Property developers can go completely green or partially green when building without selling the family farm or spending lots of money.
Geldenhuys explains that electricity costs to operate a standard office building can roughly be divided up to 60 percent HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and 20 to 30 percent from lighting, computers and printers and other low emission equipment. In order to get the maximum benefit from green installation one needs to do lights and HVAC together.
According to Org Geldenhuys, managing director of property developing and marketing company, Abacus Divisions, going green shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Many low cost green features can be incorporated and can muster short payback periods for the developers.
Geldenhuys says there are a number of basic pointers that if followed, will enable property developers to go green without paying exorbitant prices and without developing a full blown green building.
Among the things to be considered includes:
- the installation of a solar geyser which would cost between R12 000 and R20 000
- the installation of an under counter geyser
- at a cost of R2 000, compact florescent lights and LED lights with occupancy and presence sensing features. This will cost less than R 1000 per unit.
- consider occupancy and presence sensing via sensors and basically switch off air conditioning units and lights if no one is working in the office
- use timers on air conditioners which could be programmed to start an hour later in the morning and cut power an hour earlier in the afternoons
- water can also be saved by designing and planting garden plants that do not need any water other than occasional rain water
“These are all low cost interventions that, if implemented, can put developers on the road to going green without having to sell the family farm,” he says.
Geldenhuys explains that electricity costs to operate a standard office building can roughly be divided up to 60 percent HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and 20 to 30 percent from lighting, computers and printers and other low emission equipment.
In order to get the maximum benefit from green installation one needs to do lights and HVAC together.
Full-on green aircon systems such as VRV are very expensive and costly to install, he says.
He adds that going green is more about an attitude and a willingness to make a difference and a desire to save money rather than having big budgets and deep pockets. – Denise Mhlanga
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