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Energy squandered as city office-workers reach for sweaters in the height of summer
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The summer heat came late this year to Shanghai, which just recorded its coolest June and July in more than a century. Nevertheless, this late arrival hasn’t stopped many in local office buildings from cranking up their air conditioners.
Thanks to air-conditioning technology invented by Willis Carrier in 1902, we can sit in comfort at our desks when the mercury rises to 35 or above. This same technology has also made it possible for several of my colleagues to wear sweaters, shawls or robes around the office over the past few weeks. Such attire makes sense considering that the air-con panel in our newsroom has been set to the lowest possible temperature.
Even I, a person who normally wears short-sleeve shirts all year round in the office, have been feeling the chills. Several times last month, I also wore a hoodie to stay warm at work. During such moments, I couldn’t help but wonder at the energy that was being wasted, not just in my own office but possibly across the city.
Was the situation the same in other buildings, I wondered? I recently spoke with several property management companies in the city to find out.
Kenneth Chau, senior director and head of Savills Shanghai Property & Asset Management Department, told me that new buildings under the company’s management keep temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius automatically via central air-conditioning. This limit is set in accordance with State Council energy-saving rules which stipulate the commercial, office and public buildings must keep temperatures at or above 26 degrees.
As for old buildings where temperatures have to be set manually, Chau says: “We explained the idea of energy-saving to our tenants and encourage them to follow the rules... According to our observations most of our tenants follow the rule.”
Over at Raffles City, a senior manager at the mall explained to me that the building’s public spaces strictly adhere to the State Council’s climate control rules. “We highly recommend our tenants carry them out,” said a manager surnamed Wang.
In Pudong New Area, staff at the management office of a 46-story tower in Lujiazui told me the building had two air conditioning systems and tenants could adjust their temperatures as they saw fit — which could be less than 26 degrees.
It seems fair to say that many offices around the city keep temperatures below what the State Council calls for.
According to a recent report in Shanghai Morning Post, a local NGO surveyed 41 locations around the city and found that 21 had their temperatures set below 26 degrees. Nevertheless, most of the offending spaces — which included hotels, shopping malls, libraries, bank outlets and Metro stations — were reportedly above 24 degrees.
Some building management staff members were quoted as saying that in large open spaces temperatures will fluctuate and are a challenge to accurately control. In my opinion, we can improve compliance with these rules, and, in the process, cut down on energy consumption throughout the city.
Suggestions
First of all, Shanghai authorities should offer details and guidance on how to implement the central government’s rules. These details should take into consideration differences which exist between different buildings and spaces.
Secondly, more enterprises should appoint a specific person to see that energy-saving rules are carried out. Once, a senior executive from a Swedish Fortune 500 company told me that each of their factories had a specific person on staff appointed to engage in energy-saving and to help realize their emissions and power cutting goals.
Thirdly, we need to improve monitoring to ensure that local public spaces stick to the rules. According to Shanghai Morning Post, some of the city’s government agencies have jointly launched online temperature monitoring of 100 large public buildings. This is a good first step and obviously many more buildings should be included with time.
Similarly, building managers and officials can install “smart” monitoring systems which automatically adjust air-conditioning and other energy-consuming facilities. Some buildings already include such systems, and hopefully this trend will continue to gain traction in the future.
Last but not the least, we need more public awareness about the need to cut energy use. We can raise awareness through advertising campaigns and text messages, for example.
These can help instill the importance of living an eco-friendly life.
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