Smart metering for all consumption meters
Smart metering was successfully rolled out for all consumption meters back in July 2020. Kauf Park Göttingen is the first retail park in Germany to use the Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) transmission standard for the efficient and sustainable management of commercial space. LoRaWAN is an energy-saving (low-power) network that employs smart radio devices to collect data over a wide area, enabling convenient evaluation. To do so, the total area of the centre, which spans approximately 160,000 sqm, was equipped with various electronic sensors in a complex process. The sensors generate data via two gateways installed on the premises.
Currently, the values of all 150 consumption meters for electricity, heat, gas and water are updated wirelessly every 15 minutes and transmitted to a dashboard that provides insights into current energy consumption. In addition, the dashboard also shows notifications from emergency sensors that detect faults in the supply network and deviations from the standard values for CO2, humidity, temperature and sound volume in rooms and underground car parks at an early stage. The result is greater resource efficiency when it comes to the centre’s management and lower incidental expenses for the centre’s tenants.
AI solution for sustainable management
The wide range of innovative technologies used includes a data-driven AI solution from R8tech. The partnership with the Estonian proptech company specialising in digital solutions for building management systems at Kauf Park Göttingen began in early 2023. The R8 Digital Operator Jenny AI solution is now used to manage more than 13,000 data points at the shopping centre, including 180 controllable components, eleven HVAC units and 14 heating circuits. In fact, managing the building technology according to demand made it possible to cut consumption costs for ventilation and heating by around 20% in the first year of use.
Climate protection in a new light
As you might expect, Kauf Park has also systematically converted its lighting concept to energy-saving LED technology. Replacing the light sources – including the ceiling and shop window lighting, emergency lighting, security lighting and car park lighting – has made it possible to reduce energy consumption by an average of 80%. In addition, a new, digitally controllable and energy-optimised lighting concept with LED technology was developed for the glass block façade at the main entrance, which is almost 300 metres long and 5 metres high. The result: energy cost savings of 80%.
