Kindergartens lower the temperature due to high electricity prices – VG

With winter approaching, many nurseries find themselves having to turn down the temperature for a chance to pay their electric bills.

– We lowered the temperature in all our nurseries to between 19 and 21 degrees.

That’s what Kanvas Kindergarten General Manager, Robert Ullmann said. They run a total of 66 kindergartens across Norway.

Because of the high prices of electricity, they have chosen to lower the heat in the nurseries to get around the high costs.

The decision was made in September. The Norwegian theater also lowered the temperature by one degree. Read more in the case.

A solid understanding of the crisis

This is the first time the nursery institution has lowered the temperature as a cost-cutting measure, says Ullman. He says the measure has not met with strong reactions from parents.

I think the understanding of the crisis is already well established.

He also believes it is a good idea to involve children in the reasons for taking such actions.

– It’s ecological education. Explain why if we’re going to be wearing more clothes because it’s cooler inside, it’s something the kids are involved in.

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High electricity prices persisted for a long time, and severely affected kindergartens. Canvas kindergartens are also outside the government’s electricity subsidy system.

The scheme operates in such a way that the government contributes electricity subsidies from October through the end of the year, but only if the electricity costs make up at least three percent of the company’s total costs.

In canvas nurseries, total spending on electricity is less than three percent.

Despite this, Ullman does not see the situation as too bleak.

It’s a good exercise, and at the same time we have to reduce energy costs, we also have to take social responsibility and make a joint effort to reduce our energy consumption.

Lowering the temperature is a step many have taken in an effort to save electricity. The Norwegian parliament announced last week that they are lowering the temperature and closing the sauna. In the churches of Oslo, they also lowered the temperature.

The Norwegian theater also lowered the temperature to save electricity. They did it already in August.

– We’ve lowered the temperature everywhere One degree, says director Hans Antonsen. The temperature varies slightly from room to room, but it is usually around 21 degrees.

– We lowered a score across the board, and we can see that in the electric bill. It was 12 percent lower in September 2022 than it was in September 2020 and 2021. That shows it pays to be aware of this, says Antonsen.

Public buildings are getting colder

In Sandefjord, the municipality has decided to reduce the indoor temperature in public buildings to 19 degrees. Include municipal kindergartens.

Nursing homes and institutions that provide treatment to patients are exempt.

It’s simply about increasing electricity costs. We understood that it would be costly for us, says Kristin Flatten, municipal director of knowledge, children and youth in Sandfjord municipality.

NRK He also wrote on this issue.

Like Ullmann, Flåtten says the procedure has been met with understanding, and that even if the 19C isn’t too cold, it might be a good idea to wear a little extra.

There’s obviously a difference between 19 and 22 degrees, so expect and wear more clothes, says Flåtten.

The National Theater lowers the temperature when there are no rehearsals or audiences in the auditorium.

Otherwise, we have a normal temperature. On the main stage, the temperature is around 18 degrees, CIO Øystein Hygen Christensen tells VG.

With a main stage complete, the audience helps warm the room and it becomes uncomfortable to sit there if the temperature is too high from the start, he adds.

Very concerned about electricity prices

Norlandia, which has 112 kindergartens, has not sent any message from the central authority that everyone should lower the temperature too much. It is up to the local kindergarten management.

– But we encourage you to lower the temperature if possible, says Principal Kristin Foldsnes, adding that children of course shouldn’t freeze.

She says they are following current advice on indoor temperatures and turning off lights in unused rooms.

– We are very concerned about electricity prices. We don’t get any of that wrapper, she tells VG.

Læringsverkstedet, which has 248 kindergartens in all provinces of the country, says it is closely monitoring electricity prices. Before the energy crisis, they started a pilot project on energy efficiency.

“We have a fixed price for electricity, so far we haven’t lowered the temperature indoors while the kids are around,” Managing Director Trud Seidtangen wrote in an email to VG.

The municipality of Oslo, which has about 310 municipal kindergartens, reported that it is working to adopt centralized electricity saving guidelines.

– It will soon be adopted, Ingrid Lönnrosten Rogstad, communications officer for the Education and Knowledge Division of the City Council, wrote in an email.

Espira, which operates 107 kindergartens, says the massive increase in electricity costs is a major challenge at a time when the structural conditions for private kindergartens are greatly tightening.

– We have several projects on energy saving measures in nurseries, where the goal is to achieve energy savings of up to 25% in some nurseries. Primarily, this is the installation of heat pumps and control systems that lower the temperature when the building is not in use. Ultimately, we will also have to consider measures that lower the temperature when the building is in use, but we haven’t done so at the moment, Managing Director Marit Lambrechts wrote in an email.