Commercial Facilities - Background Survey for JEEA 2017by | 12-03-2017 01:44 |
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 In Febuary, I had a chance to participate in Junior Eco Engineering Academy 2017 which was held in Seoul,South Korea and a project called "Eco City" was created. According to the information given, the Eco-city project is a group project expected to build sustainable city based on the information which was presented throughout the lectures, workshops during the two days of the Academy and also from an assignment(a background survey) that we were given. I was assigned to do a background survey on commercial facilities. Commercial Facilities According to Business Dictionary website, Commercial facility (also known as Commercial Property) is real estate approved and designed for retail, hotel, offices and other such uses but not for residential purposes. Commercial facilities provide the convenience of living for the residents in a city. Mostly concerning about buying and selling goods and services such as malls and traditional market. Because the products and services are needed, the commercial facilities are built inevitably. Commercial facilities need a large amount of energy for them to work properly, such as light, water, etc. Many of them are huge buildings, which means more energy will be used and they will produce more waste products. These are some examples of the energy consumption by commercial facilities. - 85% of a mall's energy use is devoted to air-conditioning and lighting. Air-conditioning becomes a significant factor especially in tropical and desert settings. Meanwhile, lighting always has to mimic daylight so that retail goods always look good and to keep everyone in a happy, purchasing mood. - Those forever-running escalators, they use about 7,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity every year, and that's only one escalator. - Elevators have their huge share of energy use as well. Water usage by customers, and employees is a big amount each day as well. There are things that we can do such as decreasing the usage of energy of these facilities, decreasing the production of waste products or preserving energy for a long-term use in a future. Biodegradable plastic bags are created, bring-your-own-bag, LED lighting, organic and sustainable choices in the grocery aisles, no-flush toilets, toxic-free cleaners, and many other green features slowly taking place inside our favourite shopping centres. Think twice before shopping Every product we purchase has an environmental footprint, from the materials used to create it to the pollution emitted during manufacturing to the packaging that ends up in landfills. So before you buy, ask yourself if you really need it. If you do, consider buying gently used instead of new, and look for minimal packaging and shipping. Make sure your big purchases have big environmental benefits For instance, if you?re in the market for a new car, look for a fuel- efficient model — you?ll save thousands on gas money and reduce your carbon footprint over the years. If you?re buying a new refrigerator, washer or dryer, look for the Energy Star label to find the most efficient appliances. Pay attention to labels Choose Fair Trade certified goods when possible to support companies dedicated to sustainable production and paying laborers a fair wage. Buy organic food whenever possible it may cost a little more, but it keeps harmful pesticides out of our land and water, protecting farm workers, wildlife and your family. Using renewable resources instead of non-renewable resources is also what many countries do nowadays. One major advantage with the use of renewable energy is that as it is renewable it is therefore sustainable and so will never run out. Even more importantly, renewable energy produces little or no waste products such as carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants, so has minimal impact on the environment. <Bibliography> (1) http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/commercial-property.html (2) http://oknation.nationtv.tv/blog/energyclinic/2009/01/22/entry-1 (3) http://randommization.com/2011/06/03/japan-plans-eco-friendly-smart-towns-to-cut-down-co2-by-70/ (4)http://www.solarschools.net/resources/stuff/advantages_and_disadvantages.aspx (5) https://www.bee-inc.com/2014/03/13/inside-eco-friendly-shopping-malls/ |
