Integrated building services result in significant cost savings and increase the productivity of work. A recent life cycle survey by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland indicates that the cost benefits achieved in office buildings with Are’s Sensus system can amount to millions of euros over a period of 15 years. The Sensus building services system takes care of all the heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting requirements of an office building.

The estimates compared the usage, properties and environmental impacts of a traditional office building with a building equipped with the Are Sensus system and calculated their cost savings over a life cycle of 15 years. The building equipped with Are Sensus, which was used for the measurements, is located in Central Finland and has a floor area of 9,400 square metres.

The financial gains may total more than 5 million euros during 15 years of use when personnel sick leave days, among other factors, are taken into account. Costs are reduced, since the premises can be modified easily and they consume less heat and electricity and require less energy for cooling than an ordinary office building.

According to VTT’s calculations, buildings equipped with Sensus can substantially increase the productivity of work.

“Employee productivity in buildings equipped with Sensus is better than that in traditional business premises due to a lower number of sick leave days and a floor plan that offers a higher level of comfort.

The effects will be studied more closely this autumn,” says Special Researcher Sakari Pulakka from VTT.

Users are satisfied

Sensus is cost-efficient both for the owner and the user – even from the point of view of sustainable development.

“More and more requirements are being placed on the energy-efficiency of business premises. In order to achieve environmental, user satisfaction and production targets, commercialised integrated building services must become standard,” states Pulakka.

Surveys have shown that 95% of the users of business premises equipped with Sensus are satisfied with their interior conditions and lighting, compared with 70–75% of the users of buildings without Sensus.

Energy efficiency in office buildings

The consumption of heating energy in the building on which the study was carried out was almost 17% lower than that of an ordinary building. The energy consumption for ventilation and lighting was a few per cent lower than it was for traditional solutions.

According to the life cycle estimate, annual carbon dioxide emissions in the example building totalled 7,200 tonnes, as opposed to 9,100 tonnes in an ordinary office building. Over a period of 15 years, the building equipped with Sensus will achieve a total reduction of almost 30,000 tonnes in emissions compared with an ordinary building.

“Energy efficient construction is already being applied to residential houses and, partially, to apartment blocks. Office buildings are not yet constructed using the low energy consumption principle throughout. In practice, Sensus offers a tried and tested building services solution for energy efficient office buildings,” says Are Group’s Design Manager Heikki Mäki.

“Sensus can derive its energy from environmentally-friendly rock heat and cooling or the return water of district heating systems, for example. The waste heat of industrial processes is also suitable as a source of heat for Sensus," says Heikki Mäki.

Award-winning Sensus

Are Sensus has been nominated for the Nordic Council Nature and Environment Prize 2008. The Nature and Environment Prize is awarded to a Nordic company, organisation or person that has shown exemplary consideration to nature and the environment in its business or activities, or that has otherwise acted in the best interests of nature and the environment in a significant way. The winner will be announced on 8 October.
http://www.norden.org/webb/news/news.asp?id=8066&lang=6

Are Sensus has previously been awarded with the Teknologiasta tuotteeksi Prize (“Technology Transformed into a Product” prize) – http://www.teknologiastatuotteiksi.fi/palkinnot/myonnetyt.htm – and received an honorary mention in the Environmental Project 2003 of the real estate and construction industry.

For additional information, please contact:

Design Manager Heikki Mäki, Are Group, tel. +358 40 300 5606
heikki.maki@are.fi

Special Researcher Sakari Pulakka, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, tel. +358 40 743 7680
sakari.pulakka@vtt.fi

Director Kauko Pellikka, Are Group, tel. +358 40 300 5172
kauko.pellikka@are.fi

Marketing and Communications Director Satu Juvonen, Are Group, tel. +358 40 300 5617
satu.juvonen@are.fi