CELSIUS is one of Europe’s largest Smart Cities projects, aimed at contributing to sustainable energy systems by making European cities invest more resources into district heating. Key energy players will gather in Lyon February 21-22 to exchange experiences and discuss solutions aimed at pushing the envelope of energy development even further. Among these experts is Regin Product Director Gunnar Åberg, who has been invited to speak in front of a pan-European audience.

“I’m going to focus on the importance of strengthening customer relations – for instance, by offering them better service. An on-line district heating plant, for example, can report any problems to the energy company directly. It is also possible to visualize customers’ energy consumption and help the end user to be actively engaged in lowering their consumption on their own”, Gunnar Åberg says.

Must offer something special

He is looking forward to see how services developed for the Swedish market by Regin will be received in other European markets, in which district heating is often seen as a newcomer hoping to compete with pre-existing, fossil fuel-based heating systems. As a newcomer, this method of heating must offer something special.

This is where Regin comes in, as these services benefit greatly from integration into district heating network control systems that gather data on energy consumption and usage. This way, they can become a hub between the supplier and end customer.

What do you hope the audience will gain after listening to you?

“The knowledge that district heating companies can further increase revenue when supplying energy if they create on-line systems and offer their customers additional services. For instance; energy grids can be optimized, permitting the end customer to choose a payment plan where the energy company lowers domestic heating output at times when available output from eco-friendly energy sources are at a minimum. The customer, in turn, receives a discount.”

Read more about the meeting here.

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The memorandum includes the assertion that Indonesia will aim to use 23 percent renewable energy by 2025. They have been challenged by Sweden to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. The memorandum also details joint policy developments to be carried out by the two countries, along with both bilateral and international cooperation.

Having led the delegation, Swedish Minister of Energy Mr. Ibrahim Baylan points out that the dialogue is now most assuredly taking a new turn. 10 years ago, the question in focus was simply who was going to foot the bill. Today, there is awareness of the fact that energy efficiency creates new jobs in society, offering increased growth and making industry more efficient.

Indonesia part of export strategy

Much like the Swedish government, the Swedish Energy Agency has made Indonesia a priority for Team Sweden Energy, thereby marking it as one of the countries with the greatest potential for Sweden’s export strategy. 

“We greatly welcome the fact that Indonesia is now also a IEA partner country. The country’s increased presence in various multilateral forums bodes well for the future, seeing as how the climate issue and the development of renewable energy are truly international questions. There is much we can learn from each other through international cooperation, both through policy discussions as well as joint research and development projects. Innovative businesses in Sweden have a part to play in the global transition between different energy systems. The Swedish Energy Agency has been tasked with supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in finding new possibilities in new markets”, says Paul Westin, energy counsellor at the Swedish Embassy in Jakarta.

For Regin, this motivates further investmanrs into energy efficiency, both in Sweden and internationally. “Using our technology in conjunction with various political incentives will enable us to go far together”, says Stefan Blom.

Long-term energy efficiency is not just about supplying products and solutions. The most important aspect is to increase awareness and initiative among property owners all over the world. Many hope that market forces alone will succeed in doing this through increasing savings and property values, but this system has its flaws according to Stefan Blom. His message regarding this journey is clear: policy instruments used together with adaptive market forces will enable us to attract and influence all organizations into improving their climate policies.

“Hong Kong provides many good examples. There, buildings were recognized as one of the major culprits in energy consumption as far back as 1998. This led to policies being enacted in 2012 regarding just how much energy a single building is permitted to use. This is something that should also be studied by others”, says Stefan Blom.

International cooperation in focus

Efforts must be made from several directions at once. Political processes take far longer than commercial ones, and as such there is much to win from traveling as a delegation.

As the newly appointed chairman of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Mr. Baylan will represent not only the voice of Sweden but also speak for many others. His presence is immensely important in order to ensure and exemplify a long-term commitment at a political level.

“For Regin, traveling with this delegation means we have an opportunity both to inform and to discuss the merits of energy efficiency with policy makers at a considerably higher level than normally, both politically and at a corporate level.” As a company, our job lies in ensuring that peoples investments pay off fast.

Being able to provide information on various gains, in combination with the policy making process initiated by Minister of Energy Mr. Baylan, will enable Stefan Blom to return to customers in five years time with the issue at hand still remaining relevant.

