Key data
Various key data refer to consumption per person or per m2 of energy reference area.
Key data for energy per FTE or per m2 of energy reference area – as well as consumption data for other goods such as water – are generally higher for research institutions such as Eawag, than for administrative institutions (see environmental reports of the Federal Government). In terms of paper consumption, Eawag generally insists on the use of recycled paper.
Key figures by range
Mobility
Business travel costs (rail, air, car, boat) have been monitored at Eawag since 2012. Services purchased through SBB and Knecht Travel in 2013 were extrapolated to gauge the total rail and air travel costs paid for by Eawag. Data for business trips by car and boat are based on actual mileage totals as well as on empirical values of recent years.
Click here for a summary of the measures towards transport and mobility optimisation.
Usage of drinking water
Drinking water consumption varies widely. In 2009, for example, consumption was higher due to construction works. Eawag has been using rainwater for toilet flushing in Forum Chriesbach since June 2006, thereby using less drinking water.
Usage of paper
In 2005 Eawag standardized the paper it uses, opting for a light-coloured recycled paper (Nautilus). Recycled paper now accounts for more than 95% of the organisation’s total paper consumption.
Usage of energy
Energy consumption from 1996 (and before) to 2011: The installation of a heat recovery plant in the laboratory building in Dübendorf and a lake water source heat pump in Kastanienbaum in 1997-1998, together with other measures, secured a reduction in energy consumption for heating from 9 TJ per year down to less than 5 TJ. Electricity consumption by Eawag as a whole has continued to rise.
Energy measures implemented in the buildings enabled us to reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling to a very low level. Thanks to the installation of a heat recovery plant in the laboratory building, heating energy consumption was reduced there from 4 TJ to 1.5 TJ in 1998. With the renovation of the laboratory building in 2009, heat recovery was further improved by a substantial amount. At the beginning of 2008 the rented, gas-heated Chriesbach property in Dübendorf was vacated. It was replaced by Forum Chriesbach – a new build that complied with sustainable development criteria. The expansion of the old office building and retro-fitting of energy efficiency features were completed by the end of 2007.
At the Dübendorf site, Eawag draws most of its heating energy from the Empa heating plant. Around 25% of this heat comes from waste heat (heat pumps), while the remainder comes from a gas heating plant which replaced the former mixed gas and fuel plant. The switch to a new technology with higher efficiency and lower CO2 consumption is currently underway.
The research centre for limnology in Kastanienbaum has been heated by means of a lake water source heat pump since 1997, at which time the fuel consumption was reduced from 1TJ to just 0.1 TJ. The boathouse was renovated in 2007. In 2010, portable office cabins were replaced with a Minergie-P wooden pavilion – the first of its kind in Switzerland. The lake research centre was renovated from 2011 to 2013, resulting in improved energy consumption here also.
Own energy production
In terms of electricity, the amount sourced from renewable energy has steadily increased, to the point where it now constitutes nearly 100% of the total. Part of this consists of energy produced by our own photovoltaic installations. Primary energy consumption per person has been significantly reduced. From 2008 onwards, annual data on primary energy consumption have been compiled for each location and for the company as a whole.