In today’s world, where sustainability is an increasingly important topic, real estate companies are striving to find ways to create environmentally friendly and energy-efficient solutions. Fusebox, the leading provider of electrical flexibility in the Baltic states, has joined forces with Forus, a company dedicated to providing a secure and sustainable environment, to enable real estate companies to manage flexible electricity consumption and thereby achieve the LEED certification for green buildings.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an international certification system designed to assess and recognize the environmental sustainability of buildings. Obtaining the LEED certification means that a building meets rigorous energy efficiency and environmental standards.

“We are proud to collaborate with Forus and help real estate companies achieve LEED certification through flexible energy consumption,” said Tarvo Õng, CEO and founder of Fusebox. “Buildings have great potential to make our living environment cleaner, and the flexibility of energy consumption allows us to fully utilize that potential. Building owners also benefit directly from this by earning passive income for the flexibility they offer to the electricity market.”

Forus has advised on the LEED certification of 30 buildings in the Baltics. According to Kairi Nõulik, Head of the Energy Efficiency Department at Forus, the Polarise office building owned by Kaamos Kinnisvara was their first project where the building earned points for the virtual power plant solution implemented, which reduces the building’s energy consumption.

Nõulik says it is always a pleasure to collaborate with real estate developers and partners like Fusebox and set an example together. “It all starts with a mindset to make the real estate sector more sustainable,” confirms Nõulik, adding that the team members involved in the Polarise project were very cooperative during the certification process and were willing to step out of their comfort zone. Nõulik believes that Kaamos Avala Business Buildings, as a real estate developer, will certainly be a pioneer, focusing on the bigger picture and being one step ahead of others. “Today, Estonia may be somewhat behind among European countries, but sustainable solutions will eventually become the norm in our market.”

Forus also collaborates with other partners. For example, there are plans in the near future to help property owners and tenants contribute to the circular economy and offset the carbon footprint generated by energy consumption. Forus also provides consultancy services to real estate developers and owners on environmental and energy efficiency issues at every stage of a building’s life cycle.

Electricity consumption plays a significant role in office buildings, accounting for about 20% of the total building costs. To achieve LEED certification, it is necessary to demonstrate the ability to reduce the entire building’s electricity consumption by at least 10%. The solution was first tested on the Polarise office building, where intelligent electricity management allowed the requirement to be exceeded twofold without compromising indoor air quality.

According to Aleksandr Sepp, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Fusebox, most of the controllable flexibility in buildings comes from ventilation and heat pumps. “Our experience shows that an average-sized office building has approximately 1 MWh of electrical flexibility per month. By using Fusebox’s fully automated software, the building owner not only earns passive income for flexible consumption but also saves about 0.5 tons of CO2 emissions monthly.”

Flexible electricity consumption encompasses strategies and technologies that allow adjusting electricity consumption according to the conditions of the electrical grid. This includes timing of consumption, reducing energy consumption during peak hours, energy storage, and active utilization of renewable energy sources. Flexible consumption helps balance the electrical grid, reduce the risk of overload, and promote energy efficiency and sustainable energy use.

Fusebox and Forus will continue their collaboration to provide customers with even better energy efficiency and environmental solutions, and help real estate companies achieve their sustainability goals.

Fusebox, established in 2014, is the largest provider of electricity consumption management in the Baltic states. The company helps customers reduce electricity bills by optimizing consumption and earn additional income from the balancing market.

Forus is an Estonian company focused on creating a secure and sustainable environment. Forus operates in the fields of property management, maintenance, construction, energy efficiency, security, and safety services. Under the name Forus Takso, the company also provides taxi and executive car services, as well as transfer services, and the Forus Taxi app enables convenient daily transportation.

With a team of 1500 professionals, Forus is a reliable partner to its customers, utilizing their expertise and the best technologies to create smart and sustainable solutions tailored to businesses or homes.

Contacts:

Fusebox
Jaan Tiiman
Marketing and PR Manager
Tel: +372 525 6849
Email: jaan@fusebox.energy

Forus
Kairi Nõulik
Head of Energy Efficiency Department
Tel: +372 5307 9659
Email: kairi.noulik@forus.ee