“I am convinced this will be well received among the people with whom our delegation will meet during our days in Indonesia. At Regin, we have excellent solutions for energy efficiency and are already established in the region with a competent and committed organization and partner network to ensure service and support”, says Regin Sales Manager Stefan Blom.

How would you summarize the way the company has developed throughout all these years?

“I’ve been with the company for almost 36 years and can truly say Regin has made an incredible journey. We’ve gone from a company manufacturing simple products to one offering comprehensive energy saving solutions. These days, we focus a lot on discussing how best to create a sustainable future where people are comfortable in the buildings where they live and work. Today we’re a comprehensive supplier with a dedicated, competent staff enjoying great trust from our customers. I’m extremely proud, and the ongoing commitment of everyone involved fills me with positive energy.”

How will you celebrate the company anniversary?

“Throughout 2017, we will be celebrating our 70-year-old in several different ways. All plans aren’t entirely complete as of yet, but of course we’ll post regular updates in our website newsfeed and via social media. I hope all our colleagues and customers feel the same joy as I do over being so close to such a stable company, where all the collective experience and knowledge offers new opportunities each and every day.”

See you at ISH 2017!

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Wednesday at 17:30: German / Swedish Night 

Thursday at 17:30: Italian / Swedish Night

Located in Helsingborg, McNeil manufactures pharmaceutical products, such as the Nicorette brand of nicotine gum and patches to help smokers quit their habit. Different steps in the manufacturing process all have different limits for humidity and temperature in order to guarantee product quality, and all rooms have sensors that trigger alarms if these limits are breached. The rigorous demands on climate safety during manufacturing have for many years made error handling a huge task which has generated a massive paper trail.

“We deliver our products to a global market, basically, and government supervision is especially strict in the United States. Frequently, they’ll want to review historical data to see any deviations we’ve experienced in our manufacturing facilities, requiring us to print out graphs from at least two years back. Since our entire credibility depends on this, it’s extremely important.”, says Rickard Öhman who works as a control engineer at McNeil.

Previously, he’s been forced to fill in forms and handle all paperwork by himself, but that’s all in the past. Now he’s got his hands on a pre-release version of Regin’s upcoming EXOscada system. The system demands a digital signature every time someone wishes to change a setting, requiring the user to sign in and specify exactly why the change is being made. All changes are constantly registered and all information is saved to the system.

A massive global pressure

“We’ve experienced a massive pressure to introduce these functions: from USA, Asia, Ireland as well as from Sweden. This will be of enormous benefit to our customers in fields with high demands for reliability and traceability”, says Regin product manager Gunnar Åberg.

Water & sewage plants is one example where monitoring personnel were previously required to wear a special wristband linking them to the computer via a USB port, thereby ensuring they were automatically logged out when leaving their workstation. All to prevent unauthorized individuals from making any changes to the system. Now, this physical safety lock is no longer required.

A huge save on labour

For McNeil, this new function means no longer being restricted to a single computer for systems control. Instead, it is now possible to access this function from any system and to make changes. Besides, Rickard Öhman will receive an automatic warning message if someone attempts to penetrate the system by systematically testing out a series of incorrect passwords.

“I am just incredibly pleased. We hope for a huge save on labour, seeing as how this will present a much more flexible way of working. I installed this only last week. It’s an entirely new way of thinking. If it works the way I hope it will, I see only advantages.

“There is a huge potential to increase the pace at which public buildings can be made energy efficient.  Quite little is actually done when compared to what could be accomplished”, says Anders Torsell.

Big investments are cumbersome

One of the main goals of the ongoing climate efforts is for the public sector to set a good example. Critics, however, say that players often hamper their own efforts, in that it is difficult to get major investments approved. In the long run, this means profitable energy saving measures are not carried out.
“Municipal transaction times during large investments, including planning and purchasing, are slow and cumbersome. Many inquiries end up in a wastebasket rather than as fully realized projects. For instance, energy saving measures related to building automation are often sidelined due to a lack of investment funds, all while measures controlled by direct legal requirements are given a higher priority.”

