Showing customers how they can use energy sparingly - Stadtwerke Gießen has been doing this for decades. For example, with exciting presentations in the SWG customer centre. The latest event on the topic of "Correct heating and ventilation" was fully booked.
Cold and wet outside, cosy and warm inside - especially in autumn and winter, we appreciate the convenience of a functioning heating system in this country. However, regardless of which primary energy source is used to produce heat, many households invest far too much. Because they generate more heat than is necessary for their comfort due to unfavourable behaviour.
The prospect of finding out how energy costs in the heating sector can be reduced with comparatively little effort attracted numerous interested parties to the SWG customer centre on 30 October. "We had more registrations than places," explains Martin Lorenz, energy consultant at Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). As such, he opened his presentation "Heating and ventilating correctly" by demonstrating the connection between room temperature and heating energy requirements: "Every extra degree increases energy consumption and therefore costs by six per cent." His tip was therefore to check exactly how warm it really needs to be. And to set the thermostat valves accordingly instead of turning them up to the maximum as usual. Of course, the expert also gave reference values for comfortable temperatures in the various rooms of the home.
How fresh air works
In the second part of his presentation, Martin Lorenz talked about the right indoor climate and how to create it sensibly. After all, he hates the fact that windows are still often left tilted. "If you tilt your windows for long periods of time, you're heating up the street," said Martin Lorenz. In fact, this method is highly unsuitable for bringing fresh air into the home. Instead, windows left tilted for long periods of time cause several problems at once: According to the laws of physics, a lot of expensively produced heat escapes. In addition, the masonry above the window cools down. This often leads to water condensing here and mould forming as a result. In the worst case, this can even lead to structural damage, which can be very expensive. "The opposite of what ventilation is supposed to achieve," Martin Lorenz continued.
Of course, the expert knows the right way to fresh indoor air: open the windows wide for a few minutes several times a day and, if possible, create a draught. In this way, the stale, humid air is drawn outside and fresh air flows into the home. Although the air is then cool, it returns to the desired temperature comparatively quickly. This is because dry air can be heated much more quickly and with less energy input than humid air. The duration of ventilation essentially depends on the outside temperature. The rule of thumb is: the colder, the shorter. In addition, anyone practising this shock ventilation should close the thermostat valves completely and only turn them back to their usual position when the windows are closed again.
Learn even more
All this information, which was new to many, led to a lively discussion following the presentation. "I'm always delighted when the audience is so interested and asks additional questions," summarises Martin Lorenz. Although this is exactly what he and his colleagues regularly experience. This is because SWG explains to its customers in other exciting presentations how energy consumption can be reduced very easily and practically without investment.
Anyone with questions about energy consumption in the home can of course contact the specialists directly. The SWG energy advice team is available from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm at the SWG customer centre on Marktplatz. A lot of additional information is also available around the clock on the SWG website www.energiessen.de.