Overview of Energy Auditing in Finland

Finland’s Energy Audit Programme (the EAP) is one of the oldest national energy efficiency grant schemes in place. The EAP started as a subsidy policy in 1992 and was developed into a programme level activity in 1993. The EAP was in practice launched in January 1994 and has been a clean-cut and full-scale programme since then.

The EAP is run by Motiva Oy (the Operating Agent), a state owned company. The Energy Department of the Ministry of Employment and Economy (the MEE) is the Administrator, responsible for all official decisions. Consulting companies form the major part of the energy auditors and the clients are industry, services (both private and public) and energy sectors.

EAP is a voluntary programme

The EAP is a voluntary programme promoted by a 40 % to 50 % subsidy by the MEE. The total amount of subsidies during the period of 1992-2007 has been 23.1 MEUR. The coverage of the EAP by the end of year 2007 was approximately 70 % of industrial electricity use; the coverage in heat and fuels is estimated to be a little lower. In the service sector almost 40 % of the building stock is covered by the EAP. Since 1992 some 6 800 buildings have been audited.

By the end of year 2007 the estimated annual savings in energy and water costs achieved by audits in the service and industry sectors (excluding process industry) is estimated to be some 23 million euros. The corresponding savings in energy use is approximately 0.75 TWh per year. Over 75 % of the savings come from the industry sector. The cumulative savings during the whole period 1992-2007 are approximately 360 million EUR and over 11 TWh, of which industry accounts for about 70 %.

The average economical saving potentials reported in energy audits in the service sector are 16.4% in heat and fuels, 6.8 % in electricity and 7.3 % in water consumption. In industry (energy consumption <500 GWh/a) the average saving potentials are 16.8% in heat and fuels, 6.5% in electricity and 9.9 % in water consumption. The realisation rate of the proposed measures in the service sector is approximately 70% and in the industry sector approximately 55 %.

The EAP has all programme level elements in place and especially the on-line monitoring system has been an important tool. Without a proper monitoring tool the cost-effectiveness of the EAP would have been very difficult to prove.

Other programmes and activities related to energy audits

From as early as the 1990s Finland has employed a voluntary agreement scheme in a drive to promote energy efficiency. The practical measures boosted by the agreements, such as energy audits and analyses subsidised by the government, provide companies and communities with an excellent means of ascertaining their own energy usage and the scope for improving it, as well as integrating improvements in energy efficiency in their daily operation.

The Energy Efficiency Agreements for industries services and the municipal and energy sector were signed for the period 2008-2016. They follow on from the Energy Conservation agreements that were in force in 1997-2007.