It all started at the Marienlyst stadium with the home team Strømsgodset. On the sponsor stand, the brothers Ben and Pål Klausen spoke to Energihuset. The Klausen brothers were interested in finding out if it was possible to save on electricity costs, which have become high and unpredictable in recent years.
– We agreed that Energihuset should carry out an energy survey with us, and prepare a report with the results of the current situation in the building, and the measures that can be taken to reduce energy consumption. For each measure, the reduction in climate footprint, estimated cost and degree of savings are also shown, says Ben Klausen, who has been chairman of the family bakery since 1945.
Energy mapping in an old building
The building in which Bakermester Klausen is based was built in 1965. It houses storage areas, freezer rooms, production premises and offices. In such an old building, there is a lot to deal with when you want to save energy. In newer buildings, the measures will preferably be simpler. The bakery is the main supplier for NorgesGruppen in Søndre Buskerud, and bakes around 120,000 loaves of bread a week. In the bakery, they have 22 bakers and an apprentice, spread over three shifts.
– We also have an agreement with Vestre Viken hospital. We have regular deliveries to all four hospitals in the region. At the latest today, we had a delivery of 54 cakes to Bærum Hospital, which turns 100 years old today. We have 12 pastry chefs permanently employed, in addition to two extra helpers. Here at the house and in the sales, we have a total of 100 employees spread over 75 man-years, says Klausen, who is himself a trained master baker.
90 out of the 100 have their workplace in the building, and production runs around the clock. Then it goes without saying that there is money to be saved even on small measures.
– After the survey Energihuset did for us, we have become more aware of things we would not have thought of ourselves. After all, we are in the bakery every day and do our usual things. When the Energy House was here, they made us aware of things that we may actually know, but when everyday life goes by so fast, we don’t think about it. We got an alarm clock. For example, the ventilation system, we went through that after they were here. We have found energy-saving measures without investment costs. It was just a matter of making some adjustments to the facility that we already have. There are many simple things you can do that do not involve any expenses. It’s about raising awareness, both for us and the employees. For example, when they have used an oven and are not going to use it again for three quarters of an hour, then it is actually possible to turn it off, or leave it on half-time. There is a lot to gain throughout a whole year; you can save every day. We use less electricity after we started implementing these measures, and then we are talking about measures we have taken without investing anything, says Klausen.
– If you also look at the measures that have an investment cost, you see that with an electricity price of NOK 1, 75% of the total energy consumption can be reduced, with a payback period of less than 5 years, smiles Kim Kofoed, Key Account manager at Energihuset .
Energihuset is the only independent supplier of energy mapping in Norway, and therefore has nothing to gain from Baker Klausen or other customers choosing one measure over another.
– We do not deliver any of the measures ourselves, we only deliver this report. We specialize in small and medium-sized businesses and have priced our services towards the SME market. We believe that all bakeries can find some ways to save energy, and if the bakery has a consumption of 500,000 kW and above, it may make sense to carry out a survey. Energihuset carries out an energy analysis that will provide opportunities to achieve reduced energy costs and an improved energy profile by optimizing commercial buildings, says Henning Andersen, founder of Energihuset.
The mapping process
Selve kartleggingen og analysen gjør Energihuset med litt hjelp fra kunden. Etter at rapporten er levert, er de også behjelpelige med å finne frem til de beste løsningene for hver enkelt, samt opplyse om, og bistå i søknadsprosessen om å få med seg støttemidler fra for eksempel Enova.
– Først henter vi inn mest mulig data om bygget. Tegninger, timesverider, forbrukstall, hvordan strøm brukes gjennom døgnet og informasjon om det som trekker strøm, altså energidriverne i bygget. Vi trenger mest mulig underlag om dette før vi besøker kunden for en befaring. På befaringen observerer vi den daglige flyten i bygget, så reiser vi tilbake og begynner å regne. Resultatet blir en rapport med alle tiltakene som bør sees på. De forskjellige tiltakene er listet opp med en estimert kostnad og besparelsesgrad per tiltak. Og så gir vi en oversikt over kost-nytte. Videre er det opp til kunden å bestemme hvilke tiltak de vil gå videre med, forteller Andersen.
– Det nyttigste for oss i denne prosessen har vært bevisstgjøringa. Når vi fikk alt på papiret, ble vi bevisste på alt vi kunne gjøre for å spare på strømmen
Ben Klausen
Bærekraft har vært et aktuelt tema i mange år, og det vil bli viktigere i årene som kommer.
– Vi ser også på klimaavtrykk, noe som blir viktigere og viktigere. Skal man være med i anbudskonkurranser teller jo det 30 %. I rapporten synliggjør vi hvor stor reduksjonen i klimaavtrykk er for hvert tiltak. Nå skal jo alle rapportere på det, og etter hvert vil det bli krav om at dette må strammes til, sier Andersen.
Vinn-vinn-investering
Hos Bakermester Klausen har de allerede iverksatt de tiltakene som var kostnadsfrie eller med lav kostnad. Noen av tiltakene er større investeringer og de må bruke lengre tid på å vurdere kost-nytte. Dersom de bestemmer seg for å gå for de mer omfattende tiltakene, finnes det støtteordninger de kan søke om.
– Det er jo snakk om bærekraft også. Det ene tiltaket vårt er ganske omfattende, men veldig spennende. Det går på gjenvinning av overskuddsvarme, den ser vi fortsatt litt på. Det er en større investering og en stor avgjørelse som vi trenger litt mer tid på. Hadde vi visst at vi vil ha det samme forbruket i 20 år fremover, ville vi gått for dette tiltaket, men det kommer jo an på anbud og avtaler vi får, så det er jo ingenting som er sikkert. Det er derfor vi sitter i tenkeboksen nå. Tiltaket det er snakk om er å varme opp en idrettshall og en svømmehall i nærheten her. Vi slipper ut så mye overskuddsvarme fra bakeriet her, at vi kan varme opp begge hallene. Dersom vi selger overskuddsvarmen til idrettshallen vil de spare energiforbruk, og da blir det en vinn-vinn situasjon. Da snakker vi bærekraft! Det finnes gode støtteordninger for sånne tiltak, og dette kan være en spennende løsning for mange bakerier, eller andre bedrifter. Men det kommer jo an på beliggenheten blant annet, sier daglig leder Pål Klausen.
In a bakery, production is controlled by the clock, and energy peaks tend to be high then. These are expensive, and if you get them cut, you can save a lot of money.
– It is possible, for example, to store energy in a battery bank on the roof. This energy can then be used in the periods with the highest electricity consumption, and can thus cut the expensive energy peaks. At our place, we use a lot of electricity between 11pm and 1am, says Klausen.
Considering both the company’s finances and sustainability, it is important to use as little energy as possible. After the energy mapping that was carried out at Bakermester Klausen, it emerged that they could save a lot if the implemented measures in the report.
– These figures will vary from building to building. In newer buildings, it can be easier to find solutions than in old buildings like this, says Andersen.
In a volatile market such as the electricity market, it is difficult to predict future electricity prices. There is still little likelihood that the low electricity prices we have had in Norway will become common again. Finding ways to reduce electricity use will therefore pay off for everyone, no matter which way you do it.
Photo: Solveig Lygre, BKLF
