Heating system connectivity: Data instead of continuous operation
Von Robert Woggon, Pressesprecher Deumess e.V.
In many buildings, heating systems run according to rigid patterns, regardless of actual demand. This means that huge potential for efficiency gains is being wasted, especially in existing buildings. Digital systems provide a solution here: they use current consumption, weather, and building characteristics to automatically optimize the heating system. Practical projects show that energy consumption is significantly reduced without any loss of comfort or costly renovations.
Reducing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in existing buildings is one of the most pressing goals of the real estate industry. Nevertheless, heating systems often operate inefficiently, especially in existing buildings: they produce heat according to a rigid schedule, sometimes around the clock, and largely without regard to actual demand. This “energy blind flight” not only causes unnecessarily high operating costs, but also counteracts any climate strategy. This is precisely where the concept of the digital boiler room comes in, which will also play an important role at a new trade fair for digital energy and building management in mid-October, Heikom in Erfurt. Kugu Home GmbH will also be exhibiting there, demonstrating how its smart energy optimization service works in practice – including its successful implementation in Leipzig in cooperation with Mess-Profis GmbH.
Transparency instead of continuous operation: How digital systems reduce primary energy consumption
For both partners, digitization in the boiler room means more than just remote control of the heating system: sensors, weather forecasts, consumption data, and the physical properties of the building are incorporated into a continuous and automated control system for the heating system. Kugu's solution calculates the optimal flow temperature, adapts heating phases to actual requirements, and thus prevents oversupply. The result: with no reduction in comfort, an average of over 20 percent in energy, costs, and CO₂ emissions can be saved. In addition, the costs are fully apportionable and therefore do not result in any additional burden for the owners. “At the same time, energy savings of 12 percent are contractually guaranteed, which in any case offsets the costs of the Kugu system,” says Christopher von Gumppenberg, managing director of Kugu. “Higher operating costs are therefore more than offset by lower consumption – tenants save money directly.”
The company's energy optimization service is based on a digital twin of the building, which is fed with sensor data in real time. Optimization is automated every 15 minutes, is compatible with almost all common heating controllers, and can be put into operation within a few hours. An additional advantage: the digital platform not only enables control, but also seamless monitoring, allowing potential problems to be identified early and reported automatically. This not only reduces energy consumption, but also significantly increases operational reliability and maintenance efficiency.
“We don't believe in one big renovation, but rather in small steps with a big impact. Our digital boiler room saves energy, CO₂, and costs – and makes existing buildings fit for the future,” says von Gumppenberg. "The system brings transparency to systems that were previously considered black boxes. This is how we create the basis for data-driven energy efficiency and an economical decarbonization strategy." Kugu now manages a total of around 20,000 buildings. In 2023, this will save 25 million kilowatt hours of energy, which corresponds to the average annual consumption of around 7,000 households.
A practical example from Leipzig: Cooperation at the customer's request
A current project in Leipzig demonstrates how the solution works in practice: At the request of KKS Leipziger Immobilienservice GmbH in Leipzig, Mess-Profis GmbH sought a digital solution for heating optimization for two high-quality older buildings. As a medium-sized subcontracting service provider, Mess-Profis, together with its sister company TEHA technischer Hausservice GmbH, services almost 220,000 residential units. Leipzig is one of nine locations nationwide.
Since the company provided the necessary sensor technology and readout infrastructure for heat and hot water itself, it still needed an intelligent system for data processing and control. The choice fell on Kugu. Jan Starke, managing director of Mess-Profis, sums it up: "There is no question that the real estate industry has a key role to play in the energy transition. If we can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in real estate, we as a company will be making a major contribution to climate protection. We achieve this on the one hand through transparency in energy consumption. On the other hand, Kugu's special solution comes into play here. We looked around the market intensively and found a number of advantages in Kugu's approach that we couldn't see in other providers."
Both residential buildings owned by KKS Leipziger Immobilienservice already had modern gas condensing boilers, but their energy efficiency needed to be further improved. The property on Simildenstraße in southern Leipzig has ten residential units, while the property on Waldstraße near the center of Leipzig has 21 residential units. In consultation with the measurement professionals, Kugu installed the sensor technology in both buildings within a single day and created a digital twin of the building based on its own measurements and building data. The system was ready for use on March 27, 2025.
Energy savings within a few days
The result: In the two selected older buildings on Simildenstraße and Waldstraße, Kugu optimization generated savings of 39 and 33 percent, respectively, within two months from the end of March to the end of May 2025: Energy consumption in Simildenstraße fell from 18,079 kWh to 10,982 kWh, while consumption in Waldstraße fell from 15,023 kWh to 10,057 kWh. Heating costs and CO₂ emissions fell by the same amount. This above-average reduction in consumption is also the result of the very high savings potential during the transition to spring and towards the end of the heating period.
Extrapolated over the heating period, this means a significant improvement in the energy efficiency class in both buildings. Overall, CO₂ reductions of 2.4 tons and energy cost savings of 850 euros have already been achieved in this short period of time. When asked about the economic efficiency of the system, Kugu CEO von Gumppenberg says: “At the moment, the system is certainly economical in buildings with five to seven units and above. However, with the CO₂ price set to rise in the future, this threshold will continue to fall steadily – especially in view of EU-wide trading from 2027 onwards.”
It is not only against this backdrop that KKS Leipziger Immobilienservice is satisfied with its digital boiler rooms, as Steffen Salheiser from the management team confirms: "With this system, we are killing two birds with one stone: on the one hand, we are fulfilling our social responsibility to support the energy transition. But just as important is that we keep energy costs in check, especially with a view to the future. This not only benefits the residents but also increases the value of our property."
Practical experience also shows that digital boiler rooms offer multiple advantages with increasing cost-effectiveness. Property managers can find out more about the system at HEIKOM 2025, which will take place on October 22th and 23th in Hall 1 of the Erfurt Exhibition Center. Heikom is organized as a trade fair for digital energy and building management by Deumess, the network for medium-sized and regional companies in the energy and real estate industry. More about Heikom at: www.heikom.net.
This article appeared in IVV Real Estate Rental and Management Ausgabe 6/2025.
