Luxembourg municipalities plan to save gas, turn off heating and lights

The EU has recently taken an important decision. The member countries will reduce gas consumption by 15% until March 2023. There are two reasons: the current energy crisis and the desire to reduce the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere. Luxembourg already sits well below the emission treshold set by the EU. But the country’s municipalities have decided to take additional measures to protect the secure future of the energy supply.

Municipalities against overheating and night lights

Since 2018, the municipalities and communes syndicate Syvicol has been preparing a pilot project. It will be situated in the canton of Clervaux. Municipal buildings in the region will now be heated only during working hours.

And as soon as the last employee leaves the premises? The sensor system will notice and lower the heating temperature to a modest 15 degrees Celsius. Sensors will regularly check the buildings and at night, in case someone from the staff stayed at work at night and needs just a bit of heating.

The project will soon be enter test phase. Syvicol will collect data on its successes and problems. Representatives of the association are confident that investments in energy saving will pay off within a couple of years. And the savings themselves may reach up to 80%.

Municipalities will carry out a similar modernization for lighting. It will no longer be left on overnight. And the lighting in the offices of public buildings will be turned on and off by sensors.

Syvicol expects similar steps not only from municipalities and communes, but also from their residents. Even simple steps can save energy. For example, always turning off the lights in the room when everyone leaves it.

Luxembourg is not the only country struggling with the consequences of the energy crisis. Last week, Hannover took similar measures. It was followed by a number of other German cities.