The poor state of the city's sports halls was documented three years ago by the City Sports Association and the administration in expert reports and surveys. About half of Bonn's gymnasiums need renovating. The conclusion at the time was that a total of about 150 million euros would be needed. This situation has not changed; on the contrary, some deficiencies are even more apparent today because of the energy crisis. Many gymnasiums have dilapidated heating systems that can be controlled only poorly or not at all and now are wasting a lot of energy.

One example is the school complex of the Heinrich-Hertz-Berufskolleg. In addition to the large sports hall that burned down, there are two smaller ones. The windows there are never closed, because otherwise the hot air would build up. Moreover, when people take showers, the water vapour cannot escape, which would lead to mould if the windows were closed. In the gymnasium of the Helmholtz-Gymnasium, athletes and students say there are only two heating settings: too warm or too cold. In other buildings, water drips through leaking roofs onto the gym floor.

In the long run, we are on the right track, explains Bernd Seibert of the City Sports Association. In the course of the survey, an architect's office has been commissioned for eight halls and is now looking more closely at the renovations. In addition, these studies are to be extended to 50 sports facilities. In the short term, however, this will hardly help, Seibert said. "We now keep asking our clubs to make their own contribution and save energy," he says. Do the lights really have to be on? Can't you also shower a minute shorter or even cold? - Questions openly asked among the athletes. "We are also prepared to accept temperature reductions. It must just not happen that there are halls closures again."

Many schools with older buildings, including the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium, are also struggling with their heating. In the old building on Ollenhauerstraße, the system cannot be controlled precisely enough, headmaster Frank Langner explains. "It's particularly difficult in the transition period when colder temperatures are expected, but it's still warm," he says. Pupils’ parents told the GA that the heating then comes on and the windows have to be opened so that the heat can escape from the rooms. "We have been drawing attention to this as a school for several years, but something has also been done," Langner says. In 2021, the city reacted: Some of the radiators were equipped with regulating knobs so that you can turn them down manually. In the current situation, in which one must "operate at the absolute lowest level", this still seems too little to Langner and his colleagues. "We just had a meeting in the college in which we agreed to write a letter to the mayor asking her to retrofit the remaining heating systems so that we can control them even more precisely."

The City of Bonn has confirmed the problems with heating systems, which not only affect schools and sports halls. However, when asked it did not say exactly how many buildings are affected. "Only a small part of the heating systems can be controlled remotely via the building management system. For all other systems, manual intervention is required on site," says the municipal building management (SGB). A of the heating systems need renovating but they are to be overhauled and replaced "in the course of the agreed climate neutrality". Nevertheless, savings are already possible and will be implemented. "Concepts and subsequent planning are being drawn up as to when and where which measures can be carried out. The objective is to modernise both the building shells (roofs, façades and windows) and the plant technologies, with heat generation being as renewable as possible and photovoltaic systems contributing to electricity generation," the SGB said.

Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach

Translation: Jean Lennox