UG installs additional kWh meters for improved energy monitoring

The University of Groningen (UG) will install additional kWh meters in various buildings over the coming months. These meters help measure the electricity consumption of buildings and equipment more accurately. This allows potential savings to be identified more quickly and enables the university to work more effectively on energy conservation.

Installation and schedule

The work will begin at Zernike Campus, followed by the Healthy Ageing Campus (HAC) and the city centre. Major energy consumers will receive meters first. Building users will experience little to no disruption. In some cases, parts of a building may need to be temporarily powered down. This will be carefully coordinated and communicated internally.

Background and purpose

The UG is committed in 2024 to implementing an Energy management system (EMS). This structured framework helps the university systematically improve energy performance, reduce energy costs, and lower CO₂ emissions. A concrete first step was the signing of an Energy Policy Statement. The additional meters now being installed contribute to better insights into energy consumption and assist in monitoring installations, financial reporting, and measuring the results of sustainability measures. With this step, the UG is taking another important stride toward making its buildings more sustainable and reducing energy consumption.

In recent years, there have been increasingly compelling reasons to closely monitor our energy consumption within our buildings. While this data was previously used primarily for internal energy cost allocation, the focus has now shifted toward obtaining detailed insights into energy flows. Given the rising energy costs since the energy crisis, stricter laws and regulations, and our ambitious sustainability goals, this step represents a significant contribution to the further development of the UG.