• Promotion: 31,985.12 € (lighting Domplatz) + up to 10,000 € (voucher project in Stromspar-Check Plus)
• Timing of Funding: Cathedral Square: 2015, Electricity Saving Check Plus: 2015 and 2016
• Object of Funding: Efficiency measures by replacing old light bulbs with metal halide lamps with ceramic technology at Domplatz and replacing old refrigerators and freezers with high-efficiency A+++ appliances in low-income households.
• Target: Promoting climate protection through energy efficiency measures

The Municipal utilities Münster are involved in various projects, on the one hand to promote energy efficiency in their city in general, and on the other hand to explicitly raise the energy-saving potential in low-income households. The local energy provider finances these promotional measures proportionately with funds from its Green Electricity certified tariff Münster:natürlich.

In cooperation with the non-profit SKM GmbH, the municipal utilities subsidize a project of the Federal Association of Energy and Climate Protection Organizers of Germany (eaD) e.V. and the German Caritas Association. The "Voucher project in Electricity Saving Check Plus" helps people on low incomes to replace their old refrigerators and freezers with high power consumption with the most efficient appliances currently available with the A+++ label.

Participants can be reimbursed for up to 80 % of the purchase price of the new refrigerator. A flat rate of €150 is covered by the voucher project, while Stadtwerke Münster makes its additional subsidy dependent on the number of people living in the household in question. Individuals can receive an additional subsidy of €50. Households with four or more people receive a subsidy of €200. The prerequisite for both subsidies is that the new appliance can achieve annual energy savings of at least 200 kWh and that the old appliance is at least ten years old. In addition, the old refrigerator must not be reused and must be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

The background to the project is the fact that low-income households often use refrigerators that are real power guzzlers, as these have comparatively low purchase costs and buying a new, more efficient appliance is simply too expensive. For this reason, there is often great potential for energy savings in low-income households.

Another project deals with the replacement of old luminaires in public places in Münster. For example, a more efficient alternative was sought for the historic spherical luminaires located on Domplatz square. Since good illumination of the square is important, but other factors such as glare and the nature of the historic luminaires also had to be considered, only a few solutions came into question. Metal halide lamps with ceramic technology offered the best alternative under these special conditions, and it was thus possible to reduce the energy requirements of the lighting by 32.5 percent.