NZLCM Centre research features on Stuff – Greener electricity almost halves office emissions
After an environmentally friendly office space? You may want to lobby the company power provider to boost its green electricity generation.
Phasing out coal generators and prioritising wind farms would see office emissions nearly halve over the next 30 years, according to a new study published in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society.
The research examined the impacts of refurbishing office buildings to make them extremely energy efficient, known as a “deep energy retrofit”. This is an intensive overhaul, replacing insulation, cladding, windows, boilers and air conditioning units. In addition, the study calculated the effect of adding solar panels to roofs.
In one scenario , the researchers assumed increased electricity demand will be provided by geothermal, wind and coal generators. In another, the country phases out all coal by 2040.
The modelling estimated the country’s office buildings would emit slightly more than 6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the next three decades, if premises were left un-refurbished and coal generators were left running. For context, that’s the emissions produced on New Zealand’s roads in five months.
Research author Agneta Ghose, who completed her thesis at Massey University, said, when she did her study in 2017, there were more than 5000 office buildings around the country. However, 53 per cent of all office floor space was situated in just 445 premises.
“If you just retrofit that, you save about 37 per cent of the emissions. Which is great – you don’t have to revamp the entire stock,” she said.
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