When there's more to it - putting the energy requirements of retail properties to the test
Building energy is expensive for retailers due to high consumption costs. For this reason, the EHI Retail Institute was commissioned by a German competence center for energy efficiency and renewable energies to take a closer look at the current state of buildings in the retail sector. The focus was on examining both the energy situation and the prevailing energy efficiency strategy of retailers.
The aim was to find out where the German retail sector currently stands in terms of energy efficiency by compiling and evaluating new and existing data. Shortcomings in the data situation were to be uncovered and analyzed in more detail.
The EHI Retail Institute has been providing research, education and advice to retailers and their partners since 1951. Around 60 employees work at the company headquarters in Cologne and the international EHI network comprises around 730 member companies from the retail, consumer and capital goods industries. The EHI Retail Institute e. V. is characterized by research work on important future topics of the retail trade such as information technology, payment systems, logistics, e-commerce and marketing, as well as individual contract research and tailor-made consulting.
New approaches to improving energy efficiency
The retail sector is one of the most important consumption groups for the energy sector in the area of commercially used non-residential buildings. Detailed and reliable statements, for example on the building stock and energy use, provide important insights into strategic issues in the area of improved energy management. This applies both to electricity-operated systems and to air conditioning and heating concepts.
The energy performance of retail properties such as supermarkets, specialty stores or shopping centers was previously only recorded very incompletely; there was a lack of statistical data sets that could be used to determine energy consumption in relation to the retail sector, especially when it comes to companies other than large chain stores. However, it is precisely this logical link that is needed in order to be able to make valid and general statements about the energy efficiency of retail buildings in particular.
One of the most important steps for the resulting study was therefore to link statements on the use of individual buildings (e.g. electricity consumption or retail space) with additional information on the existing building structure of the properties in a meaningful way and to transfer them reliably to the whole of Germany.
Precise building information as an important energy efficiency indicator
First of all, the EHI clearly defined the "retail properties" to be examined: This was to include all non-residential buildings (NWF) as well as mixed forms in which retail is operated in the broader sense (retail according to WZ industry code 47 plus car dealerships, bakeries, butchers, hairdressers and services). The building stock was examined in 15 selected cities, which served as the basis for the extrapolation to the whole of Germany.
With the help of the building information from LOCAL®Building by Nexiga (real data collected during a site inspection and a survey), the respective buildings could be described in great detail and supported statements could be made about building characteristics such as age class, construction method, maintenance condition, type of use, location or the number of households.
Interlocking of EHI and Nexiga data
Existing data such as municipal retail concepts and federal and state statistics were validated and cumulated using the real data from Nexiga LOCAL® Building . Taking into account information on building characteristics, construction method and year of construction classes, number of households and state of maintenance, it was possible to assign corresponding building stocks and make additional statements on the subject of energy efficiency.
Transparent data as a starting point for further studies
For the first time, it was possible to extrapolate the number of retail properties using various data sources.
EHI and Nexiga data proved to be an optimal mix for the retail sector, as the results show a wide range of operational and maintenance strategies in the area of efficiency measures, from high-turnover chain stores to individual, owner-operated outlets. One of the most important findings: The majority of properties used by retailers were built before 1978 and therefore before the requirements of the 1st Thermal Insulation Ordinance (which came into force on November 1, 1978) came into force. While a third of non-residential buildings were built in accordance with at least the requirements of the 1st Thermal Insulation Ordinance, this only applies to just under half of mixed-use buildings.
At the same time, however, the survey also showed which additional data is important in order to be able to assess the energy potential of retail properties and their optimal utilization even more precisely. A follow-up study should shed more light on these issues of energy management strategies and ownership structures.
A look behind the façade - the building structure as the key to energy efficiency
"It is important to make decisions based on reliable data. The data from Nexiga LOCAL® Building enabled us to gain detailed insights into the building structure and to draw conclusions for the whole of Germany on this basis. Thanks to this solid foundation, we know where to start in our follow-up studies so that suitable strategic measures can ultimately be derived for the retail sector."