- Students take on the roles of Energy Auditors in residential buildings
- Examination of energy consumption, usage and efficiency in the buildings' heating and ventilating equipment and systems
- Development of measures of energy efficiency appropriate for each building and its residents
- Full Energy Audit Reports completed and checked by Riga Technical University staff
- Presentations to building users which highlight the most cost-effective energy saving recommendations
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Thermal images of building façades were captured by the student auditors
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Students at the Institute of Heat, Gas and Water Technology from Riga Technical University are getting valuable experience in energy auditing techniques and assessments as well as promoting more effective energy management in their community. As part of the Mobilise Energy Awareness programme, which aims to improve access to energy awareness materials and information, this Student Power initiative is helping homeowners, landlords and tenants identify ways that energy costs can be reduced and comfort improved in residential buildings around the Latvian capital.
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Background
Student Power is an innovative scheme designed to facilitate students on business/marketing and technical courses to provide practical support to organisations and individuals tackling energy waste. It covers the running of energy awareness campaigns and similar initiatives to promote more effective energy management.
Students are supervised by a member of the academic staff, the activity contributes to their coursework and the host organisation or individuals receive dedicated support.
The Student Power campaign in Riga is delivered by the Social Economy Fund (SEF) which is a partner in the EU sponsored Mobilise Energy Awareness project.
The situation
With a large proportion of the residential buildings around Riga having older heating technologies and in many cases poor levels of thermal insulation, the Institute of Heat, Gas and Water technology faculty staff saw the opportunities presented by the Student Power proposal to reduce energy and water usage and related costs for building users. The project would also provide practical coursework for technical students in carrying out the audits and in presenting their findings.
Tautas Street 30, Daugavpils,
was one of the buildings audited
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Actions taken
Staff at the university ensure that the participating students have a solid knowledge of the engineering systems and utilities involved, the energy audit process, energy efficiency measures and the methodology for making economic calculations.
Although some buildings were fairly new,
significant opportunities still existed
The students first selected a residential building of their choice, and then arranged to meet the building owner or manager. With their agreement and co-operation, the students carried out an inspection of the building and completed the energy audit process. This included examining the energy consumption for the heating and ventilating equipment and systems, checking electrical loads, checking for areas of inefficiency or where less energy could be used, and identifying the opportunities for improvement. The students developed appropriate measures of energy efficiency for the tenants and owners/managers of the building.
All of the data from the audit is compiled into a complete Energy Audit Report which is checked and supervised by a member of the academic staff at the university. The report includes a summary of the student's findings, as well as outlining savings against the costs of implementation of solutions to improve the energy efficiency of the building. Recommendations for energy efficiency improvements, based on the results of the audit, were then presented to the tenants and the management of the building.
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