First residents move into smart homes in the Kalasatama district of Helsinki
Thanks to new technology, Kalasatama residents are able to monitor the water and electricity consumption of their homes in real time. Awareness of consumption encourages frugality in the use of electricity and water. Smart technology also enables directing consumption to cheaper rate hours.
The first residents moved into the Fiskari apartment block in the Helsinki district of Kalasatama at the end of February, and the Fregatti block will see its first residents in late March to early April. All of the nearly one hundred apartments in the blocks use home automation systems delivered by Helen and ABB. These systems enable up to 15 per cent reduction in electricity and water consumption. The saving potential is based on the option of monitoring the consumption data online in real time, also on mobile devices when out and about.
In 2013, electricity consumption in Finnish homes totalled 21,510 gigawatt-hours (GWh), which is about a quarter of all electricity consumption. Every Finnish citizen uses an average of 155 litres of water a day.
‘Through the home automation system, the occupants are aware of where and when energy and water are consumed. With this information, they are able to better understand where savings can be made,’ explains Helen’s Development Manager Minna Näsman. In addition to monitoring, the solution also enables consumption control. Residents can move their consumption to periods of cheaper rate electricity and that way balance consumption peaks.
‘Finland has set a target of carbon neutrality by 2050. The improvement of energy efficiency in buildings has significant potential in reaching this target. Kalasatama is a model of sustainable urban construction, which is also the direction we must aim at in the future,’ says Sales Director Harri Liukku of ABB.
Kalasatama is Finland’s first model district of smart energy systems. Helen, ABB, Helen Sähköverkko and Fingrid are carrying out technology co-operation with an objective of building a globally significant district by combining the latest energy, information and communications technology.
Kalasatama is located on the sea shore at the edge of Helsinki city centre. The district will offer 8,000 jobs and a home for about 20,000 Helsinki residents by the beginning of the 2030s. The Fregatti and Fiskari apartment blocks are built by housing investment company SATO, which owns 24,000 rental apartments in the biggest urban growth centres in Finland, and in St Petersburg in Russia.