Saving energy can be so easy. And it doesn’t have to be accompanied by hardship or deprivation. For example, some of the festive lighting in the evening and at night would be unnecessary. And wouldn’t it be enough if you could only wash your hands with cold water in public toilets in summer? Such things are currently being discussed publicly in Unterschleißheim. The city uses its new citizen participation tool Consul and asked for suggestions on where the city and each individual could save energy at home immediately and without great effort.
A lot is at hand. The city encourages people to turn their computers off when not in use. Cooking with the lid on the pot saves just as much energy as the prudent person who quickly closes the refrigerator door again. The laundry may get clean without a pre-wash, and those who use the stairs instead of the elevator also keep fit. But the appeal to the often cited “swarm intelligence” in Unterschleissheim has so far brought twelve more ideas to light. Someone suggests turning on the washing machine during the day when the sun is shining brightly. That certainly sounds strange to many, since people used to use cheap off-peak electricity for something like this. But the situation has long since changed. If a lot of solar power is fed into the grid, it may even help if it is used.
The Stadtwerke in Unterschleißheim have already reduced the water temperature in the Aquariush bath and also restricted the use of the sauna. Further steps are being considered there. And mayor Christoph Böck (SPD) recently announced under pressure from the city council that he would continue to look for potential savings. At the moment hardly any fossil energy is used anyway, said Böck in view of the high temperatures and also because daycare centers and schools are of course closed during the holidays. But after the holidays, the topic quickly becomes virulent, especially since many parents are wondering what it will be like if, due to increasing corona incidences, the room needs to be ventilated again and energy is scarce.
New ideas for street lighting: Street lighting is currently being tested on Ellis-Kaut-Straße in Munich Freiham, which gets brighter as soon as someone comes on the path.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
In any case, from the point of view of a Unterschleißheim resident, it would already be unnecessary to illuminate the new sports center and the area around SV Lohhof at night. The city wants to speed up the conversion of street lighting to LEDs. In addition, motion detectors could help on little-used paths to switch on the lighting when it is needed. The lamps then slowly went on and off again, writes the Unterschleißheimer on the Consul portal, which is why nobody “needed to fear a storm of flashbulbs”. Another recommends “halving” the street lighting and illuminating St. Rochus Street less intensely. Another suggestion relates to the fountain in Valentinspark: it does not have to be lit and could be switched off at night.
Especially in Unterschleißheim with its urban transport network, you don’t always have to get in the car right away. This information can also be found on Consul, together with the explanation that almost everything can be done on foot, by bike, e-scooter or rental bike. The Bird company has recently been present in the city with its rental system for electric scooters.
The city administration in Unterschleißheim is currently working intensively on ways to reduce public energy sales, according to the city hall. Anyone who wants to get involved can make suggestions on the online platform Consul at https://consul.unterschleissheim.de/energiesparen Post or mail to City Hall. All ideas are published on Consul. According to the town hall, selected proposals will also be distributed via other channels.