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Municipal energy efficiency

Energy efficiency and climate protection on a municipal is hugely important, as they allow cities and local communities to act as important role models to civic society and companies in the region. Moreover, municipal climate protection can significantly reduce energy costs if it

succeeds in improving energy efficiency in public buildings and properties. This is why councillors and mayors need to invest: in efficient properties, green IT, modern street lighting and other energy-efficient products and services.

Statistics & facts

186000
public buildings
exist in Germany
11116
local communities
exist in Germany
By 40 %
is the share
of municipal electricity costs accounted for by street lighting.
4.8
billion euros is the annual expenditure
of German municipalities on energy. Municipal buildings account for the lion’s share of these costs.

Energy-efficient buildings, systems and products help to save

Public sector

Cities and local communities in Germany have significant potential to increase their energy efficiency. They can contribute to the success of the energy transition by investing in efficient properties, green IT, modern street lighting and other energy-efficient products and services.

The public sector accounts for final energy consumption of around 60 billion kilowatt hours per year. In 2014, public institutions were responsible for roughly one tenth of net electricity consumption in Germany, which in turn incurred electricity costs of over two billion euros. The heating and air conditioning costs for public buildings is also a significant factor in municipal energy consumption. Germany’s municipalities even spend approximately €3.8 bn simply to provide their properties with electricity and heating. An additional 1 billion euros are assigned to street lighting.

Energy-efficient refurbishment of public buildings and properties, for instance administrative buildings, schools and swimming pools, offers the greatest savings potential. Suitable measures could generate substantial savings, hence ensuring that investments in the improvement of energy efficiency would be profitable undertakings. On average, highly energy-efficient refurbishment measures can lead to an 80 percent reduction in energy consumption. Modern heating pumps use up to 80 percent less electricity. Moreover, modern lighting systems can reduce the electricity costs even by 75 percent compared with previous systems. Greater energy efficiency therefore helps to ease the burden on the public coffers in the long term.