Adopted measures
On Wednesday, 21 September 2022, the City of Luxembourg presented the energy-saving measures that have been adopted by the College of the Mayor and Aldermen to reduce energy use in municipal buildings and facilities, as well as in public spaces. In doing so, the City will be contributing to the efforts undertaken by national administrations, businesses and residents to reduce natural gas consumption by 15% over the reference period (1 August 2022 to 31 March 2023) in order to secure Luxembourg's energy supply.
Based on the results of a detailed analysis conducted by the City's departments, various measures that would significantly reduce energy consumption have been identified, and either have already been implemented or will be in the near future (see more below).
Message from Mayor Lydie Polfer
Buildings
- Room temperatures will be adjusted in line with the recommendations issued by the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (Inspection du Travail et des Mines)
- The supply of hot water will be cut off when it is not needed.
- The ongoing drive to replace fluorescent tube fixtures with LED fixtures is being stepped up.
Temperature adjustments in detail
|
Type of building |
Current temperatures |
Adjusted temperatures |
Estimated energy savings |
|
Administrative buildings |
21°C |
20°C |
6% |
|
Schools, crèches (nurseries) and foyers scolaires (childcare centres) |
21°C |
20°C |
6% |
|
Theatres |
19°C |
18°C |
6% |
|
Changing rooms and cloakrooms (sports facilities; departments) |
19°C |
18°C |
6% |
|
Museums |
19°C |
17°C |
12% |
|
Cultural centres |
19°C |
17°C |
12% |
|
Community centres |
21°C |
19°C |
12% |
|
Scout halls |
19°C |
17°C |
12% |
|
Workshops |
17°C |
12°C |
26% |
Sports facilities
- Swimming pools: Ambient and water temperatures will be lowered significantly. Initially, the temperature of the water in swimming pools, which is currently set at between 27.5°C and 29°C, will be lowered to between 26.5°C and 27°C. The temperature in wading pools will be lowered from 31°C to 29°C. Ambient temperatures, currently set at between 29.5°C and 31°C, will be reduced to between 28.5°C and 29°C. This measure is expected to result in a 12% saving in energy consumption. Further temperature adjustments may be introduced once the situation and energy savings have been assessed.
- Multi-use sports halls: ambient temperatures will be lowered significantly. Initially, temperatures will be lowered from 20°C to 18°C, which is expected to result in a 12% energy saving. Further temperature adjustments may be introduced once the situation and energy savings have been assessed.
Lighting of streets and public buildings
- Lighting of streets and public spaces: the sensitivity of the sensor controlling the switching on of public lighting – which is currently more sensitive in Luxembourg City – will be aligned with the national standard, to reduce daily on time by approximately 1 hour, thereby achieving an 8% reduction in annual consumption.
- Illumination of the fortress: the setting controlling when the lighting is switched on will be adjusted in keeping with the new setting that applies to public lighting. The time at which the lighting is switched off – currently set at 1:00 – will be set to 22:00. In other words, lighting will be shortened by around three hours a day. This measure is expected to result in an estimated 49% annual reduction in the amount of energy used to illuminate the fortress.
- Illumination of the Ban de Gasperich water tower: the water tower will only be illuminated on special occasions.
- Illumination of Luxembourg City monuments and buildings: official buildings will only be illuminated for events. The only exception is the Cercle Cité, which will continue to be illuminated as normal.
- Illumination of Stade de Luxembourg: the façade will only be illuminated for sporting events.
- Illumination of trees at Place d’Armes: The length of time that the lighting is left on will be reduced from 19 hours a day (6:00–1:00) to 6 hours a day (17:00–23:00). This will result in annual energy savings of around 68%.
Winterlights
- Christmas illuminations: the length of time illuminations will be left on will be shortened from 19 hours a day (6:00–1:00) to 7 hours a day (16:00–23:00), except on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when they will be left on until 1:00. This will lower the energy used by Christmas lighting by around 66%.
- No new light displays.
- No skating rink, which will save approximately one third of the energy used by Christmas markets – around 165 MWh saved.
- Use of radiant heaters prohibited at the Christmas market.
The City's commitments
Where municipal buildings and facilities are concerned, the changes will be accompanied by courses and awareness-raising programmes aimed at caretakers, cleaning staff and users (e.g. clubs and associations), as well as an in-house campaign for all City of Luxembourg staff, to heighten awareness of the little things people can do to save energy in the workplace.
Through this set of measures, the City hopes to reduce gas consumption by 15% and overall energy consumption by around 5%. Note that these measures may be fine-tuned and further ones adopted depending on how the situation evolves. These newly adopted measures come as a follow-up to the climate-protection schemes that have already been implemented. They are meant to complement existing commitments to reduce the demand for primary energy sources and increase renewable energy production, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 (compared to the year of reference 2014). Thus, the City is committed to pursuing efforts to both protect the climate and secure the supply of energy in Luxembourg.
Energy allowance
Readers are reminded that an energy allowance was voted on and approved at the municipal council meeting on 28 March 2022, further to the rise in energy prices at the beginning of the year. As such, anyone residing in Luxembourg City who received the State-funded energy allowance is entitled to the municipal energy allowance. The amount of the allowance is the same as the State-funded allowance, ranging from €200 to €400 depending on the size of the household. The College of Aldermen is aware of the potential impact of future rises in energy prices, and is looking at further ways of supporting Luxembourg City residents.
