The outcome of the ANCs long-awaited KwaZulu-Natal conference was a win for the Thuma Mina crowd. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
Every basement garage in urban environments emits huge levels of carbon monoxide. As part of its energy saving initiatives, Standard Bank looked at the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that operate in their parking garages and discovered that it could significantly reduce carbon emissions by introducing an intelligent exhaust extraction solution.
Carbon monoxide sensors were strategically placed in the parkade at its building in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. These intelligent sensors monitor carbon monoxide levels, switching on and off in response to emission levels.
Variable speed drives were also installed to power the ventilation fans instead of them operating 24/7.
The project has yielded an annual saving of 1 216 MW/h a year, a financial saving of more than R1-million and a reduction of 1 276 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Overall this equates to a 96% reduction in energy use.
The system is being rolled out to the bank’s head office buildings in Johannesburg’s CBD, says head of professional and technical services in its real estate division, Nkosinathi Manzana.
Since the technology is relatively simple and the savings are significant, the project is both scalable and replicable. It has proved to be an intervention that can be implemented in a short timeframe to realise permanent, long-term savings.