- Public buildings must be role models in energy efficiency and be operated economically and sustainably.
- There are many challenges, including limited budgets, complex decision-making structures and legal requirements.
- Digital solutions such as better.energy optimise energy consumption through smart control and automation.
- Investments pay off in the long term as they reduce operating costs and support environmental goals.
- Funding programmes facilitate the implementation of energy-efficient measures in public buildings.
- Modern technologies enable savings even without structural measures, ideal for existing buildings.
Why energy efficiency in public buildings is so important
Public buildings have a special responsibility when it comes to energy efficiency. Not only do they have to be operated economically, they also have a role model function for companies and private individuals. However, implementing efficient energy measures is often difficult. Financial, technical and organisational challenges make the green and sustainable transformation of public buildings more difficult. In this article, we shed light on the challenges of energy management in public buildings, explain why it is so difficult to reduce energy consumption and point out suitable solutions.
The particular challenges of implementing energy management in public buildings
Increasing energy efficiency in public buildings is no easy task. Local authorities and state institutions face numerous hurdles:
1. Challenge for public buildings: the role model function of the public sector
The public sector owns a large portfolio of buildings, including schools, administrative buildings and hospitals. As the largest property owner, it therefore has a special responsibility to implement energy efficiency measures. This not only benefits municipal, state and federal budgets, but also sets an example for private individuals and companies. Public buildings therefore have a key role to play in climate protection, as they act as role models and can save large amounts of CO₂ by increasing efficiency.
2. Challenge for public buildings: diverse building types require customised solutions
Public properties cover a wide range of building types: Educational facilities, childcare centres, administrative buildings as well as town halls and sports halls. Each of these buildings has different heating, ventilation and lighting requirements. While schools, for example, link their heating and lighting times to teaching times, town halls also need rooms at a pleasant temperature at weekends and in the evenings during events.
In addition, different user groups with varying requirements make it difficult to implement efficient energy measures. There is often a lack of awareness and motivation to actively save energy. User behaviour therefore plays a decisive role in energy management
3. Challenge for public buildings: budgetary pressure & limited budgets
Rising energy and water costs are placing an increasing burden on municipal budgets. Cost-cutting measures are therefore particularly important. Targeted energy management can reduce operating costs and utilise potential savings that improve the financial scope of local authorities in the long term. The big problem: although investments in energy efficiency bring long-term savings, there is often a lack of funds available in the short term for the necessary measures.
4. Challenge for public buildings: legal requirements and climate protection obligations
In order to reduce energy consumption in public buildings, there are various legal regulations and climate protection obligations. These regulations set the framework for energy efficiency measures and oblige federal, state and local authorities to implement targeted measures.
| Regulation | Content | Implementation deadline | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy performance certificates | Public buildings with heavy public traffic must produce and display energy performance certificates. | Already in force | Building Energy Act (GEG) § 80 |
| Energy saving | The federal and state governments are obliged to save 48 terawatt hours of energy per year (45 TWh federal, 3 TWh state). | Ongoing | Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) § 5 |
| Energy management systems | Public bodies must introduce energy or environmental management systems. | By 2026 | Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) § 8 |
| Simplified energy or environmental management (ISO 50005, Level 2) | Mandatory for facilities with 1-3 GWh annual energy consumption. | Until 30 July 2026 | Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) § 8 |
| Complete energy management (ISO 50001 or EMAS) | Mandatory for public facilities with an annual energy consumption of more than 3 GWh. | Until 18 July 2025 | Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) § 8 |
| Annual savings | Public institutions must save 2% of their total energy consumption each year. | Ongoing | Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) § 6 |
| Climate neutrality of the federal administration | Aim to make the federal administration climate-neutral by 2030. | By 2030 | Climate Protection Act (KSG) § 3 |
| Greenhouse gas reduction | Reduce CO2 emissions by 65% compared to 1990. | By 2030 | Climate Protection Act (KSG) § 3 |
| Reduction in final energy consumption | Final energy consumption in Germany must fall by 45% compared to 2008. | By 2045 | Climate Protection Act (KSG) § 3 |
5. Challenge for public buildings: limited human resources and complex decision-making structures
There is often a lack of qualified personnel, such as energy managers or technicians, to implement professional energy management in public buildings in particular. In smaller municipalities, the topic is often handled by employees without specific expertise in addition to other tasks. In addition, decisions in public facilities usually involve various decision-makers, which leads to lengthy approval processes.
