Green cooling in the metro

MANILA, Philippines - As concern for the environment grows, more and more people are living “green”. There are plenty of ways to live a green-friendly lifestyle but there is also common belief that green-friendly products equal lack of comfort.  

Behind the scenes of our modern urban environment,- our homes, office buildings, schools, and malls, green technology is slowly getting its place. Green technology can make a huge difference in the carbon footprint of such buildings. Among the most effective of these technologies are energy efficient air-conditioning systems or those that use renewable energy.

Dunham-Bush (DB), one of the pioneers in green cooling, recently launched in the Philippines a new sustainable air-conditioning system. According to William Guido, chairman of DB International sales and services (DBI), these solutions have a lot of potential in the Philippines since Filipinos are very aware and concerned about the responsibility to prevent climate change and preserve our natural resources.

Twin Pillars

Ice and solar thermal energy system (TES) make use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, the “twin  pillars” of sustainable energy.

“We believe that the Philippine market will find great potential in our solutions. The time is right for building and infrastructure developers and owners to consider long-term investments that would permanently reduce operating expenses—in this case, power requirements. In addition, companies nowadays are now aware and concerned about their responsibility to prevent climate change and the exhaustion of our natural resources,” Guido pointed out.

DB’s Ice-Cel TES is now being used in Greenbelt 5, Trinoma, Serendra, and 168 Mall. This technology meets the US Green Building Council’s LEED rating system for the most energy-efficient technologies by creating and storing ice in insulated tanks in these building in the evenings, and then uses this ice for air-conditioning in the daytime. Ice-cel minimizes a building’s greenhouse gas emissions as well as the electricity cost.

The solar TES created by DB’s partner company Solid GmbH takes a different approach by utilizing solar panels to absorb solar energy, then converts this into electricity for the air-conditioning system. During the hottest part of the day, when the most power is consumed for cooling, the solar TES is at its most effective since solar energy is also at its peak.

This solution won the Best Renewable Energy Company of the year 2006 Asian Power  Awards. This TES is a new option for local developers who are looking to realize savings and create a more environmentally friendly living and working space.

“We are proud to supply Philippine buildings with these innovative sustainable technologies, which are milestones in bridging the needs of modern urban living with environmental responsibility. In today’s complex, resource-constrained and connected world, if we do not have a strategy for sustainability, we do not have a strategy for business,” Guido said.