Contributor
Volkswohnung

2007
Energieportal - Karlsruhe - Germany

The energy consumption of a household depends not only on a building’s structural and technical aspects: up to fifty percent is determined by the users themselves through their conduct.
In non-renovated buildings as well, energy consumption can be reduced by up to fifteen percent through the proactive participation of users.
The EU initiative eSESH—Saving Energy in Social Housing with ICT promotes possibilities to monitor, evaluate, as well as alter the private energy consumption of social housing tenants through the use of information and communication technologies.
One of the affiliated pilot projects aiming to foster “energy awareness” is the Energy Portal of Volkswohnung in Karlsruhe, which owns more than 12,700 apartments. Through the online portal, tenants can obtain their real-time energy consumption and compare this with an average value. Furthermore, the Karlsruhe housing association offers energysaving tips and related information sessions.
The “real” investment in the buildings themselves was limited to the installation of digital meters in every apartment.
Following a pilot phase in 2007–08, Volkswohnung has offered all of its tenants the service permanently since the summer of 2009.

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Architecture as Resource / Imprint