6. Challenge for public buildings: refurbishment before new construction
As public buildings are usually used for decades and new buildings are too cost-intensive, the focus is on refurbishing and optimising existing structures. Many public buildings, especially schools, town halls and libraries, were built decades ago and no longer meet current energy standards or are listed buildings. Comprehensive energy refurbishment is often associated with high costs and lengthy processes.
7. The challenge for public buildings: data protection and security
Strict security and data protection requirements often apply in public buildings, especially when processing data as part of energy management. The security of energy management systems plays a central role here. The IT infrastructure must function reliably, be protected against unauthorised access and comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Measures such as firewalls, encryption and regular security updates are crucial to ensure the stability and protection of sensitive data.
How public organisations solve their energy management challenges: Intelligent energy management platforms
The previous sections have shown that public institutions face numerous challenges when it comes to energy efficiency: limited budgets, complex legal requirements, lack of expertise, responsibilities and different user requirements. Reconciling all of this seems to be a huge problem when it comes to energy management in public buildings. But the solution is just a few seconds away: with a modern and intelligent energy management platform, such as better.energy from Betterspace, local, state and federal authorities can tackle these problems in a targeted manner and achieve sustainable energy savings.
Actively realising the role model function of the public sector in energy management
With better.energy, Betterspace supports public institutions in taking an active role in climate protection. The digital energy management system helps to analyse energy consumption, identify potential savings and automatically optimise temperatures. This enables local authorities to set a good example and realise significant CO2 reductions.
better.energy – the energy management system for a wide range of building types
Thanks to smart automation, better.energy can be flexibly adapted to different building types. Schools benefit from automatic heating or fan coil control according to teaching times, while town halls or sports halls are temperature-controlled according to demand. The system takes into account the behaviour and needs of different user groups and thus promotes energy-efficient behaviour without the users noticing. All rooms, floors, buildings and locations can be temperature-controlled in an energy-efficient manner using smart rules, without compromising on comfort or productivity. Thanks to multi-tenant functions, it is also possible to control and manage several buildings centrally.
Reduce energy costs despite limited budgets in the public sector
The implementation of energy management systems can bring considerable savings in the long term. better.energy enables rapid amortisation through significant cost reductions in energy consumption. The targeted control of radiators and fan coils avoids unnecessary consumption, reducing the financial burden on public budgets. On average, Bettespace customers save between 20 and 35 per cent of their energy costs from day one. As a result, the energy management platform has a very good return on investment and the initial costs are often offset by the savings after just two or three years.
Find out now how much you can save with better.energy!
Want to know how quickly the use of better.energy will pay off in your building? Then take our free energy-saving check now and we’ll show you how much money and CO2 you can save with the smart energy management platform.
Public buildings and facilities also benefit from numerous subsidies and funding programmes that they can access.
