Fewer Christmas lights and no more air conditioning as Sint-Pieters-Woluwe attempts to cut energy consumption
Faced with spiraling energy bills, the municipal authorities in the Brussels municipality of Sint-Pieters-Woluwe have decided to take several measures to help cut energy consumption and the dependency on fossil fuels. The measures come after the company in charge of the electricity supply network in Brussels Sibelga announced that next year the price of gas and electricity will rise by 68% and 45% respectively.
Thermostats in fifty public buildings in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe will be turned down to 19°C. Only municipal crèches will be exempt from the energy-saving measures. Buildings that are not being used for 24 hours will have their temperatures lowered to 16°C. Buildings that are out of use for 48 hours or more will have their thermostats turned down to just 8°C.
Meanwhile, the air conditioning in the Town Hall will turned off completely. The temperature of the water in local swimming pool will continue to be heated to 27°C, while the changing rooms will be heated to 21°C.
The exterior of public buildings and statues will no longer be lit up and the Christmas lights will be fewer in number and remain in place for less long than in other years.
Lower CO² emissions
The energy saving measures are in addition to measures taken previously in order to reduce CO2 emissions. The first of these were implemented in 2005 with the ultimate aim of reducing the municipalities’ CO² emissions by 27%.
