Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Supplement
Contents
Executive EditorPatrick Michael
Supplements EditorSuchitra Steven Samuel
Director AdvertisingHaroon Qureshi
Senior Advertising Manager(Supplements)Philip Smith
Dubai Head Office:P.O. Box 11243Tel: +971 4 3383535Fax: +971 4 3383345/[email protected]
Abu Dhabi:P.O. Box 3082Tel: +971 2 6337666Fax: +971 2 [email protected]
An Initiative by:
Feedback: [email protected]
Printed at:Galadari Printing & Publishing L.L.C
July 15, 2012
How much money are your buildingswasting?If you think this question doesn’t meritan answer, think again. Did you knowthat for the past four years, the electricitytariff has gone up by more than 100 percent in Dubai for big facilities?
For a better perspective onthe subject, consider these facts: theUAE has one of the highest per capitacommercial energy consumption rates inthe world. Globally, approximately 60 percent of energy is consumed by buildingswhich contribute to over one-third ofgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.Buildings are thus the single largestsource of GHGs produced by humanactivity.
For the last five years, the UAEhas consistently held the bottom spot inWorld Wildlife Fund (WWF) league tables
of world per capita energy consumptionchiefly due to its reliance on fossilfuels to run cooling systems all yearround and use of desalination plants toproduce drinking water.
The country’s electricity demandhas doubled over the last decade from35 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) to over70 billion kWh, which represents a hugeincrease in per capita energy use. Notsurprisingly, the built environment playsa major role in this growth in per capitaconsumption; with up to 60 per cent ofits electricity consumption used either incooling or lighting buildings.
According to Sougata Nandi,Chief Executive Officer, Pacific ControlSystems LLC, Dubai, “Improving ourbuilt environment is probably the singlegreatest opportunity to protect andenhance the natural environment.Steps taken to measure, monitor andcontrol energy consumption can lead toefficiency improvements that translateinto real economic savings. Cuttingenergy costs not only boosts yourbuilding’s annual net operating income, italso raises the value of your building.”
The United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP) states that ‘noother sector has such a high potential
Reducing the CarbonFootprint of the UAEFootprint of the UAE
Waste Management Green Events Corporate SocialResponsibility
Sustainability 3 9 10 12
Supplement
for drastic emission reductions as buildings.While relying on tactics such as reducing airconditioning usage or turning off lights whennot in use have only a minimal impact andcould also sacrifice one’s comfort level, thereal need of the hour is to achieve large scaleemissions reductions by optimising energy usethrough advanced control techniques.
This is precisely the rationale behindthe launch of a nationwide project in the UAElate last year to cut power use in buildings.Called the Emirates Energy Star Program,this initiative - developed in partnership withEtisalat and Pacific Controls, a companyrenowned for its innovative solutions inbuilding automation and control systems -seeks to connect all buildings in the countrythrough a technology that will effectivelyhelp reduce the carbon footprint of thecountry through efficient energy consumptionmanagement.
The Emirates Energy Star projectharnesses the Information, Communication,Technology (ICT) enabled M2M (machine-to-machine) technology of Pacific Controls, tosubstantially reduce energy consumption fororganizations, with an aim to bring down thecarbon footprint of the country by 20 per centby 2015.
“There are several ongoing initiativesboth in the UAE and across the world toachieve global reduction emissions but youneed technology to rapidly deploy the conceptthat will enhance the number of projects and
thereby accelerate whole penetration into themarket,” says Nandi. “Thus instead of workingon five buildings at a time, you need to literallywork on 5,000 simultaneously.”
Assuming there are 100,000 buildingsin the UAE that can benefit from the EmiratesEnergy Star program, linking each one to theprogram within a span of five years wouldrequire tremendous manpower and time ifthe project were to be executed building bybuilding. Instead, he explains, “if we couldconnect those buildings and bring them allinto one central location at Pacific Controls, itbecomes very easy to optimize the operationof these buildings using limited manpower anda reliable software platform.”
The life cycle operational managementof the project is supported by Galaxy, asoftware platform developed by PacificControls that works in tandem with theconnectivity enabled by Etisalat’s extensivenetwork. “We go into a building, identify thekey energy consuming equipment and hookthem up into a remote monitoring panel,”elaborates Nandi.
