy-saving campaign for the winter semester. Our aims are:

• To work together to reduce energy consumption
• To show you how much energy we have already saved
• To explain our energy saving tips to you
• To listen to and share your suggestions
• To keep you informed of requirements.

For the University of Stuttgart, this means that we must, and would like to, reduce our average heat and electricity consumption by around 20 percent in comparison to the average consumption in previous years. Over the past few years, the University of Stuttgart's average heat consumption was around 74,000 megawatt hours (MWh) and electricity consumption was 90,000 MWh. To achieve our savings target, we need to save around 14,800 MWh of heat and 18,000 MWh of electricity. This corresponds to the annual heat consumption of 740 single-family homes and the electricity consumption of 3,600 single-family homes.

In December 2022, we saved 1339 MWh of heat and 513 MWh of electricity. This is 10.7 percent less heat consumption and 5.9 percent less electricity consumption compared to the average value of the past five December.

From October to December 2022, we saved a total of 3185 MWh of heat and 1459 MWh of electricity at the University of Stuttgart. This is a total of 12 percent less heat consumption and 5.7 percent less electricity consumption than the average of the past five years. This reduction in energy consumption is equivalent to the annual heat consumption of 159 single-family homes and the annual electricity consumption of 292 single-family homes – based on an annual heat consumption of 20 MWh and electricity consumption of 5 MWh per year.

We want to hear and share your ideas about saving energy at the University of Stuttgart. We are looking for ideas and suggestions that can contribute to potential savings on a large or small scale. Suggestions can be sent by email to our energy manager Harald Hentze.

Together, we can reduce energy use by implementing small behavioral changes in everyday life at the university. If you need a multiple socket strip, you are welcome to contact energy manager Harald Hentze.

The university’s electricity and gas prices are also increasing exponentially, highlighting our dependence on fossil energy imports. For this reason, the federal government has issued the Ordinance on Securing the Energy Supply through Rapid Impact Measures, which the University of Stuttgart is also obliged to implement.