Technology that helps to help:

Rising energy prices pose enormous challenges for companies and private individuals alike. Quick and unbureaucratic help is needed here to provide sustainable and cost-effective solutions. This applies in particular to charitable organizations that want to invest every penny saved directly in the well-being of their protégés. As part of a donation campaign, the pawnbroker Erika Martetschläger GesmbH and the Rabmer Group are therefore equipping all SOS Children's Villages in Austria with a shower insert. The devices have already been installed in two-thirds of the facilities, and the last tranche was handed over on August 23 at the SOS Children's Village in Altmünster.

Altenberg, August 23, 2022 - Showering is increasingly becoming a luxury that puts a heavy strain on the household budget. Rising energy prices are causing the cost of heating water to skyrocket; there is currently no end in sight to the price increases. Neighbourhoods and accommodation run by non-profit organizations are also suffering from the additional burden. "In order to provide future generations of children with a future-proof, cost-efficient and loving home, a construction project has been launched at the SOS Children's Village in Altmünster. The shower inserts donated by Rabmer and Meier-Martetschläger are therefore very much needed. They are another valuable building block for houses built to the latest ecological standards. What we save with them benefits the residents of our facilities," explains Gerhard Pohl, Head of SOS Children's Villages in Upper Austria.

Austria-wide 220,000 euros less operating costs per year
The children's aid organization has twelve locations in Austria. Eight of these have already been equipped with water-saving systems over the past few months as part of the donation campaign organized by the pawnbroker Erika Martetschläger GesmbH together with the Rabmer Group. Now this innovative environmental technology is also being installed in the SOS Children's Villages Altmünster, Rechberg (both in Upper Austria), Stübing (Styria) and Seekirchen (Salzburg). "In Altmünster alone, we are talking about 60 showers that save the facility 2.3 million liters of water, 94,000 kWh of electricity and 31 tons_{of CO2} per year. This results in a reduction in operating costs of around 20,000 euros. As soon as the devices are installed in Altmünster, Rechberg, Stübing and Seekirchen, the children's aid organization will be using a total of 653 shower inserts supplied by Rabmer throughout Austria, saving 25 million liters of water, one million kWh of energy and 330 tons_{of CO2} every year. All in all, the operating costs of the SOS Children's Villages are reduced by 220,000 euros in the same period[1]," calculates Ulrike Rabmer Koller, Managing Director of the Rabmer Group. The Upper Austrian company specializes in environmental technology relating to water as a resource and renewable energy and sells the water-saving system worldwide.

The water-saving system supplied by Rabmer consists of shower inserts that are fitted between the shower fitting and the shower hose. They reduce the amount of water that flows into the hose by up to 50 percent, but allow the water to flow out at a higher pressure. "You don't notice that almost half of the water is saved in the shower. So the SOS Children's Villages do not lose any comfort with the water-saving system," continues Rabmer-Koller.

The handover of the 231 outstanding water-saving systems took place on August 23 at the SOS Children's Village in Altmünster and concludes a comprehensive donation campaign that began in 2021: "We are delighted that our donation will enable the SOS Children's Village facilities to drastically reduce their water consumption and operating costs - freeing up the annual funds for more important investments. In addition, the children's aid organization saves water and energy sustainably with the water-saving system and reduces its pollutant emissions. As I am committed to the principle of 'helping people to help themselves' in my donations, I find this project particularly sustainable in both senses of the word," says Karin Meier-Martetschläger.

[1] The calculation model was set up for the Austrian Federal Energy Efficiency Act and tested by TÜV Austria

Rabmer Managing Director Ulrike Rabmer-Koller, Gerhard Pohl from the SOS Children's Village Upper Austria, initiator Karin Meier-Martetschläger and Mayor of Altmünster Martin Pelzer