The Diputació de Barcelona, an institution that provides technical and financial support to 311 municipalities and covers 74% of the Catalan population, promotes the energy transition of public buildings through audits that provide a diagnosis of actual energy consumption and identify inefficiencies in lighting, air conditioning, building envelope, water, gas, consumption control and management, as well as gas and electricity supply tariffs, among other aspects. In this way, the data obtained are intended to become a roadmap for implementing improvements that guarantee a more efficient and sustainable operation of educational buildings. Furthermore, with the support of these audits, the Diputació de Barcelona advances towards compliance with EU objectives, bringing educational buildings closer to a nearly zero-energy consumption model.
The energy audits carried out by Esitec correspond to 24 schools in the province of Barcelona over a period extending from 2022 to 2024. These audits arise from the need to objectively assess the energy status of public educational facilities managed by the Diputació de Barcelona in order to align them with the sustainability and energy efficiency criteria of the 21st century.
In 2022, audits were carried out in 10 centres: in Terrassa, the projects included CFA La Llar, CEE Fàtima and EBM Ginesta; in Llavaneres, Escola Serena Vall and Escola Jaume Llull; in Òdena, EBM Els Vailets and EBM L’Avió de Paper; in Fonollosa, EBM Reixics; in Casserres, Escola Princesa Làscaris; and in Sant Fost de Campsentelles, Escola Joaquim Abril.
In 2023, 8 additional centres were audited: in Terrassa, the facilities included EBMS Vallparadís, CEE El Pi and Escola Conservatori de Música; in Mollet del Vallès, Escola del Bosc, Escola Joan Abelló and Escola Montseny; in La Llagosta, Escola Les Planes; and in Santa Margarida de Montbui, Escola Montbou.
In 2024, the remaining audits were carried out in 6 centres: in Terrassa, EBM L’Esquitx, EBM Giravolt and EBM Tabalet; in La Llagosta, Escola Sagrada Família; in Olesa de Bonesvalls, EBM Marrec; and in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, EBM Xiulet.
Among the most notable interventions are the replacement of conventional lighting with LED systems incorporating presence sensors and DALI regulation, improvements to thermal insulation and building enclosures, the installation of photovoltaic self-consumption systems, and the implementation of energy monitoring systems (BMS) to control and optimise consumption in real time. This set of interventions makes it possible to achieve a total annual energy saving of 2,327,358.28 kWh and an estimated total annual economic saving of €560,111.98, consolidating a clear commitment to more sustainable energy management in the public education sector.
