World Energy Efficiency Day: our contribution

Energy efficiency is the rational use of energy resources without compromising the comfort and quality of our lives. It is about the possibility to save energy resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money and increase the country’s energy security. It is about changing behavioral habits at the personal level, socially responsible and eco-conscious business conduct, and everyone’s actions for an important goal: sustainable development of humanity without harming the planet.

World Energy Efficiency Day, which is celebrated annually on March 5, is a great opportunity to talk about one’s own steps towards energy efficiency.

There are two main ways to achieve energy efficiency:

• Energy saving: reducing energy consumption by changing behavioral habits
• Energy modernization: introducing more advanced technologies and equipment that allow for more efficient energy use.

Energy efficiency based on KNESS experience 

KNESS’s energy-efficient solutions are not just about the renewable energy business models we implement. It is about our sustainable way of doing business with care for future generations.

KNESS’s office and production facilities are built using modern energy-efficient technologies. For example, the administrative building in Vinnytsia was designed using several sources of renewable energy: solar energy and ground heat.

All the water used for the needs of the office staff is heated by the sun thanks to solar systems.  Geothermal heat pumps are the heart of our microclimate system (both heating and air conditioning). The heat output of each pump is 40 kW. Electricity consumption for heating is about 8 kWh.  Thanks to heat pumps, we spend only 25-30 kWh for this purpose. 

The roofs of KNESS production buildings are covered with solar power plants with a total peak capacity of more than 1 MW. We also use light-emitting diode (LED) lighting in all KNESS’s administrative and production buildings, which is much more efficient than incandescent lamps.

Energy efficiency with business models by KNESS

Solutions by KNESS that help businesses become more energy efficient in their electricity consumption:

• FOG — a comprehensive service for the effective facility’s electricity management using renewable energy sources: construction of a solar power plant and its integration into the internal grids of the enterprise; ensuring the optimal energy balance of the enterprise to optimize the cost of electricity purchases from the external grid; comprehensive maintenance of SPPs.
• Maintenance and diagnostics of electrical equipment of facilities: timely professional maintenance of the electrical equipment enables to maintain the efficiency of equipment or installations at the proper level.

Among the additional KNESS services for implementing energy efficiency measures is the automated commercial electricity metering service (ACEMS). Based on the data collected by the automated commercial electricity metering system, energy-efficient solutions can be selected for each business. ACEMS can also be integrated with other management systems to automate electricity consumption processes, such as automatically turning off lighting or equipment during periods of inactivity.

Energy efficiency is possible for each of us

What can everyone do to promote energy efficiency without affecting the quality of their lives? We have picked up a few basic tips:

• replace old incandescent lamps with modern LED lamps
• turn off the main light in the room if it is not needed, and use spot lighting instead: table lamps, floor lamps, nightlights
• use maximum natural light instead of artificial during the day
• insulate homes so as not to waste extra electricity on heat loss
• use household appliances with energy efficiency class “A” or “A+” and eco-functions provided in them
• unplug not used appliances