Dresden (dpa/sn) – Saxony’s state capital wants to use 15 percent less energy per year in its facilities in the wake of the gas crisis. According to current prices, this could save 5.1 million euros. “That corresponds to the standard consumption of 1,500 households with four people each in Germany,” said Environmental Mayor Eva Jähnigen (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) on Wednesday. That is “a house number that we could and should reach quickly now.”
In addition to the energy-saving measures such as lowering the temperature in public buildings, which will apply from September according to a federal regulation, a task force explored further savings potential. Among other things, public buildings should only be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees – with the exception of daycare centers, schools and social facilities, although stairwells and corridors should no longer be heated there either.
In addition, according to Jähnigen, purely decorative lighting on buildings should be switched off immediately, including the town hall, museums and theaters and the Elbe bridges such as the Blue Wonder. Street lighting will be reduced, and the replacement of more gas lanterns with LED lights is under discussion. Unnecessary traffic lights will also be switched off, and electrically powered fountains will go out of operation earlier in the winter.
The city is also investing almost one million euros in photovoltaic systems on the roofs of municipal buildings. “Energy management and saving is becoming a priority,” said Jähnigen.
It is already clear that Dresden will shine less in Advent 2022 than in previous years. While the energy consumption of the world-famous Dresdner Striezelmarkt has already been reduced by 80 percent in the past with the conversion of the lighting to LED, potential savings in the concession markets are also being examined, said City Hall spokesman Kai Schulz. Decorative lighting outside of the markets on streets or squares will probably not be available as usual.
