E-Mail from the Board of Governance: Preparing Energy-Saving Measures for the 2022/2023 Winter Semester
- The semester will take place in-person.
- The Board of Governance wishes to ensure that research, teaching, art and administration can continue to operate as smoothly as possible.
- Universities are considered »Protected Areas«.
- Everyone is called upon to reduce energy use.
- Certain energy-saving measures are required by law.
- Further procedures are being discussed together with the university faculties and departments.
- More information to follow via regular updates.
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Dear students and members of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar,
The new academic year is beginning this week and we welcome you warmly to the 2022/2023 winter semester. We wish to extend a special welcome to all first-semester students and we look forward to in-person exchanges with you on campus.
The semester will take place in-person. While we are excited to be celebrating the start of the upcoming semester, we may once again have to contend with modified study and research conditions this semester due to overarching societal circumstances. At the university, we are preparing and taking necessary precautions to deal with potential gas and energy supply shortages.
We understand the uncertainty and concern due to the unforeseeable winter situation. As your Board of Governance, we want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to make sure that research, the arts, teaching and administration can operate as smoothly as possible. We are committed to ensuring that working and studying at the university will be possible in person and under good conditions. We are not able to guarantee that this will be possible without restrictions, but we will do our best to find reasonable solutions for any speed bumps we may encounter.
This E-Mail Is to Inform You About the Current Situation and Next Steps
The Thuringian Wissenschaftsministerium called upon all universities to prepare for an energy shortage and to reduce their energy consumption by 15 to 20 percent.
»Stufenplan Energie« (graduated energy plan) Approved and »Energy Task Force« Established
In response to this call, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Board of Governance adopted a »Stufenplan Energie« (graduated energy plan) in August. The plan is made up of three steps that specify how we can or must reduce our energy consumption based on the energy supply situation. Additionally, the Board of Governance has established an »Energy Task Force«. Task Force experts, led by Environmental Officer Steven Mac Nelly, are closely monitoring the situation so that the university can react flexibly, quickly and appropriately.
Further information can be found under: www.uni-weimar.de/stufenplan-energie (www.uni-weimar.de/graduated-energy-plan)
We are currently in the first stage. We will enter into Stage 2 if the gas shortage worsens dramatically; we will only find ourselves in Stage 3 in the event of a total gas cut. Levels 2 and 3 are for emergency scenarios and will hopefully not be necessary. Potential measures for each of these scenarios are being discussed together with the faculties.
Legally Required Measures
The list of measures to reduce energy consumption in Stage 1 is currently being coordinated. The Board of Governance is asking all university members to engage in energy-saving behaviour in order to help reduce consumption and thus actively supporting an energy-aware campus.
Certain measures are legally required (Verordnung zur Sicherung der Energieversorgung über kurzfristig wirksame Maßnahmen – EnSikuMaV) and are already being implemented:
1. Heating in corridors and stairwells will be set to frost protection.
2. Decorative lighting of buildings must be turned off.
3. Hot water is turned off or will soon be turned off. The shutdown of boilers in kitchenettes that have dishwashers is in preparation. Hot water will be turned off in the showers at the Sporthalle Falkenburg.
Join in and help reduce energy consumption. Here are a few tips:
1. Heating: Legally, the room temperature in offices and workrooms must not be set to higher than 19°C. In staff and student workrooms, those working in those rooms are asked to adjust the temperatures accordingly; thermometers will be distributed for this purpose. Turn radiators to frost protection (*) or to 1 when you are not in the room and after work; reheating does not consume more energy. Controlling the room temperature is the responsibility of the individual employees. Please do not use space heaters. These are not only extremely expensive to run, they could also overload the power grid.
2. Ventilation: Do not leave windows tilted. Use intermittent ventilation when necessary. Avoid draughts. Leaks should be sealed if possible. An increased risk of mould growth is not likely, as most university buildings have a relatively low humidity. In areas that have a high humidity level and poorly insulated exterior walls, however, care should be taken to reduce humidity through ventilation.
3. Switch of appliances: Turn appliances off when you are not using them. Switch off or unplug power strips instead of leaving them in standby mode if possible.
4. Lights out: Turn off lights when you leave a room; lights should not be left on in hallways. Use daylight whenever possible.
5. Kitchenette: Turn fridges down, run dishwashers in eco mode and regularly descale kettles.
Additional Measures
The applicability of individual measures varies greatly between faculties and departments and must be carefully considered. This will take time. The priority is to find appropriate solutions for all university areas.
So far, the following have been planned:
- Only activate electronic devices when they are in use
- Power strips with switches will be distributed
- Reactivation of heat recovery systems in lecture halls (depending on pandemic conditions)
- Outdoor lighting on campus and in car parks will be reduced
- Increased home office on a voluntary basis upon approval from the Staff Council. This should, however, not take priority over working from campus and should only occur after careful consideration between employees and supervisors.
- Lecture-free period extended until 8 January 2023
In addition to these modest-yet-effective measures, we are committed to reducing the overall energy use on campus. This ranges from small measures to optimise energy use, such as sealing windows, using solar energy on the roofs of our buildings and modernising energy efficient renovations, to modernising renovations, such as the C7 faculty building at Coudraystraße.
Universities as Protected Areas
The »Bundesnetzagentur« considers universities and universities of applied sciences »protected customers«. According to the Emergency Gas Plan for the Republic of Germany, this means that it falls under the category of gas customers who:
- Provide essential social services
- Is a high priority customer as they are especially vulnerable to the effects of supply disruption, and
- May require protection from the negative effects of a gas supply disruption Gas suppliers have a special responsibility to these protected customers in accordance with § 53a of EnWG.
Nevertheless, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is bound to the regional energy supply, meaning that this may be overturned in the event of an emergency. This is not yet clear. We will be sure to inform you as soon as this has been clarified.
As the Board of Governance, we are aware that we are once again facing a semester full of uncertainty. But we know that during the last two winter semesters, we as a university have proven that we can overcome difficult situations through cooperation, mutual support and acting responsibly and respectfully towards one another.
Keeping this in mind, we wish to thank you in advance for your commitment and the trust you have placed in us. We wish you all a successful start to the semester!
On behalf of the Board of Governance
Prof. Dr. Jutta Emes, Interim President, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 8
99423 Weimar
Germany
Further information can be found under:
Interview with Mara Geske, Scientific Employee in the Department of Building Physics
www.uni-weimar.de/interview-saving-energy