Last Monday the Government of Spain approved an energy saving plan that will run until November 2023 that includes, among other measures -whether or not to wear a tie on the sidelines-, the adjustment in the thermostats of buildings that provide services to the public of a maximum 19 degrees for heating in winter and a minimum of 27 degrees for air conditioning in summer.
An approach that also provides for the closing of doors to maintain the temperature of these Administration buildings, as well as turning off the lights in all shop windows and internal lighting during the time they are not in use after 10 p.m.
However, the Valencian Government already has some of these measures in place, even with a higher degree of demand than that approved by the Council of Ministers. At the Energy Sector Conference on July 28, the Minister of Economy, Rafael Climent, defended that measures are already being taken in a large part of the administrative buildings of the Generalitat Valenciana.
And he gave the example of the main administrative center in the city of Valencia (October 9 Administrative Complex) where the ambient temperature of hot air is controlled in winter to get 17 degrees (the Government marks 19) and cold air in summer to get a maximum of 27 degrees. These two degrees less in winter which allows not to spend so much heating and thus save.
Along these lines, sources from the Ministry of Economy tell La Vanguardia that they have been working on this line for years and not so much because of the consequences of the crisis and the rise in energy prices. Thus, they point out that last winter they already distributed vests among their workers so as not to have to turn on the heating so strongly.
They also explain that there are other saving measures such as air conditioning closing instructions (summer/winter) at 2:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., so that the air conditioning turns off at those moments.
Regarding lighting control, details the report that was presented to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the light is scheduled to turn off at 5:00 p.m. and then every two hours until 9:00 p.m., with the same air conditioning operation.
Among the measures to save in the largest work center of the Valencian Administration is also the replacement of all the lights in the 15,600 m² car park with LED lights, "achieving a 50% saving in electricity consumption," the same sources report. Likewise, a project is under way to install photovoltaic panels in all the buildings, which is expected to save between 17 and 30% of electricity consumption.
The report highlights that the interior and exterior gardens of the buildings have been modified to allow the closed and controlled parking of more than 300 bicycles and 75 scooters. Four electric vehicle chargers are also installed, available for official vehicles.
