As of: 07/29/2022 7:04 p.m
Politicians call for energy saving. But does she set a good example herself? Which ministry is particularly frugal, which party headquarters has which concept – and who doesn’t want to comment?
The glass dome of the Reichstag building in Berlin’s government district shines day and night. It is a symbol of democratic Germany. But in times of the Ukraine war, shortages of electricity and gas, federal politicians want to be a shining example and therefore turn off the light: The dome is only illuminated until midnight, after which it gets dark, explains the building technician for the Reichstag building Jörg Kaschner. “It’s a sign that the energy crisis has arrived here in Berlin. That’s a signal to the people in the country that everyone has to do their part to save energy.”
The council of elders’ energy saving concept
At the beginning of July, the Council of Elders decided on energy-saving measures. Since then, the Bundestag has been working on its implementation every day. In concrete terms, this means, for example: the air conditioning in air-conditioned offices should be turned up by two degrees, there is only cold water in the sinks in the offices of some MPs, and in autumn the heating should be turned down from 22 to 20 degrees.
But the Bundestag has not only been saving energy since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine: “The Bundestag building should be exemplary in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energies, climate protection, sustainable construction and innovation,” wrote the Bundestag press office at the request of the ARD Capital Studios. When the Reichstag building was renovated in 1999, attention was paid to an energy concept that primarily relied on the use of renewable energies.
And yet it should now be refilled again. But that’s not so easy, explains building technician Kaschner: “In the Reichstag building, you can’t switch off a specific light with a switch, it’s a lighting management system, a computer-based system that needs to be changed.” And even if the lights in the dome go out, some areas without natural light must remain illuminated. For safety reasons.
“In my view, this project is dispensable”
While the lights go out in the Bundestag, a light projection runs every evening. A film will be shown about German history, which is closely linked to the Reichstag building. Reiner Holznagel, the President of the Taxpayers’ Association, takes a critical view of this: “We are discussing shower times and energy-saving programs in politics, and then you have to move forward symbolically with small things. In my view, this project is dispensable.”
The light show will consume around 27,000 kilowatt hours of electricity this year. This roughly corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of five three-person households. Holznagel welcomes the fact that the lighting in the Reichstag building has now been partially turned off, but “we still see a lot of buildings that are brightly lit, that are cooled down at these times, although, for example, there are no MPs at all and that’s why these energy-saving concepts have to be implemented more quickly will.”
The further Russia turns off the gas tap, the fiercer the debate about any form of energy savings will become.
Energy saving concepts of the ministries and party headquarters
A query of ARD Capital Studios in all ministries, party headquarters, the Federal Chancellery and the Federal President’s Office has shown that everyone is working intensively on an energy saving concept. Only the AfD writes that they do not want to comment on the building: “Energy-saving measures on and in the building are the responsibility of the homeowner, the AfD Federal Association is only a tenant here.”
In the vote in the Council of Elders on energy-saving measures in the parliament building, only the three AfD MPs voted against, as Stephan Brandner (AfD) said in an interview with the ARD Capital Studio explains: “We consider this nonsensical symbolic politics, the savings are minimal.” Brandner also explains that his employees suffer when the air conditioning and heating are running more economically. Instead, Brandner wants to put the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline into operation. The pipeline has no operating license because of the sanctions against Russia.
In the Willy Brandt House of the SPD, the CDU and the Greens, for example, there is a solar system on the roof. The Greens even want to cover their own heat requirements completely with their geothermal system from next year. The FDP, on the other hand, relies on district heating in its federal office. The FDP-led Federal Ministry of Finance refers to the environmental management system EMAS, which is just being introduced, as is the case with other ministries. The system helps with immediate measures to save energy, such as promoting energy-conscious user behavior or avoiding business trips.
air conditioning and heating systems
Almost all ministries rely on motion detectors and LEDs when it comes to lighting. At night, lighting is only used where it is used for safety. Air-conditioned offices are also a thing of the past in many ministries. In the Federal Foreign Office, employees are even called upon to “voluntarily lower the heating temperature in the office to the minimum level that is personally tolerable in individual cases.”
Reflective window films were also installed in Annalena Baerbock’s ministry. They are designed to keep out the summer heat. The Federal Chancellery is still attached at the back. So far, oil has been used for heating, but the plan is to switch to district heating by 2024 at the latest.
Habeck’s ministry is setting a good example
The Ministry of Economic Affairs sees itself as an impetus for energy saving measures. The so-called coordination office for the climate-neutral federal administration is also located here. It aims to make all federal agencies carbon neutral by 2030. Habeck has already worked on the cooling in his ministry for a short time.
Instead of 22 degrees Celsius, the temperatures in the offices can now rise to 26 degrees Celsius. This saves around 50,000 kWh per year. The facades are no longer illuminated and fountains are switched off, which should bring another 5000 kWh per year, according to the ministry.
Representative lights
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier would like to use geothermal energy in Bellevue Palace in the future. Therefore, test drillings are planned. Representative lights have been dispensed with since May 2022. The Ministry of Defense has already switched to district heating.
The new building of the Federal Environment Ministry in Berlin is a passive house. The temperature in the offices only drops when the outside temperature reaches 30 degrees Celsius – but not below 26 degrees Celsius.