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Commerce conservation drive
Anyone who believes that it's impossible to make significant water and power savings on an existing building without a large financial investment should speak to Jagath Gunawardena. As chief engineer at the Dubai Chamber (DC) head office he has instigated and overseen changes over the past ten years that have resulted in a 60% reduction in water use in the facility and a power consumption rate that is far below the national average. And yet more changes are planned.
In a move instigated by the DC director general Hamad Mubarak Buamim, Dubai-based consultancy Global Tech has recently completed an environmental audit of the building to determine the achievements so far and offer suggestions for future adaptations. The results are even more impressive given the age and operation of the building. "This is the first time that an independent audit has been carried out on a working building in Dubai. It's a positive example of someone taking the initiative for ten years [to reduce their water and power use] and they actually have the records to prove that the water and energy consumption has gone down," stressed Global Tech director Joshua Ady.
Making changes
The DC building is located on the Deira side of Dubai Creek and comprises two main structures: an 18-storey building with offices, conference rooms and supporting facilities; and a three-floor building that includes a 700-seat state-of-the art auditorium. Unlike a conventional office building, it is classed as an institutional facility and serves a number of different purposes including hosting conferences. "This is not a straightforward office, we have 11 venues for conferences, including a 700-seat auditorium and 200-seat conference room, and we host around 500-600 events per year," stresses Gunawardena. The mixed-use nature of the facility has added to the challenges involved in maximising efficiency of the MEP services.
The improvements to energy and water use have not simply been possible because the building and its services were poorly designed initially. Indeed the audit has shown that structural elements such as the glass curtain walling and roof insulation meet ASHRAE standards set in 2004. "A high-calibre UK-based consultant designed the MEP system and 60% of it is well designed," states Gunawardena. "The design did have some regional flaws and the main air conditioning system was not exactly well designed in terms of energy efficiency, so the whole system has been modified to compensate for this," he adds.
Over the past ten years a series of measures have been taken that have resulted in a 60% reduction in annual water consumption at the building. These include the following:
• The installation of air-cooled chillers, which has totally eliminated the use of water for cooling purposes. This enables the DCCI to conserve around 50m3/day of water and has also avoided the generation of large quantities of wastewater.
• The collection of condensate water from the air handling units for use in the building's fountain; around 0.85 million litres are recovered annually.
• The installation of a plc-based control system to prevent urinal flushing when they are not in use. The system is linked to the bathroom lights and the flushing system is automatically deactivated when lights are off; this has enabling savings of around 30,000 litres/day to be made.
• All urinals have been fitted with infrared detectors that activate flushing only when they are in use. As the occupancy rate in some areas of the building are small this has reduced flushing rates from ten to almost three time per hour, saving 30 litres/day per urinal, a total of about 12,000 litres/day.
• Automatic faucets have been installed in all washrooms. These have an infrared sensor to detect users, allowing water to run only when required. An estimated 1,000 litres/day of water is saved by using these products.
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