Stedin - Network Operator in the Netherlands

Qien has been live at Stedin in Utrecht since March 2023, achieving significant success with an average climate control energy savings of 48%. New plans are already underway to implement Qien at other Stedin offices. We discussed this with Jan Louws from metering company TUMS.

"Sustainability and energy saving is a team effort."

Stedin Office, saving with Qien technology

Jan Louws is the Manager of Account & Energy Management at TUMS, one of whose clients is Stedin. "Interestingly, Stedin was my former employer." In 2021, TUMS was spun off into an independent company, TUMS B.V.

Following a service agreement, TUMS continued to be responsible for Stedin's installations and metering services. Energy management is a crucial part of this, Jan explains. "Monitoring all energy flows: where exactly are the flows going within a building? And how can we ensure energy savings? For this, we use the EMS TUMS system."

Grid Congestion and Qien

Grid congestion is becoming increasingly significant for many companies. Qien ensures that buildings use energy smartly and efficiently. Qien can also adjust the profile related to the climate control of the building to free up capacity for, for instance, charging stations during office hours. Essentially, this is the solution for grid congestion without having to upgrade the connection. Using batteries for grid congestion is essentially the same solution.

Becoming Paris Proof

In 2021, the demand for energy savings at Stedin increased, partly due to the Paris Climate Agreement. "Replacing old installations is an obvious choice, but it's a costly investment and there are other possibilities. That's why I contacted Roel Derks from Qien to further discuss Stedin's needs." Jan was already familiar with Qien and how our software makes climate installations adaptive.

A Savings Guarantee

Stedin aimed to save at least 15% energy. "And with a collaboration with Qien, I could guarantee those savings for Stedin." A first pilot location followed: Stedin Utrecht. This is a large office building that was last renovated in 2018. The installation includes a combination of district heating and a heat pump. Solar panels are present.

Qien and District Heating

District heating is a priority for the government. With district heating, even less well-insulated buildings can be heated as it is a high-temperature system. By using Qien, energy is saved, and more buildings can be connected to a heat network since a heat network has a maximum capacity. If multiple buildings within a heat network are managed by Qien, the peak demand can be limited. The overload of the energy grid is also a challenge within heat networks.

Saving Energy and Remaining Complaint-Free

Qien has been live at Stedin's office in Utrecht since March 2023, achieving an average climate control energy savings of 48% so far. “These are incredibly good results!” Jan emphasizes that the indoor climate has remained satisfactory: there were no complaints, and none have arisen. “Based on these results, it was decided to also connect several other locations to Qien’s software." These include the offices in Goes and Delft, both of which were recently renovated but still have significant optimization potential.

Unnecessary Heating or Cooling is a Thing of the Past

Jan: “TUMS is a recognized responsible party in the business market. We definitely seek collaboration with other parties – such as Qien – to help our customers achieve sustainability. The great thing about the Qien application is that it takes weather forecasts into account, making unnecessary heating or cooling a thing of the past."

Jan is highly satisfied with the collaboration as a whole. He frequently communicates with Roel Derks and Niels de Jong to discuss the current status, and they even go together to meet the client for progress meetings. Jan finds it very reassuring that the building installation is performing well, relieving TUMS from any concerns. "In case of any problems, Qien promptly reaches out to them."

Jan Louws:

"With a solution like this, a lot can be saved, that much is clear!"

Jan concludes that if even a fairly recently renovated building can achieve a 48% energy savings in climate control, then many more installations in the Netherlands can be better regulated without major adjustments.