Step by step
Energy efficient buildings are of crucial importance if climate goals are to be reached. Today, the technology required is already available on the market and ready to be implemented, with a tremendous know-how available within the industry. One solution is to work in steps when upgrading building portfolios by gradually carrying out measures and expanding existing systems. This means reduced investment costs but still offers enormous returns. Already on the first day, the implemented measures can result in greatly saved energy costs and a reduced climate impact. 
“The most important part is getting started. This also includes measuring energy consumption, thereby enabling the property owner to pinpoint the location of the most expensive buildings in his portfolio. If actors within the public sector can only get this far, and if they can be made to see that they can save millions in only a single year, it ensures continued cooperation where the money saved from a single building can be used to improve the efficiency in others”, says Anders Torsell.

Facts - The potential of Swedish municipalities

7 billion SEK in reduced energy costs 
There are enormous economic gains to be made by assessing building management costs. 
According to inquiries made by the SKL (Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions), energy savings of up to 25 % could be fully realized within the next 20 years. This would equate approximately 7 billion SEK annually in reduced energy costs for publicly owned buildings.

There are climate targets to reach and money to be saved. However, building energy efficiency is still not a priority for many property owners, even though it should be. To remedy this, new solutions are required. As part of an international energy conference in Paris, Regin, as one of only a few chosen companies, has been invited to an exclusive roundtable discussion. Other participants include Sweden’s Minister of Energy, Mr. Ibrahim Baylan, the head of the IEA and a representative of Schneider Electric.
“Companies like ours must cooperate to reach a common industry standard. Furthermore, there are presently no overarching policies or political instruments to increase the desire among businesses and consumers to install new and energy efficient control technology”, states Johan Ohlsson, Managing Director at Regin.

Accelerated write-off periods
Investments in building automation technology can be perceived as costly. This is especially true since a common behaviour is to value short-term rather than long-term profits. However, solutions do exist that are profitable almost immediately after having been installed.
“The potential is unlimited. Each and every year Swedish property owners lose billions in unnecessary energy bills. This requires incentives, such as accelerated write-off times or other tax breaks, in order for us to reach a milestone sooner. The opportunities for energy efficiency must be placed much higher on the political agenda. These questions should have a natural place in the ongoing energy debate.

Steps towards energy efficiency
Regin wishes to see specific national directives drawn up in order to meet climate targets. A first step would be to set a time frame for when all Swedish buildings should be capable of online communication. The next step would be to legally decide which information from an online building should be made public.
“If guidelines can be set in place concerning which programming language to use in building automation and which measurement values should be made available and public, we can greatly accelerate the overall process for energy efficiency. Every kilowatt hour not used will benefit both the climate and your wallet.”

Colleagues, not competitors
Paving the way for an even bigger step forward requires cooperation. Regin wishes to contribute to an industry of innovation and influence, in which everyone works together.
“We don’t have time to view other businesses as competitors. We’re industry colleagues, and that requires up-front cooperation. We need to sit down at the same table and join in some constructive discussions. This would enable both the whole industry and the process of energy efficiency to evolve much faster”, says Johan Ohlsson.

This Friday sees Stefan Blom of Regin meeting up with Sweden’s Minster of Energy and a handful of other companies to plan an upcoming trip to India with the Swedish Energy Agency. This is a direct follow-up to an earlier tour of India; a country in great need of energy efficient technology. This time however, the selected companies will be accompanied by the minister and the different parties will give presentations together.

“This is wonderful, of course! At Regin, we constantly discuss these energy issues, live with them and have a passion for them. We really do believe we’re making a difference in the world. The Minster of Energy coming along will give these questions a lot more attention", says Stefan Blom.

Reliability and openness
The meeting will serve to fine-tune the strategy for presentations around India, allowing the speakers to decide on which issues to jointly press. Stefan Blom views the minister’s role as paving the way for Swedish technology, explaining how Swedish companies stand for safety, reliability and openness. Regin and the other technology manufacturers will press the fact that Sweden is far ahead in energy technology, further highlighting solutions that can make a considerable difference.

“I believe we’re helping the minister by accompanying him to discuss concrete steps to take while he forges relations between our countries. We might walk into a shopping center or a hotel and in detail show just how much energy can be conserved while Mr. Baylan authoratively demonstrates that Sweden can be trusted.”

