With the mall having opened for trade in 1990, the age of the building posed challenges to energy efficiency since many other pressing matters had to be attended to as well. Another challenge management faced was sourcing the correct energy services company (ESCo) to run with the various funding projects.As the savings in energy costs are often used to pay back the capital investment of the project over a five- to 20-year period,or reinvested into the building to allow for capital upgrades that may otherwise be unfeasible, the management team realised the importance of selecting the proper ESCo if the project were to eventually provide returns on investment.
Implementing
technologies
Identifying
the best suited technologies for this specific building formed a
fairly daunting task for the Mall’s management team. Some of these
included the spraying of the centre’s roof with heat-resistant
paint to minimise heat penetration into the centre, and the
installation of two brand-new chillers in order to achieve
substantial electricity savings. Further to this, cooling towers and
water reservoirs were installed to help maximise the centre’s
energy efficiency. Thanks to these developments, water is now cooled
overnight, then stored in the reservoirs. This cold water is then
pumped into the air-conditioning system, cooling the air which, in
turn, is distributed throughout the mall.Real-time metering
information technologies installed have enabled more effective
management of usage trends with the smart metering platform that
allows remote real-time metering.This
enables immediate action when matters go wrong, for instance a load
fluctuation or a failed power factor unit. Thus, by being proactive
and addressing the matter immediately, efficient usage can be
ensured, which results in savings.
Employee
involvement
All
employees, operations managers and staff at the centre are fully
aware of the energy-saving initiatives and are actively involved in
implementing these in day-to-day operations. The management team
believes this policy of involvement has been the key to its success
in reducing utility costs, resulting in lowered expenditure and
improving the company’s bottom line.
A
new benchmark
The
National Energy Barometer Survey is based on international
methodology standards, specifically developed for South African
conditions: the methodology, models, and scientific and mathematical
logic behind it have been applied and adapted for local use. Because
buildings vary greatly in size, location, climatic conditions, type
of use and service delivery, among others, this is all evaluated and
normalised for each industry.
For more information contact Braam Dalgiesh:
braam@energycybernetics.com or telephone 018 297-3460.
