Die WFO Bozen im Energie-Check

Gemeinsam mit Dr. Ulrich Klammsteiner, einem Energieexperten von KlimaHaus Südtirol, untersuchten die Schülerinnen und Schüler der 3 A-WI die WFO Bozen auf ihre Energieeffizienz. Zunächst ermittelte die Klasse in einem längeren Zeitraum verschiedene Werte wie Temperatur, Luftfeuchtigkeit, Co²-Ausstoß, Energieverbrauch usw., dann wurden die Daten ausgewertet und Schlüsse daraus gezogen. Die Schülerinnen und Schüler erhielten dabei einen interessanten Einblick in eine für sie nicht so bekannte Welt.

Energy check at WFO Kunter

A phycicist named Dr. Ulrich Klammsteiner joined us, the 3 A-WI, on Thursday 19th of January. He came as a representative for the South Tyrolean Energy Agency (KlimaHaus) to explain the current interrelations between climate, energy and economy.

We started to prepare ourselves for this presentation about a week before the presentation by using tools and devices for measuring various values (temperature, humidity, power...). These tools were part of a “climate case” we were given by “KlimaHaus”.

Mr. Klammsteiner started with a short introduction to the topic and by explaining how the Energy Agency is set up. The agency is conntected to the Autonomous Province of Bolzano and disposes of the largest international network in the field of energy-efficient construction. The Energy Agency deals with topics like communication, technical commissions and counselling.

Fossil energy
Mr. Klammsteiner pointed out that the amount of fossil energy sources is distributed very differently around the world. In the Middle East the percentage lies at about 63%, in other areas much less. In Europe, about 9% are fossil energy sources.

Energy consumption
Mr. Klammsteiner then moved on to energy consumption and showed us a statistic from 2011. At that time 60% of Austria's electricity was already generated from hydroelectric power plants, whereas France relied mainly on nuclear energy. In Italy, most electricity was generated by gas, with about 55%. Yet no nuclear energy was produced because in 1987 Italy held a referendum in which it was decided that Italy would stop the production of nuclear energy. As a result, the last two nuclear power plants were officially shut down on 1 July 1990. Most energy is consumed for heating, for which Italy has to rely mainly on gas.

Energy production
We were also shown statistics from 2019 in which you can clearly see that here in South Tyrol we generate much more electricity than we consume. Most electricity is generated by hydroelectric power plants. Hydroelectric power plants are very productive in South Tyrol because of the many rivers and due to the melting of the glaciers. More and more photovoltaic plants are also being built. However, the latter can also lead to problems if there is a lack of sunshine for a longer period.

Strategies and goals
The “KlimaLand” strategies (see https://www.klimaland.bz/) focus on environmental protection through energy savings, quantitative goals, and coordination of various agencies. The goals of the European Union until 2050 are to reach a share of 75% of renewable energy and to reduce Co² emissions to -80%. Mr. Klammsteiner said that South Tyrol, on the other hand, aims to reach a 90% share of renewable energy and to consume only 1.5t of Co² emissions and 2,200W of energy per person.

Measurements
Throughout the week, we took measurements in our classroom with the devices from the “climate case”. We had a device to measure the value of Co², the electricity, the temperatures and one for humidity.

Co²-Level
When measuring the Co² value, we could see that the values were always quite high and that the value dropped when we opened the windows.

Power consumption
In order to measure the value of the power consumption we plugged the electricity-meter into a socket and there we plugged in the power strip for the laptops. A maximum of five computers then drew power from this plug. The values were often very high because, for example, we often plugged in our laptops during the break and often played games during that time. So the values were sometimes as high as 250 watts. But we also have lower values, for example in Mathematics, when we don't use the laptop. We also calculated that this school would have to pay about 7,000 € a year if all classes were to work with computers.

Temperature
When we measured the maximum and minimum temperature, we could see shocking values. The device always showed us a minimum and maximum value, which we then noted down. The average value in our classroom was about 24 °C. The minimum value in the classroom was about 10 °C. Outside, we measured a maximum temperature of about 7.5°C and a minimum of -0.7°C. We also had another measuring device for the surface temperature. The device always showed high values for the floor because of the underfloor heating. The windows and the windowsills were always at around 19-20°C. The canvas, tables and chairs always had an approximate temperature of 25°C.

Humidity
We also had a device for measuring the humidity. We took these values before and after the break. Before the break we always had about 32%rh except for Tuesday and Wednesday, when we had about 40%rh. After the break we always had higher values than before the break. The highest value was 58 %rh.

Personal Opinion
In summary, we can see that the values varied a lot.

As to the presentation by Mr. Klammsteiner we had quite mixed feelings. On the one hand, it contained interesting facts that we had never heard of before. On the other hand, there was a lot of information at once. We quite liked the measuring with the various devices. It was interesting to see the change in temperatures, the Co² levels, or the electricity we consume in our classroom.

By Mira, Iris, Julia, Lisa and Nadia, 3 A-WI