Green construction - building a brighter future

You often hear investors complain that going green is a costly decision to make. Is that really the case?

That’s a false assumption. Elithis Tower in France which actually consumes less energy than it generates was built at a basic cost of EUR 1,400 per square meter in 2009. However, this would be more difficult in Vietnam where regulations on building quality remain inadequate.    

Green building often includes diverse factors that help reduce emissions in all activities, from production of construction materials, transport, and operation, to their eventual tearing-down. But the most important ‘green’ factor is the energy-saving operation of buildings, as over many years energy inefficient buildings will emit massive amounts of greenhouse gases.

Many buildings are awarded green certificates due to factors other than energy saving. Reducing energy use to net zero or minus is obviously the most difficult target and is also the biggest objective of the modern design industry.

A (minus) positive energy building, in the true sense of the word, must have passive design as much as possible, meaning that natural factors such as light, air and water are used to their maximum. A building that utilises such factors will help reduce energy consumption by the mechanical & electrical (M&E) system and considerably cut operational costs.

Many new buildings in Vietnam, including foreign-invested constructions, are far from being energy efficient. Is this because of a misconception about the cost of going green or a lack of government enforcement on green issues?

I think it’s a bit of both, but there’s more to it than that. First of all, investors often think that an energy-saving building requires high costs for modern equipment. That is wrong. As mentioned above, a house gets a green and energy-saving rating if it has passive design through exploiting natural energy, followed by an energy-saving M&E system. 

Secondly, the execution on energy-saving design standards is currently very lax in Vietnam. There are no standards on green design. So investors don’t want to change their construction mindset, particularly those who develop buildings purely for sale. I once talked with a big investor in Hanoi on green design for his project; he said, “I don't live in that apartment so I don’t need green. Customers will still buy up the apartments”. This proves that the government needs to deploy more efficient measures to change such a mindset.

Thirdly, design currently accounts for too small a proportion of the total construction and installation cost of a building in Vietnam. The rate is 7-15 per cent in developed countries while it is only 1.5-3 per cent in Vietnam. This shows people do not appreciate long-term efficiency when it comes to building design. Given the low payment rate, designers are not encouraged to create optimum design solutions. Vietnam allows a lifespan of 50 to 100 years for buildings that have a big environmental footprint during the process of construction, operation and eventual demolition, while the amount of investment devoted to design is small.

Some foreign-invested buildings in Hanoi were built in the early 1990s, and they haven’t proved very energy efficient. How should these old buildings be renovated to provide savings?

In order to save energy for such buildings, we must upgrade their exterior’s performance, systems efficiency and operational mechanisms to improve their insulation, increase or reduce natural light and natural ventilation so as to cut electricity costs for lighting and air-conditioning. In Vietnam, anti-dazzling design is even more important than providing natural light.

What is the most obvious evidence that newly-built buildings in Vietnam are not energy efficient? 

Buildings in Vietnam often have too much glass but no sunlight-proof systems. Vietnam is a tropical country with a lot of sunlight so the use of sunlight is important. Many glorious glass buildings in Vietnam are shielded from the sun with curtains while switching on lights and air-conditioners inside. That’s a big waste. How to make the most of sunlight for buildings while deflecting the heat from sunlight is a key aspect of passive design. Moreover, in many cases, due to the low payments for design, designers rarely focus on researching energy saving elements, leading to a waste of up to 50 per cent in energy consumption.

Vietnam is Elithis’ first Asia base while many foreign green building consultancy firms have also made their presence in the country. What makes your firm different? 

First, we develop our energy efficient design based on our 40-year experience in the M&E area and we ventured into creating an unprecedented product – a positive energy office building made in 2009 named Elithis Tower. The tower will meet France’s energy standards by 2020. In the coming time, we plan to develop two positive energy apartment buildings. Technical foundations, capabilities and experiences are our unique selling points.  

Second, in Vietnam we basically provide professional energy and M&E technical services for architects, design companies or investors. We will work with them right from the phase of drafting projects with an aim to controlling energy and making optimal double-edged solutions on financial investment and energy for their projects.