JYVÄSKYLÄ ICE ARENA ACHIEVES 30 PERCENT SAVINGS WITH YIT ENERGY SERVICES IN FINLAND

JYVÄSKYLÄ ICE ARENA ACHIEVES 30 PERCENT SAVINGS WITH YIT ENERGY SERVICES IN FINLAND

The energy saving project that YIT implemented for the City of Jyväskylä is an excellent example of how municipalities can significantly enhance the energy efficiency of their properties even in difficult financial situations without investment costs. The project has now been ongoing for two years. It was implemented through an ESCO agreement and financed with energy savings resulting from the investment. The training ice arena of the City of Jyväskylä has achieved 30 percent savings on the annual costs of electricity.
– We are very happy with the annual EUR 80,000 savings at the ice arena, which we have been able to verify after two years of energy saving operations, states technical building manager Ari Hämäläinen from Real Estate Services of City of Jyväskylä. 

The City of Jyväskylä also participates in the energy efficiency agreement of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, which obligates parties to the agreement to improve the energy efficiency of municipal properties and operations.
– The problem with the ice arena was its vast energy costs, but the municipality did not have the funds for investments in order to improve energy efficiency. However, the ESCO agreement made the project with YIT possible, says Hämäläinen.  

 YIT organised funding for the ESCO agreement in such a manner that instead of municipal investment the project was funded by the savings that would be achieved in the following eight years. YIT also recently implemented a renovation project where it replaced 120 air fans with more efficient ones in 16 properties belonging to the City of Jyväskylä through a five-year ESCO saving and funding agreement.
 

YIT first conducted an energy survey on the underground ice arena. Then it renewed the cooling machine, lighting for the rinks, and the ventilation machinery to be more energy efficient, in addition to improved systems control, heat recovery, drying and control of the conditions.   
– In addition to reduced energy consumption, the indoor conditions of the ice arena improved significantly. It no longer gets too cold or too warm in the spectator stands, Ari Hämäläinen emphasises. 

– Through the energy surveys and measures for improving energy efficiency, we have discovered that there is great potential for savings in municipal properties. With ice arenas and swimming halls, the energy savings may amount to as much as ten or twenty percent or more, and, in addition, the conditions for use improve significantly and the risk of water damage is reduced, states product manager Teppo Manninen from Energy Services of YIT Building Systems Oy. 

ESCO projects have also been implemented in Turku and Espoo, and heating system change projects in Kuopio and Akaa.

For additional information, please contact:
Teppo Manninen, Product Manager, YIT Building Systems Oy, Energy Services, tel. 050 390 1645

Ari Hämäläinen, Technical Building Manager, Real Estate Services of City of Jyväskylä, tel. 014 266 8236
  

YIT Group 

Virva Salmivaara
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications

Distribution: Principal media, local media, www.yit.fi

YIT is a leading European service company in building systems, construction and industry. We build, develop and maintain high-quality living environments in the Nordic countries, Central Europe, Russia and the Baltic countries. In 2010, YIT’s turnover was EUR 3.8 billion. The corporation has over 26,000 employees. YIT shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.