| Funding programme | Funding programme | Funding amount |
|---|---|---|
| Federal subsidy for efficient buildings (BEG) – local authorities | Installation of pre-settable thermostatic valves, the installation of individual room temperature controllers and the integration of I&C technology, such as user interfaces for heating control. | Subsidy of 15 % of the eligible costs. In addition, there is a bonus of 5 % if the measure is part of an individual renovation roadmap, iSFP, i.e. a total of up to 20 % funding is possible |
| KfW subsidy programmes | Investments in energy-efficient construction and renovation, optimisation of heating systems and use of renewable energies | Grants or loans with repayment subsidies and low interest rates |
| Municipal guideline of the National Climate Initiative (NKI) | Introduction or expansion of energy management systems and investment measures to optimise heating, such as the installation of measurement, control and regulation technology (MCR), which can also include automatic radiator controls | Up to 40 % of the costs for investment measures |
| Regional subsidies, e.g. Climate Protection Plus (Baden-Württemberg) | Energy-efficient refurbishment, introduction of energy management systems, use of renewable energies and CO₂ reduction | Up to 50% of the investment costs, maximum €200,000 per measure; sustainable refurbishment of school buildings: up to €1.2 million for KfW Efficiency House Standard 50 |
Fulfil legal requirements for energy management
Legal requirements can be implemented efficiently with better.energy. The system supports compliance with DIN EN ISO 50001, optimises energy consumption and helps to achieve the required annual savings of 2 %. In addition to energy savings, the software also reduces CO2 emissions to the same extent. Thanks to the platform’s open API approach, better.energy also makes it easier to document and fulfil official verification obligations. This is because other systems can pull data quickly and easily via the open interface. Instructions and documentation for this are of course available.
Energy efficiency despite limited human resources at local, federal and state level
Many public institutions, local authorities and federal states lack qualified personnel for energy management. In addition, better.energy has been designed so that it can be quickly and easily installed independently in the building. Of course, it is also possible to have the installation carried out by us, Betterspace. In this case, installation is always possible during ongoing operations and no areas of the building or offices need to be closed off. During the installation, only the radiator thermostats are replaced with modern LoRaWAN-compatible thermostats and one or more LoRaWAN gateways are installed, depending on the size of the building.
The software itself is intuitive and user-friendly. Thanks to various dashboards and tables, energy management is child’s play. One person can also easily manage and monitor several sites and buildings simultaneously via the software. This is made possible by the multi-tenant functions built into the software. And the best thing is that the employee doesn’t even have to be on site, as the software can be accessed from anywhere via the cloud. In addition to controlling radiators, heat consumption can also be recorded and documented, digitally of course, without the need for staff.
Simply retrofit existing public buildings for energy efficiency
As many public buildings are in need of refurbishment, better.energy offers a digital solution to reduce energy consumption even without extensive structural measures. Efficiency gains can be achieved through intelligent control and continuous optimisation without the need for expensive new buildings. Thanks to modern LoRaWAN wireless technology, energy efficiency can also be improved in listed public buildings. This is because the wireless technology can be installed without
and interventions in the building structure.
Energy management with the highest standards of data protection and security
The better.energy energy management platform can be operated independently of the existing IT infrastructure – thanks to the powerful LoRaWAN wireless technology and LTE connectivity.
LoRaWAN offers secure and reliable data transmission with two levels of security: one for the network and one for the application. This means that data remains protected both during transmission and processing. The proven AES standard, which is the industry standard for maximum security, is used for encryption. A decisive advantage of LoRaWAN is the complete end-to-end encryption, a rarity among wireless technologies. It ensures that data from the sensor to the server is protected throughout and fulfils the highest data protection requirements.
Seeing efficient energy management as an opportunity for public buildings
The article has shown that public buildings have a major responsibility in energy management. They must be operated efficiently in order to save costs, comply with legal requirements and contribute to climate protection. The challenges are manifold: from financial hurdles and technological modernisation to a lack of knowledge and unclear responsibilities.
However, with a strategic approach, modern energy management systems such as better.energy, state funding and long-term planning, considerable savings potential can be realised. Local authorities and public institutions should utilise these opportunities to make their buildings more efficient, sustainable and future-proof. Those who invest in energy efficiency today will benefit in the long term – both ecologically and economically. Secure a non-binding consultation appointment with our energy experts and we will show you how better.energy can be implemented and used in public facilities.
Secure your desired appointment now
Further information and sources:
- KWF – BEG Municipalities subsidy information sheet
- Press and Information Office of the Federal Government – The public sector becomes a role model for energy saving
- Deutscher Städteverlag working group on energy management – Energy consumption certificate for public buildings
- BauNetz – Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG)
- Alexander Ebert – How smart public buildings must become
- Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building – Information on energy management in public buildings
- KomEMS – Energy management in municipalities. A practical guide