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South Korea is showing off what it says is the world's first totally eco-friendly business building. It's a structure that emits zero carbon and uses only renewable energy. The project is designed to underline the government's drive to reduce greenhouse gases.
South Korean officials are showcasing the world's first zero carbon business building, located in Incheon, near the capital, Seoul.
The twenty-five hundred square-meter building, housing the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), is part of the government's drive to reduce carbon emissions.
A project of the Environment Ministry, the building has been in operation since April.
It cost around $8 million U.S. dollars and uses 66 different technologies, including solar and geothermal energy.
A NIER researcher says the building uses passive and active systems to cut energy consumption by 40 percent.
[...]
Photovoltaic panels on the roof produce the building's electricity. Solar and geothermal pumps work in concert to provide heat.
Highly efficient insulation on the walls, and triple-glazed windows keep the building warm in winter and cool in the the summer.
Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs provide light.
Window blinds are programmed to automatically adjust light coming into the building from outside.
[...]
The NIER says it hopes the building will cut CO2 emissions by 100 tons a year.
It also hopes to save about 100 thousand U.S. dollars in energy costs.
Green growth is a central policy for South Korea's government.
Lee says new building construction is a good place to start.
[...]
Lee says the carbon-zero building will mostly play a symbolic role in the country's drive to reduce greenhouse gases.
But the information from the building may also be useful in future zero carbon building projects.
