Towards a More Energy-Efficient Helsinki With Small Adjustments and Staff Empowerment

In the City of Helsinki’s most complex properties—such as the historic Töölö Sports Hall and Pirkkola Swimming Hall—improving energy efficiency can be successfully done with precise optimization and practical application of expertise and without large technological investments. Energy Plus Engineering Oy, a company that piloted within the EU-funded ERKKI project, demonstrated that in the Pirkkola Swimming Hall, for instance, energy savings of up to 8% can be achieved through operational technical improvements alone.

The ERKKI project focuses on demanding public cultural and leisure properties. These buildings are often characterized by their age, complex building technology from different eras, low levels of automation, and strict heritage protection regulations. Furthermore, they are under significant societal pressure to remain in continuous use.

In the project’s piloting program, Energy Plus Engineering Oy tackled this challenge with a two-part methodology. The objective was to find easy and energy-saving actions through “light analysis” and to enhance the expertise of property maintenance staff through “deep analysis.”

Easily Implemented Measures: Administration and Technology

Based on the initial data analyses and site visits, the first phase of the pilot focused on administrative measures—such as electricity and district heating standing charges and electricity tax classes—as well as easily implementable operational measures. These provide the City of Helsinki with “quick wins,” often without requiring any physical changes to the buildings.

The results of the light analyses were significant: a total annual savings potential of at least €108,600 was identified across the Katajanokka Sports Hall, Töölö Sports Hall, Pirkkola Swimming Hall, and the City Garden. In the Winter Garden and greenhouses specifically, the savings potential reached up to 21% of energy costs. Meanwhile, the deep analysis of the Pirkkola Swimming Hall revealed that a faulty dehumidifyer in the pool area and sub-optimal temperature differentials between water and air were significantly increasing energy usage.

Staff Engagement as the Engine of Change

Experts from Energy Plus Engineering noted that technical adjustments are only half the battle. The pilot shifted its focus heavily toward engaging operational staff and increasing their energy expertise. When facility managers and maintenance staff are involved in decision-making and problem-solving, it ensures that energy efficiency measures become a permanent and natural part of the building’s maintenance routine.

For the City of Helsinki, the pilot demonstrated that a targeted audit of this nature can motivate a property owner more than a broad and heavy energy audit, especially when the primary pain points and their financial savings are clearly highlighted.

“Engaging the property’s operational staff is a vital part of the successful implementation of energy efficiency. During the pilot, we noticed that the energy efficiency challenges we identified were already familiar to the staff, as they work with them daily. As an external party, we aim to make the energy efficiency easily understandable alongside maintaining conditions, in order to achieve sustainable change”, says Mirika Knuutila, the CEO of Energy Plus Engineering Oy

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The pilot was implemented as part of the ERKKI project (Optimization of Energy Efficiency in Challenging Public Cultural and Leisure Properties), which is co-funded by the European Union. The project aims to develop innovative technological and digital solutions to improve energy efficiency and the maintenance of challenging public buildings. Simultaneously, it creates new operating models for more energy-efficient procurement and strengthens the industry ecosystem.

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