P, Ernie & Enzo

by Kit Kjølhede Laursen http://www.kit-k.com

Good environment means good economics

In Skive they are unrivalled in Denmark for bringing down CO2 emissions. And that is good for the municipality’s coffers.

52 solar heating plants provide heat for all public buildings in Skive municipality in Denmark. This and many other initiatives have made the municipality one of the towns which will be specially marketed in connection with COP15. Both the municipality and private citizens are behind the initiatives. The background to doing something special for the environment is very much about economics. Because it pays to be good to the environment. So far the municipality has invested DKK 38 million (EUR 5.1 million) in energy-saving measures, and DKK 54 million (EUR 7.25 million) has returned to the municipality’s coffers simply because the operating costs of the solar heating plants are less than the original heating costs.

The long-term objective is to make the municipality CO2 neutral, and the environmentally-friendly initiatives have been going on for three decades. The municipality is unrivalled in Denmark for saving on CO2 emissions. A citizen in Skive emits an average 6.7 tons of CO2 annually – around half the average for Denmark as a whole.

“The driving force has been to make sensible investments. We do not believe that you can implement the project without it being financially cost-effective,” says Karl Krogshede, a climate coordinator in Skive Municipality.

The municipality has looked to Samsø to find out where the main CO2 culprits are hiding.

Skive municipality is one of three Danish municipalities, which Connie Hedegaard, the Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, in 2008 has appointed ’Energy City’. Here she presents the Mayor of Skive with an ’Energy City’ diploma. Photo: Skive Kommune.

“Samsø has been one of our sources of inspiration. We have visited Samsø and seen their different plants,” says Karl Krogshede.

Skive municipality is building one of Denmark’s largest solar cell plants, erecting wind turbines and carrying out work with biofuel to reach the objective of being a CO2 neutral municipality in twenty years. And on a basic practical level, the municipality is working hard to encourage residents to improve energy efficiency in their homes, because that can make a really big difference.

“We can save 14 per cent of the municipality’s total CO2 emissions through energy improvements to homes,” says Karl Krogshede.

It corresponds to an annual saving of 26,000 tons of CO2. Through improvements to insulation, the municipality expects to reduce the average dwelling’s annual heating consumption by at least 50 per cent, equivalent to a reduction of 0.9 tons of CO2 per citizen.

“When you look at the total result, it is a really big saving. And it is not enough just to replace the energy sources, we also have to bring our consumption down,” says Karl Krogshede.

The municipality takes care of training craftsmen in how to make old houses more climate-friendly, so that homeowners do not need to pay them to become
acquainted with how to insulate houses in the best possible way. And that makes it attractive for the local population to invest money in looking after the environment.

“We train more craftsmen so that they can go out and do the job at a sensible price.

We do not give citizens a direct subsidy, but we give them good guidance on what pays and what doesn’t. We encourage them to make an investment in this because it pays,” says Karl Krogshede.

In recent years the municipality has accumulated extensive knowledge of how to make energy improvements – and the dream is that not only other municipalities, but also foreign countries will learn from the environmental battles that Skive has won.

TIME Magazine named Samsø islander Søren Hermansen one of its 2008 “Heroes of the Environment”. Photo: Elverkongensdatter

There are no radiators or wood-burning stoves in Olav Langenkamp’s house, but the walls are as thick as a strongroom’s and the heating bill is just DKK 150 (EUR 20) per month. An average house can easily cost DKK 1,000 (EUR 134) monthly to heat. The Langenkamp family lives in what is termed a passive house. It is so well-insulated that it needs almost no heating. All the lamps are fitted with energy saving bulbs and the white goods are energy label A – which means that they use the minimum amount of electricity.

Olav Langenkamp has designed the house himself. And for him it was not just to be “good to the environment” which made him launch into the project, but also because it was a professional challenge.

Why did you want to design and build a passive house for your family?

“I am not a big eco-freak. It was more the challenge as an architect – to build an environmentally-friendly house which is also architect-designed. Very few people believed that it was possible to build a passive house. But we have succeeded in making the first certificated passive house in Denmark. And we have proved that you can have an extremely modern design with glass facades and be energy-efficient at the same time.”

What does it mean to you and your family that you have chosen an environmentally friendly solution?

“It means that we are largely independent of price increases for gas and oil. The costs are so low in a passive house that it is peanuts. It costs DKK 150 (EUR 20) per month to heat the house, and our electricity consumption has also reduced somewhat. We save about 80 per cent on heating in relation to an average house that complies with building regulations.”

It was mainly the professional challenge that drove architect Olav Langenkamp to build his low-energy house. Photo: Olav Langenkamp

Denmark might be known for its Little Mermaid, wind turbines and perhaps its dairy products – but sunshine is not something it is readily associated with. So one can wonder that solar heating is a benefit in a country like Denmark, where wind and rain are frequent guests. But the sun emits heat even when the sky is overcast. And it is certainly worth it to exploit the sun.

14 years ago, carpenter Henry Toft Nielsen started building his own solar heating plant, not because he had great visions to save the environment, but because he was tired of his old furnace which required far too much of his time. And the solar heating plant looks after itself completely.

Henry Toft Nielsen’s old furnace caused him a lot of work. So – out of laziness, he says – he built solar heating panels on his roof. Photo: Suna Borgaard

Henry Nielsen has encountered occasional sceptical looks, because many think that the plant can only be used during the warm summer months. But that is not at all the case. The plant covers the family’s total consumption of heating and hot water for seven months of the year.

Why did you build a solar heating plant?

“It was actually pure laziness. It was because my furnace has always been a bit slow, so it required a lot of energy from me when we needed heating. My objective was to skip the effort as much as possible and let the sun do the heating instead.”

What does it mean to you that it is an environmentally friendly solution you have chosen?

“Personally, that is not the kind of thought I have. I think that if I save energy, then I save money. But I like using something that is already there, and there is plenty of solar heat. You don’t need to add energy to it for it to work. The sun shines and emits heat whether you want it or not.”

Henry Toft Nielsen got the idea for the solar heating plant back in 1991. He looked at different plants, but didn’t think they were good enough. So he built one himself that suited his needs.

Way out west in Denmark, one is often hit by the western wind which is known for being quite fierce. And it can be difficult to figure out what to use it for. But Hans Christian Jeppesen has found a good answer. In his back garden stands a wind turbine – a Danish produced household wind turbine – which can produce almost twice as much electricity as the whole family needs. And quite a lot is needed because in addition to Hans Christian Jeppesen, the family consists of his wife and five children. The wind turbine was installed in autumn 2008 and cost the family a total of DKK 310,000 (EUR 42,000), which they reckon will be recovered in seven to eight years. The wind turbine has a service life of 20 years. The family has calculated that it will save the environment about 20 tons of CO2 annually.

Why did you choose to install a household wind turbine?

“We are a large family and we use the computer, watch television etc. We thought we were using too much electricity and were a bit embarrassed about it. But this is also about what kind of life we would like to lead. We cannot and will not do without energy.”

What does it mean to you to do something special for the environment?

“It gives us a slightly better conscience. It is good to know that the electricity we use doesn’t come from coal, but from the wind. The wind turbine can run peacefully in the back garden and produce all the electricity we can use and a bit more. It is a major investment, but the economics are good. And the children are proud of us having a wind turbine.”

And the environmental involvement doesn’t stop here. The family soon intends to replace one of their two cars with an electric car. Right now they are waiting for an electric car with space for four adults to roll onto the Danish market.

The Jeppesen family would like to use electricity with a good conscience. The windmill running peacefully in the back garden is part of that solution. Photo: Suna Borgaard.