The serviced luxury apartments property Norfolk Mansion in Ho Chi Minh City is scheduled to press the switch-on button of the solar hot water system on the rooftop of the property next month, as part of a major on-going campaign aimed at raising awareness of Norfolk staff about energy saving and environmental preservation, according to General manager Sven von Moock.
Norfolk Mansion has already assembled German-made solar absorption panels covering 190 square meters on the rooftop and facing to the south-east to have the maximum sun exposure. Seven tanks are also being installed there, with each containing 3,000 liters of water to supply sufficient hot water for Norfolk Mansion guests.
When the system is commissioned, the hot water at 60oC will run from the tanks through pipes to all the 126 apartments at the building. These specially insulated pipes help prevent water from losing temperature on the way down to the apartments.
With the integrated system, Norfolk Mansion will no longer use electricity-powered heaters to generate hot water in the apartments, which von Moock said was not energy efficiency. In addition to energy inefficiency the water heaters on the ceiling of the apartments at Norfolk Mansion also require high maintenance and replacement costs because their life cycle is not long, just a number of years.
Meanwhile, the integrated solar hot water system is basically maintenance free once it is put into use and its life span is long, according to von Moock. On top of that, the system enables Norfolk Mansion to halve water-heating energy costs compared to the hot water generation by the heaters.
“Estimated savings for hot water generation alone are probably 50%. We are positive about saving much electricity and money from generating hot water,” von Moock said. It takes Norfolk Mansion an upfront investment of more than VND2 billion (around US$112,000), but it is worth investing when taking into account the significant savings the system generates in the long run.
“Like other investment there’s a return of investment for our investment in the system,” von Moock said. “After a couple of years, the system will pay for itself and we will have substantial savings.”
Asked about how water is heated on rainy days and the night time, von Moock said as Vietnam was in the tropics the country offered a maximum sun exposure almost everyday so it made sense for Norfolk Mansion to have such a solar hot water system.
Norfolk Mansion also installs auxiliary water heating system as back-up and they are only kicked in when required when there is no sunlight.
In all, von Moock said operating the system was a win-win situation for everybody; for Norfolk Mansion, its guests and staff members and for the local community, as this can contribute to helping save energy and relief to the national power grid.
More importantly, Norfolk Mansion wants to take its role in making use of renewable energy and promoting environment-friendly operating practices. “Companies and individuals can make a difference and contribute to making a cleaner and better environment for Vietnam.”
He said the community had extremely been aware of environmental issues in Vietnam, especially after the discovery of relevant cases over the last couples of years that took much coverage on newspapers.
What businesses do for the environment will leave impact on their sales and prestige as von Moock believes so. “I think today no business organization can afford to be slacked in anything to do with the environment and I believe that at the end of the day the public and consumers will make up their mind when they want to buy certain products.”
Eventually, consumers will go for the option that is based not only value for money but also environmental aspect when using a product or services in an emerging economy and market like Vietnam.
The general manager commented that sustainable development was very important for the future of Vietnam and that sustainability was tremendous important to any business organization.
Having recognized the importance of sustainable development, Norfolk Group launched the major campaign about seven years to operate its properties in accordance with the highest environment-friendly standards. Other components of the campaign are an extensive energy saving program, separating garbage and use of renewable energies.
A similar solar hot water system was commissioned at Norfolk Hotel in 2008. Though its capacity is not as large as that at Norfolk Mansion, it enables the four-star hotel on Le Thanh Ton Street to achieve its long-term commitment to the Eco-Green Preservation and contributing to environment protection.
The campaign also includes an energy saving checks on how the Norfolk properties are lit efficiently at night, replacement of normal light bulbs with energy saving bulbs, and energy saving from air-conditioning usage in offices.
Norfolk properties will take more active steps towards environmental preservation as von Moock said the owners and investors were willing to invest in a long-term approach in this area and guests appreciated this. (Saigon Times)
Vietnamese
