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RvB project Middelburg

24/7 Optimisation

At the request of the Dutch Government Real Estate Agency (RVB), VBoptimize was tested in the Middelburg Government Office as part of the Green Innovations Programme (PGI). The pilot aimed to evaluate the impact of predictive climate control on energy use, CO₂ emissions and user comfort.

Challenge
The building already had a geothermal energy system (WKO), but faced increasing thermal imbalance and limited control flexibility. The challenge was to reduce energy consumption and emissions without compromising comfort or system reliability, and to improve the thermal balance of the WKO system.

Solution
In collaboration with Unica and the RVB, VBoptimum first carried out a one-time optimisation of the building management system and HVAC installations. These preparatory improvements were implemented in close cooperation with Robert Iden from Unica. Afterwards, VBoptimize (powered by ecoBuilding) was deployed to provide predictive, data-driven control of the climate systems. During the test period, VBoptimize was temporarily disabled to measure the isolated effect of its algorithmic control.

Collaboration
This pilot was carried out in collaboration with the Government Real Estate Agency, Vanbeek (data monitoring & analysis), Unica (installation partner) and VBoptimum.

Results

  • Energy savings from algorithmic control: A controlled test (VBoptimize on/off) showed a 14% reduction in energy use per heating degree day, purely from predictive algorithmic control.
  • Total gas savings: When including the effect of the initial HVAC and BMS optimisations, gas consumption (weather-corrected) was 26% lower over the year—or up to 44% when excluding January 2025.
    • Why such a large difference? In January, a WKO malfunction forced the system to rely fully on gas boilers, causing an unusually high gas use in that month.
  • CO₂ emissions reduced: CO₂ output per degree day was 15% lower during operation of VBoptimize.
  • Comfort maintained: All monitored zones met climate class A/B standards. One temporary deviation was caused by radiator replacements and was unrelated to VBoptimize.
  • Improved WKO balance: In 2024, the thermal imbalance in the WKO system decreased by 13%, reversing the trend of previous years.
  • Algorithm uptime: VBoptimize was active 88% of the time during the pilot, with interruptions due to a planned test phase and a WKO-related outage.