Energy efficiency has become a priority for big cities. Along with the efficient use of renewables, it is a useful tool to reduce the impact of climate change.
Madrid has just hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference (December 2-13), the leading international political forum for tackling the climate emergency. So, at Ferrovial we have decided to provide an overview of the latest technological advances in connection with energy: the company is currently implementing more than 40 energy efficiency projects aimed at reducing its clients’ environmental impact and spending. In total, Ferrovial manages more than 1 million street lights, four times the number of lights in New York city. The company implements this kind of improvement by means of technological solutions like its Energy Control Center, the use of connected lighting, and efficient management through the Internet of Things.
“The latest figures show we have reached the highest concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. To achieve the 32% energy saving goal set by the European Union, we must redouble efforts to use renewable energy, as well as implementing technological solutions that enhance energy efficiency. These solutions ensure a reduction in energy demand and consumption in big cities, industry and our own day-to-day uses”
Technological solutions in energy efficiency:
- Energy Control Center: The Center is a collaborative workspace centralizing energy management and know-how in relation to energy efficiency services. The Center manages many types of contracts: from hospitals and elderly care homes, schools, sports centers, offices and processing plants, to district heating and production plants. This solution is used to manage more than 4,000 supply points and 2,500 devices via telemetry in Spain, the United States and Australia. That allows us to analyze 316 gigawatt-hours of energy, which has a cost of approximately 25 million euro.
- Internet of Things for street lighting: Ferrovial Services also has a platform — called XPERiot — for individual and aggregate remote management of each light in a street lighting system, for controlling operating schedules, regulating lighting levels and monitoring their operating parameters. This solution helps achieve further progress towards the intelligent use of data analysis and digitalization of businesses in order to enhance operating efficiency.
Energy managment in cities and infraestructure:
- 1,500 homes produce zero emissions in the northern Spanish city of San Sebastián: San Sebastián’s district heating project is based on a heating network that uses centralized biomass heat production to meet the demand for heating and air conditioning of around 1,500 homes in the city’s Txomin Enea district. By using biomass, this project cuts CO2 emissions by a total of 1,800 tons per year. This initiative also saves costs for operator and end user alike.
- 15,000 LEDs for Dunedin, New Zealand: In the New Zealand city of Dunedin, Broadspectrum has been contracted to install LEDs for street lighting. This modernization will replace the current lights, which are reaching the end of their useful lives. The new system is aimed at increasing street and road safety as LEDs enhance visibility, as well as reducing energy consumption and electricity costs.
- Connected lighting in Tomar, Portugal: this contract covers the installation of a new smart and connected street lighting system comprising 14,000 lights, and the implementation of four pilot projects: specifically, monitoring the use of fire hydrants, air and water quality monitoring, tracking flood levels in the Nabão river, and implementing artificial intelligence software to manage the entire system. This software will use a LoRaWAN communications network to be installed to manage all communications, based on the Internet of Things (IoT).
- Energy management at hospitals in Móstoles, Madrid: this contract entails sweeping upgrades to the main energy-consuming equipment at Móstoles Hospital and outlying clinics. It also includes management of heating and air conditioning, cooling, climate control, lighting, facilities control and vertical transport equipment. These actions will together save more than 1.5 GWh in electricity and 0.3 GWh in thermal energy, reducing CO2 emissions by 600 tons per year.
Centre of Excellence for Energy and FM: leading the way in energy
The goal of Ferrovial Services’ Centre of Excellence for Energy and FM is to develop new technical capacities and differential solutions, develop a network of experts, and foster global knowledge transfer and best practices, coupled with international cooperation between all the business units and the geographies where Ferrovial Services operates. The Center specializes in energy management in the broadest sense, including developing technologies to enhance the efficiency and use of renewables, for both public and private sector clients, outdoor and indoor lighting, heat and hot water production, climate control, network optimization and telecontrol. It also offers specific solutions for industry that are tailored to clients’ operations and provide substantial energy savings in production plants.
