Energy cost swallow World Trade Centre in Fort
The normal energy cost of the World Trade Centre (WTC) in Colombo amounts to Rs. 48 million, 80 per cent of the total cost of running the WTC. The balance 20 per cent – only Rs. 11 million – is spent on maintenance, staff salaries and bonuses.
At a media round-table, held this week in Colombo, on ‘Energy’ organised by 3M Sri Lanka, Indradeva Mendis, Senior Manager – Facilities Management of Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC, the Owner, Developer and Manager of WTC said that by their energy saving methods they have now been able to cut down the energy cost by Rs. 8 million and they spend Rs. 40 million on energy, an example that could be emulated by other large scale energy consumers.
He said that what is important for a building owner is not the focus on cost, but on making an investment. It is for everyone’s own good, he said to save energy that cuts down cost. It is not only saving in money terms, it saves human life, the environment and the good earth for everyone to live.
If one looks at minimising cost, there needs to be investment on proper equipment to economise energy which in turn reduces cost. In the energy area minimising air-conditioning should be the target area, Mr. Mendis said. He indicated that there is a need for a strategy when it comes to energy to be preventive rather than reactive. There should be an energy policy for buildings consuming large amounts of energy.
Dr. Thusitha Sugathapala, Director General, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, said that in Sri Lanka lot of energy is wasted, specially in office buildings, but these have to be energy efficient through management and a change in lifestyle where technology is also plays a major role. According to global targets, he said that in 40 years, the demand for energy will double and if energy is conserved by 50 per cent the climate change difference could easily be combated. He said that in 50 years (from now), 90 per cent of the global energy needs would come from renewable energy.
Sri Lanka is targeted to achieve 10 per cent energy saving by 2020, Dr. Sugathapala said and to do this they are working with the country’s local authorities. He said that one third of the energy is consumed by buildings.
For this purpose, he said that they are training 100 energy auditors to manage and conserve energy. They are also setting up energy clubs in schools.
Ranjan Nadesapillai, Chartered Architect, Ranjan Nadesapillai Associates, said primitive buildings constructed out of mud and Kabok saved energy. And for this the correct material should be used. Closing opened taps, keeping a fan at a lower speed, he said, are all measures than can be used to lead to lower energy. He suggested a national policy of energy and sustainability.
3M Sri Lanka which hosted the media round table on the importance of energy efficiency in buildings also hosts several innovative solutions to cut down energy consumption in buildings such as sun control Window Films and safety and security Window Films.
On the sidelines of this panel discussion, the Business Times (BT) revealed that authorities have infringed the rights of the people by penalising the people for dumping waste on the road, whereas since British colonial times people used to keep garbage on the road and as an obligation of the authorities by the people the municipalities collected such waste, for which service people pay.
When BT pointed out that in cities even the municipalities built brick and cement cubicles by the side of the road for people to dump waste, Dr. Sugathapala said that the situation has changed over the years and in such countries like Japan, waste has to be separated at the point of collection and it is done by the people who discharge waste.
The BT pointed out that as far back as 1982 when there was an energy crisis during renowned engineer Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe’s tenure as Chairman at the National Engineering Research and Development Centre (NERD) there was a lot of research and experiments on alternate sources of energy, particularly garbage recycling for which NERD Centre has even won international awards.
It was pointed out that this good work has not reached the people, even now.
The BT pointed out that NERD had made a project proposal for the Colombo Municipal Council to recycle its garbage and shown that the recycling could earn Rs. 300 million off-setting Rs. 250 million that CMC was spending on garbage disposal while making a profit of Rs. 50 million.
There was no follow-up of this valuable proposal.