Energy Saving in Green Buildings

The significant energy savings in a building can be achieved by integrated automated control and management of lighting systems. Automation allows to save more than 70% of the annual electricity consumption by the lighting system. In addition, presence detectors that automatically control the lighting give the investor a chance to achieve a good performance when certifying according to LEED or BREEAM green standards. We will show the possibilities of reducing energy consumption due to the use of motion and presence detectors of ESYLUX (Germany) installed in the headquarter of "Aktion", one of the most technologically advanced office buildings in Moscow.

For Serbia, the issue of saving energy is also extremely relevant. From the 1st of November, 2023 the price of consumed electricity will rise to RSD 14 per kWh (about EUR 0.12). This is the price for individual consumers, and commercial users will pay even more. Looking at the geopolitical situation in the world, we can’t count on cheap energy in the future. Green energy is at the very beginning of its development and requires significant investments. Property owners should not forget about measures to reduce the energy consumption during all life cycle of a building.

Automatically switching on, off and smoothly adjusting the lighting inside the building, it is possible not only to reduce the electricity consumption, but also to provide people with the comfort light level in the workplace. We have been using motion and presence detectors of the German company ESYLUX for more than 17 years. These detectors take into account the flow of the natural light through the windows, are able to smoothly adjust the capacity of the lighting fixtures and maintain a constant light level on the work surface of the table. For example, 500 Lux.



Due to the high electricity prices (EUR 0.35-0.5), Germany is the locomotive of the energy-efficient technologies in Europe. In Serbia, more attention is paid to energy saving issues when planning new and reconstructing the existing buildings. Therefore, there is considerable interest in already proven technologies that allow for significant energy conservation. Germany has made great progress in this direction: the country has adopted a law at the federal level regulating the mandatory installation of presence and motion detectors in buildings in order to save electrical energy spent on artificial lighting. Without the implementation of these energy-saving requirements, it is impossible to design a new building or update an existing one. We have already written earlier about the experience of installing ESYLUX motion detectors in the main building of RTS in Belgrade.

Motion detectors vs. presence detectors

Most likely, you have heard both of these terms. What are the differences between them? Both type of detectors work using passive infrared (PIR) technology. This means that they do not emit anything, they see what is happening in the room. People for detectors are moving heat spots in the office room. When the detector sees a movement in the room, it extends the operating time of the lighting system. Presence detectors are more accurate and can detect even minimal movements. For example, if you don't move at all, but only type on the computer keyboard, the presence detector will see such movements. Therefore, presence detectors are installed where people have little mobility.



Motion detectors are designed for corridors, stairs, halls. Both types of detectors have a built-in light detector. This detector differs: how much light comes through the windows and what lighting fixtures give. Thus, we can always maintain a comfortable light level on the desktop surface.



The main advantage of the motion and presence detectors for installers is simple and fast installation. There is no need for special controllers, networks or complex programming. The detectors have switching or dimming relay and installing in the break of the electrical circuit (phase) before the group of the lighting fixtures. Presence and motion detectors are immediately ready for operation out of the box. All factory settings will satisfy in 95% cases.



Despite the difference in the energy cost between Serbia and Germany, the return on investment (ROI) period for the use of motion and presence detectors for Serbia today will be about 3 years. It depends on the growth rate of electricity prices and the power of the lighting equipment used, as well as other factors (architecture of premises, work schedule, glazing area, etc.). Taking into account the total life of a building (40-50 years), the payback period of this equipment is small. The implementation of this solution allows the owner of the building or the facility management company to save a significant amount during the whole building life: immediately from the moment of its commissioning.

We conducted a real experiment on energy saving at the head office of the telecommunication provider MTS in Moscow. The chief power engineer allocated us two absolutely identical floors in the building. The configuration of the premises, the location of the staff tables, the lighting fixtures – everything was the same. One floor was equipped with presence and motion detectors, while the other remained unchanged. On the floor with sensors, we temporarily turned off all wall switches, leaving the automation to decide when to turn on the lights and when not. The lighting system of both floors was connected to the individual electricity meter in order to record the consumption of each floor on a daily basis.

The numbers of the electric meters were taken daily during 4 months. After that, the difference in energy consumption between both floors was calculated. The floor where the ESYLUX detectors were installed consumed by 75% less electricity. MTS Chief Power Engineer confirmed the test results by an official letter. We believe that in office buildings it is possible to save about 70% of the annual electricity consumption of the lighting system. We must not forget about the importance of comfort associated with lighting, provided by the lighting automation. As long as you sit at your desk and work, you will always have the right lighting level.



A green building with grapes

Now I would like to tell you about one of the most interesting projects over the past two years – the “Zemelny” business center in Moscow, where the headquarter of the “Aktion” company is located. We participated in this project in the lighting management section together with the ESYLUX brand. We started to work with planners and architects on the earliest design stage.

The investor is the “Aktion” Group: a digital company that produces e-journals, reference systems for accounting, online services and educational products. The office with the area of 12,200 sq.m. occupies the entire business center "Zemelny". This is the first project in Russia with a green facade covered with wild grapes. The main task for the architects was to change the quality of the office life and form a new HR attractiveness for specialists, search for new talents. At the same time, the office was created to optimize investor’s business processes, concentrate departments to ensure inside ideal logistics.



Four types of spaces are explicitly expressed in the project. The most massive are the working areas of departments and editorial offices. They have a universal design code, designed as friendly anti-stress zones. There is a lot of air, greenery, warm materials, rounded corners. The public area of the ground floor includes the educational cluster with a multifunctional auditorium and a museum of professions. There is also a separate space for teams that record webinars and podcasts.



According to the architects' idea, the “Aktion” office should become an anti-stress tool using live plants as one of the most promising areas of design. This principle is not only that it is necessary to observe the vegetation around you during the day, but it is also necessary to surround people in the office space with rounded, natural forms.



Since the investor's company moved from the cabinet system to the open space, the architects have thought out the maximum number of individual zones for different types of communication and work, as well as designed additional places for recreation, entertainment and social activities. During the work on the office space, bio-capsules with live plants were developed.



Considering that the facade of the building makes it possible for lighting to freely penetrate into the premises, a lot of attention was paid to the topic of lighting in the workspaces. All secondary rooms (stairs, parking slots, vestibules, bathrooms, corridors) were equipped with motion detectors that turn the lights on and off automatically, while saving energy.



In the meeting rooms and open space areas, the lights are controlled by presence detectors. If smooth control of the lighting fixtures required, the DALI presence detectors were used. There was no ceiling in some premises and it was necessary to fix the detectors on the lower height with tubes below the level of other engineering systems. The ESYLUX team also accompanied the project at the installation and commissioning stage. The project turned out to be very attractive, due to the fact that the investor decided not to save on details.



There are six partners of ESYLUX are implementing energy-efficient solutions in Serbia: EnLight, GELEX, IBF RASVETNI SISTEMI, NIMAX, NRG LIGHT, SKOPOS. If there is a need to organize comfortable and energy efficient lighting in any kind of facility, you may count of our experience and expertise.

Author: Andrey Golovin, director RBTT Consultants DOO

RBTT consultants d.o.o. Beograd

ESYLUX

EnLight

GELEX

IBF RASVETNI SISTEMI

NIMAX

NRG LIGHT

SKOPOS

Andrey Golovin

Aktion

Zemelny

green energy

movement detectors

presence detectors