Sweden’s 16 environmental objectivespoint the way to a sustainable society.
Here you will find best practice examples from the investment programmes within the energy efficiency sector.
The snow that falls on streets and squares has to be removed, and snow heaps are often an inconvenience for municipalities. But the snow heaps can also be of benefit. Västernorrland County Council now makes use of the cold in snow to save energy.
With a water-filled rock chamber beneath Kungsholmen in Stockholm, the energy company Fortum has been able to substantially increase capacity in the city’s network for district cooling.
When the City of Helsingborg reduced the voltage in 10,000 street luminaires, it also reduced its electricity consumption by 10% – without the city being felt to have become darker.
The Municipality of Örnsköldsvik has replaced large parts of its street lighting with modern light fixtures and low-energy lamps. Lower electricity consumption and reduced maintenance costs are some of the gains.
The City of Gothenburg Traffic and Public Transport Authority has been working on intelligent systems for street lighting since 2006. It has been successful with the unusual combination of arranging better lighting with lower electricity consumption.
Vargbro School in Storfors in Värmland is one of the most energy-efficient schools in Sweden. It is largely heated by the people who are in its buildings. Only during cold days in winter holiday periods is there a need to supplement the heating.
Cold water from the lake replaced cooling machines at Hägglunds Drives in Mellansel. It did not just reduce electricity consumption but noise, surplus heat and the risk of leakage of refrigerants too.
Västervik, in south Sweden, has saved both energy and money since modern energy efficiency equipment was installed in its swimming pool and bowling alley. Energy use in the sports centre has so far fallen by around 830 MWh/year.
In Lindesberg, in Sweden, the waste heat from the Korsnäs Frövi cardboard mill is distributed via the municipal district heating network.