“Through the Etisalat network, we pullthat information using a SIM card to the GlobalCommand Control Centre (GCCC) at thePacific Controls headquarters in Jebel Ali andwe then get virtual control of the building. TheGalaxy analysis provides all the informationrequired to reduce energy consumption. It alsoallows for predictive maintenance programs.Once a building has been enrolled in the
“Globally, approximately
60 per cent of energy is
consumed by buildings
which contribute to over
one-third of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. ”
Supplement
“ Improving our built
environment is probably
the single greatest
opportunity to protect
and enhance the natural
environment. ”
Emirates Energy Star program, in the earlystages of monitoring, operational issues will beidentified and used to develop a maintenanceplan designed to maximise energy efficiencyand minimise costs,” he says.
“On average, we mostly come acrossbuildings consuming energy worth Dh1million to Dh2 million annually and a single bighotel in Dubai consumes energy worth Dhs40 million annually,” he adds. “With the fullimplementation of this project, these will bedramatically reduced.”
Retrofitting existing commercial andgovernment buildings with energy savingcontrols systems are leading to savings of 10to 35%, says Nandi.
“When these results are shown to thebuilding owner, he begins to see a completelydifferent picture of his own building. He nowhas data that is in real time which is muchmore tangible to him. Before linking to the
program, most landlords do not really knowwhat the energy consumption of their buildingis on a daily basis. But now, users can accessthese real-time trend reports, identify importantdata profiles and view performance issues,”he explains.
Amongst the immediate benefits ofjoining the Emirates Energy Star program is areduction in energy use and therefore, lowerutility bills. Participating companies also gainrecognition for supporting a green initiative.
In addition to saving money onutility bills, joining the program can improvecustomer and staff comfort and satisfactionlevels; reduce maintenance costs and system
failures and increase equipment life andbuilding value.
Linking buildings to the EmiratesEnergy Star program makes it possible toreduce energy consumption by up to 30 percent, says Sougata Nandi. “Of all operatingcosts, energy use is the most controllableone. Every kilowatt hour saved helps reducean equivalent value of carbon emissionparticularly in the UAE where every kilowatthour is fossil fuel-generated. Being part of thisprogram will enable companies to help theUAE meet its targets set in the Kyoto protocoland thereby support global change initiatives.”
The target is to connect 100,000buildings in Dubai to the system within fiveyears, he adds.
Under the program, buildings are alsorated using a star scheme based on the levelsof savings achieved and this widely-recognizedstar rating can be used to gain credibility as a
sustainable business and to make the buildingmore attractive to potential tenants andcustomers.
This program can easily co-exist withexisting standards and rating systems suchas Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign (LEED) and the Estidama rating systemintroduced in Abu Dhabi.
“This program is also significant in thatit is the only one which enables us to managehundred thousand buildings - all operatingwith entirely different systems – by usingone software platform,” says Nandi. “Eachbuilding operates with different systems thattalk multiple different languages. To get a
Supplement
program that enables us to talk to all thosevaried equipment, bring them to a platformwhich is readable and understandable bythe owners of the building is one of the moreunique features of the program.”
The key message here, he adds, “isthat this is a program that can take the fightto climate change rather easily. There was adeficit of a program like this where you couldimplement energy conservation measures veryrapidly across thousands of buildings usingone unified program. The Emirates Energy Starprogram fills that void very nicely.”
Currently, 20 organisations in the UAEhave been connected under the program.These include Etisalat, Dubai Municipality,Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Al Ansari RealEstate, First Gulf Bank, Jumeirah Plaza, andDanat Al Nahda.
“You cannot fight climate changesolely by implementing comprehensive energyconservation programmes in one building ata time,” concludes Nandi. “What you needis a program like Emirates Energy Star thatinstantly reduces hundreds of thousands ofCO2 emissions each year.”
“ Emirates Energy Star
program aims to connect
100,000 buildings in
Dubai to the system
within five years. ”
The energy saving of 12% predicted fromthe first of two stages was achieved astargeted.
Approach taken for energyoptimization
Pacific Controls surveyed the building andproposed a staged energy managementsolution as follows:
Stage 1Provide remote monitoring and control onthe fresh air handling units, fan coil units byoptimum start stop and temperature resetbased on occupancy schedule. Sensorbased lighting control system for lightingcircuits.The projected savings from Stage 1 is up to20% against the existing baseline.
Stage 2The temperature of the chilled water andeach individual chiller will be varied basedon the building load and scheduled basedon occupancy. The projected savings fromStage 2 is up to 23% against the existingbaseline.
Summary of Benefits Obtained1. Unnecessary Running Hours reduced,
increase in equipment life and decreasein equipment life cycle cost
2. Reduction in the Chiller demand andenergy consumed indirectly byscheduling FAHU
3. Continuous Savings achieved asmeasured by the comparison to thebaseline.
4. Real savings of up to 20% achieved.5. Return on investment – 24 months.
Case Study: DP World- Lob 17, Dubai