Raising Swedish issues
While the tour presents an opportunity to press a common Swedish agenda in India, Stefan Blom also views it as an opportunity to inform the minister of current issues within the Swedish energy industry. Among other things, he would like to point out the enormous opportunity for saving energy in government and municipal buildings, schools and hospitals: a process which could be sped up considerably if it were politically motivated.

“We would like Sweden and Europe to become aware of the fact that 40 % of our energy consumption comes from buildings. We would like to shift focus from only discussing car emissions to how buildings must also reduce their energy use. Various political instruments could be used to work towards this purpose”, says Stefan Blom.

Many kinds of benefits
Primarily, however, India is in focus; a market where Stefan Blom sees Regin making a difference in more than one way. Regin wishes to supply the actual technology while letting its partner companies in India install it. Only a marginal sum of project gains would benefit Regin in Sweden. The rest would remain locally, in India.

“Of course we wish to sell our products, but contributing the basic technology will simultaneously generate both an intrest in energy efficiency as well as job opportunities in India. Our core value here is that a large part of the profit remains while helping them to get started.”

This year’s annual partner network get-together saw around fifty of Regin’s certified system integrators meeting up on an ocean cruise. For individuals working with Regin’s advanced control systems, this event presents a golden opportunity to generate new business, strengthening networking within specific areas and to see how industry colleagues are working; increasing collaboration to generate success.

Do your company also want to be a certified and be a part of the Regin partner network?

Contact us at info[at]regin.se or 031  - 720 02 00.

With approximately 240 million inhabitants, Indonesia is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. The country plans for sustainable urban development, constantly upgrading its existing infrastructure with demands placed on decreased energy consumption.
“There are a great number of hotels in Asia, especially on the Indonesian island of Bali, which is a highly expansive region. A number of hotels are either constructing new resorts or are faced with substantial demands for renovations, requiring the replacement of old building automation solutions. Regin can contribute greatly to this process”, says Michael Johansson.

Sheraton and Marriott
August saw Regin participating in a delegation visiting Indonesia, organized by the Swedish Energy Agency and Business Sweden. Its aim was to establish connections between Swedish and Indonesian companies, allowing them to reach business agreements contributing to increased energy efficiency throughout the country. Regin met with the Green Building Council of Indonesia, further introducing the company to several large hotel groups whose portfolios include luxury hotels such as Mariott and Sheraton.
“We introduced our Room Automation Solution product range, capable of controlling heating and cooling in both a single room as well as an entire hotel complex. For instance, hotel temperatures are set based on occupancy levels and whether or not guests are currently present in their rooms.”

New employment opportunities
Regin takes a long-term view of its Indonesian relations, and personnel at the company offices in Jakarta are now working towards further strengthening our network of contacts. The investment into Indonesia and other countries surrounding the Pacific Rim can mean the creation of new jobs both within Regin and local industries.
“There was a huge interest in our solutions. Our big advantage is our ability to offer on-site support. Through our Jakarta offices we are presently building a strong partner network with certified integrators in Indonesia familiar with our products”, says Regin Business Area Manager Michael Johansson.

Here at Regin, we like comprehensive solutions and together with our customers we’re constantly looking for new, smart solutions for energy efficiency. We’ve chosen to call a part of this work Ready-Steady-Go. This is a range of products that are extremely easy to install, quick to get into operation and are ideal for both large and small projects. We’ve applied the same thinking for the recipes.

Bon appetit and a fantastic summer from everyone at Regin!

Download it as a PDF here.

We are here all summer!

During the summer (4th of July - 19th of August) our Swedish offices have the following opening hours:

Monday - Thursday 8:00 - 16:30
Friday 8:00 - 15:00
Closed for lunch 12:00 - 13:00

Regular opening hours:

Monday - Friday 7:00 - 16:30

Today’s building automation products use digital communication protocols, enabling several units to exchange information. The design of these protocols, however, makes using them difficult for laymen who are not building automation technicians. This limits development, leading to a loss in business opportunities.
“It is high time to look to the IT industry at large and to implement their own, more well-known communication protocols for use in our own products. This would open the market to an entirely different set of actors, enabling them to develop services and functions based on the information made available through our systems.”

