The City of Cape Town hosts an annual Energy Efficiency (EE) Forum Awards for buildings and/or operations practicing excellence in energy efficiency. The winners of these awards are recognised for their hard work in incorporating energy efficiency and reducing their carbon footprint.
Last year, Bayside Mall was the recipient of the EE Forum Award in the large building category. These were their energy saving initiatives:
- Upgraded to LED lighting
- Improved chiller efficiency
- Improved the building management system
- Improved the HVAC system
- Flagship project: a 500 kWp pilot rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with 2000 panels covering 3500 m2.
These measures have benefited Bayside Mall in numerous ways:
- The PV panels provides 5% of the retail centre’s electricity needs. The PV panels have an annual average daily energy production of 2100 kWh, which is roughly the same daily use of 105 middle income households in Cape Town (using 600 kWh per month).
- The PV panels helped the mall reduce the amount of CO2 emissions by 767 tonnes annually.
- The PV panels have helped reduce the building’s need for cooling in the floor space by 50%-68% in summer.
- Energy efficiency interventions as a whole have yielded monthly energy savings of 11-17%, with a payback period of under eight years.
The Western Cape Government's Energy Security Game Changer seeks to ensure long term energy security through the availability of reliable, diverse and low carbon energy to support economic and social growth in the Western Cape by 2020.It is only through combined effort from households, businesses and government that we can achieve our goal of an energy secure province. The Western Cape Government therefore commends Bayside Mall for successfully implementing energy efficiency interventions.
Images - Bruce Sutherland