News / 10.6.2014

Efficient monitoring of energy consumption

ABB and Helsingin Energia are delivering home automation systems to almost a hundred new apartments in Kalasatama in Helsinki.

In the apartment blocks Fregatti and Fiskari, which are being built on the shore opposite Mustikkamaa, the residents will be able to obtain almost real-time information about how much water and electricity they are using. The new control and reporting service utilises the intelligence of the property, creating an effortless way for the housing company to bring the benefits to every resident. The solution helps the residents and the housing company to understand where energy is consumed while making it easy and automatic to use it in an efficient way.  

The metering data enables up to 15 per cent lower energy and water consumption. The data can also be monitored in real time on mobile devices.  

‘The metering data guides the residents to save water and energy. By paying attention to their own actions, consumption can be cut by up to 15 per cent,’ Sales Director Harri Liukku of ABB explains. ‘The energy efficiency regulations for buildings are becoming more stringent. At the same time, general environmental awareness is growing. Tools that provide true energy savings will become increasingly popular in the future.’  

The solution introduced by ABB and Helsingin Energia enables smart control of electricity consumption. For example, residents are able to take advantage of the hours of lower-priced electricity and that way level out the peaks of electricity consumption; they can postpone their consumption to a lower cost period or let their electricity vendor do it on their behalf.  

‘Residents can also monitor consumption data and control their energy use on the Helsingin Energia website using a mobile device. I am really excited about how easy it is to use the new service, and I am looking forward to being able to make the residents' everyday lives pleasant and safe,' says Development Manager Ossi Porri of Helsingin Energia.  

Kalasatama is Finland’s first model district of smart energy systems. ABB, Helsingin Energia, Helen Sähköverkko and Fingrid are carrying out technology co-operation with an objective of building a district that is significant on a global scale, combining the latest energy, information and communications technology.   Kalasatama is located on the sea shore at the edge of Helsinki city centre. The district will offer 8,000 jobs and a home for about 20,000 Helsinki residents by the beginning of the 2030s. Fregatti and Fiskari are scheduled for completion in spring 2015. They are built by property development company SATO, which owns 24,000 rental apartments in the biggest urban growth centres in Finland, and in St Petersburg.