The idea of warming the employees instead of the voluminous Logistics Hall 58 at the Lohfelden industrial park, near Kassel, Germany, came from Ralf Ruszynski, Energy Officer at SMA. He wrote his master thesis on this topic and the results have already met with a huge response, including outside the company. The garments, known as smart textiles, measure body temperature and provide heat whenever the wearer feels a need for more warmth, controlled very easily using a cell phone app.
“We are very eager to find out the results of the trial and how much potential there really is for savings,” said Fred-Martin Dillenberger, Head of Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM) at SMA. His employees are responsible for energy demand and consumption in all SMA buildings and initiated the exciting project together with the SMA Works Council. Lowering the temperature by one degree yields an energy saving of around six percent in residential and office buildings. In the logistics area, it could turn out to be even higher. With annual gas consumption of around 1,200 MWh in the logistics area, a four-degree reduction would enable a 25 percent saving on energy costs.
“The current energy crisis also poses challenges for SMA,” said Dillenberger. “We have put together a focus team comprising colleagues from various departments. Within the team, we are adopting a company-wide perspective to address the ramifications of the gas shortage, rising energy costs and possible potential for savings and actions that can be taken, as well as their implementation. Our objective is to reduce energy consumption and save on costs.
The pilot trial began in mid-November and will run until December 16. In the last week of the test, the temperature in the logistics area is to be no higher than 16 degrees. An extensive evaluation of the results will then be carried out and a decision made as to whether this measure shall be pursued.
About SMA
As a leading global specialist in photovoltaic and storage system technology, the SMA Group is setting the standards today for the decentralized and renewable energy supply of tomorrow. SMA’s portfolio contains a wide range of efficient PV and battery inverters, holistic system solutions for PV and battery-storage systems of all power classes, intelligent energy management systems and charging solutions for electric vehicles and power-to-gas applications. Digital energy services as well as extensive services up to and including operation and maintenance services for PV power plants round off SMA’s range. SMA inverters with a total output of more than 120 gigawatts have been installed in more than 190 countries worldwide. SMA’s multi-award-winning technology is protected by more than 1,700 patents and utility models. Since 2008, the Group’s parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and is listed in the TecDAX index and SDAX index.
SMA Solar Technology AG
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Presse@SMA.de
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Disclaimer:
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