Sustainability of the municipality of Nieuwegein

Smart sustainability saves money

The municipality of Nieuwegein commissioned the sustainable lighting of nineteen of its buildings. Project goal: less energy consumption, better quality. Partly due to the lockdown, we were able to make rapid progress. On behalf of engineering firm 3ING, Bjorn van Buuren is project leader for the sustainable lighting of municipal real estate in Nieuwegein. “An important aspect in assessing the tenders was that the processes in the buildings would be disrupted as little as possible. So not adapting the activities to the work but the other way around. Van den Pol scored well here; unburdening was the common thread in their plan. Another consideration for the municipality in the award: the maximum score of Van den Pol Elektrotechniek on the CO2 Performance Ladder.”

Twofold objective

The buildings have a variety of functions: schools, parking garages, gymnasiums and Theater De Kom. “Each object requires a different approach, depending on the use and characteristics of the existing lighting. GRB/Van den Pol handled this very well.” The municipality’s objective was twofold: not only to limit energy consumption but also to make a leap in quality. “The starting point was a payback period of a maximum of five years. Only in the case of the theatre did this prove to be unfeasible due to the number of defective fixtures.” From a cost and circularity perspective, existing luminaires were converted to LED where possible. “Only when they were too dated were the fixtures completely renewed.”

Making meters

The work had already started when the corona outbreak occurred. “Schools, gymnasiums and the theatre were hardly in use, and parking garages were much less busy. Because of this

GRB could quickly make meters.” Due to the lockdown, there is still no realistic picture of the energy consumption after the sustainability. “As soon as it is possible, we will monitor a continuous period and compare this data with the old situation. Together with the number of renewed luminaires, this provides insight into the savings achieved.”

Careful communication

Quality is another yardstick. “There was some concern that the transition to LED lighting would not be perceived as a big one. That is not the case; users are all enthusiastic.” There is also enthusiasm about the performance of GRB/Van den Pol. “In addition to their professional knowledge, their careful communication is striking,” says Van Buuren. “In the beginning, it was a bit of a trial and error process and getting used to each other’s working methods. But it soon went like clockwork. The expectations from the quote – maximum unburdening – were definitely met.”

Visual material Henri van Gelder – Municipality of Nieuwegein