Regin is the challenger
Numerous prominent actors in building automation – Siemens and Honeywell among them – have helped pave the way for industry standards. There are now products with open, on-line protocols that can communicate with one another regardless of individual brands. But Regin wants to go even further than this.
“In spite of these protocols being open and on-line, their use is still limited to within our own industry, thereby reducing their range of application. Were we instead to implement protocols used by the IT industry at large, an exceptional amount of new users can enter into our field and begin to accelerate the rate of development”, says Gunnar Åberg.

Powering new development
Together with customers and development partners in other sectors, Regin creates new fields in which their products can be of interest. And the potential is enormous, especially considering the Internet of Things and today’s wired homes. For instance, data from outdoor sensors could provide hundreds of thousands of new control points for weather measurement, to be compared with the far fewer weather stations in use today.
“We don’t want only to future-proof our own products, but also to help implement building automation into a much larger context. Of course, we’re looking to keep our current customers, but we can also come up with brand new services for the end user or completely different fields in which to implement the functionality of our products”, says Regin product manager Gunnar Åberg.

Companies working with energy-efficiency must keep the condition of the building in mind when designing the system, selecting a control system that can meet the needs of that particular project.  Applying new solutions that in the long run contribute to overall climate targets must be done in as little time as possible, not to jeopardize company profitability and capacity.
- Complex systems set the limits for energy efficiency in buildings. The challenge for the industry is to produce tools that make it easy to realise ideas.

The everyday reality of users is the central focus
For many years, Regin has worked with an international partner network of integrators. The international reference group is present at an early stage in the product development process for testing and evaluation purposes.
- Having a close dialogue with system users and working with their challenges is important. You may have perfectly capable systems, but if they’re not user-friendly, the overall focus will be on technical issues instead of what’s really important - improving operations and saving energy, says Gunnar Åberg.

Time is a deciding factor
The Dutch control technology company RT2000 is part of the partner network and provide input on Regin’s product development. This is very valuable since they use the systems daily and know what the end user expects.
- It is important for us to have a dialogue and to be able to exercise influence. Whether the installation is small or large, time and simplicity are deciding factors. Installation must be swift and it must be easy for the user to make sure the system is functioning optimally at all times, says Robert Wouterse, owner of RT2000.

Regin Energy Saver Awards will draw attention to integrators and installers who save energy using Regin products and intelligent systems for building automation. The aim is to move focus from just products to the positive effects of using them, for customers and for the world.

- A lot of our sales are motivated by lowered costs for the customer, but reducing the energy consumption in buildings is what matters the most. We achieve it together with our partners through developing long-term solutions. Creativity, innovation and simplicity are factors that make a difference not only in product development but also when it comes to the implementation. That is what this award aims to show, says Stefan Blom.

From big to small

The award goes to projects finalized in 2015 and submitted to AB Regin by March 1st. A jury with long experience and broad expertise in efficient energy use appoints the winners. It consists of representatives from the Swedish Energy Agency, E.ON, three real estate companies and AB Regin. Three categories award the most energy saving solution, the most future-oriented solution and a simple installation with big impact.

- With small, simple means you can achieve a lot. Everyone knows that buildings represent 40 per cent of the energy consumption in Europe. The small ones are just as significant as the large, which is an important point. We want to develop the whole range, says Stefan Blom.

The good side of the industry

The prize ceremony will take place at the Regin stand at the construction industry exhibition Nordbygg in Stockholm in April, attracting visitors from all continents.

- We want to show the good side of the industry. By highlighting the good work done by winners and nominees, we hope that as many people as possible will understand the importance of building automation, says Stefan Blom.

The new UK and Ireland website has been designed similar to all other Regin websites providing the ultimate user-friendly experience, navigation and functionality throughout, allowing customers to access and download detailed product information if required.

We ask you to have a regular visit to learn about some of the most recent and exciting projects that we have been involved in and new products we have launched.  

Drop us a line if you require any assistance.

Wishing you a success 2016

Howard Wilson – Managing Director

Our Head office will be opened in July as follows:

Normal opening hours will resume on monday 3 August 2015.

Monday-Friday 8:00 to 16:30

For sales related and technical questions, please contact your local sales office 

We wish all of our customers and partners a nice and relaxing summer.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.