Skip to main content
GGGI Reports: Recommendation - Nyarugenge Pension Plaza  - Rapid Building Performance Assessment

Background

The Ministry of Environment (MoE) requested the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Rwanda program to conduct a rapid building performance assessment of their premises namely Nyarugenge Pension Plaza (NPP). NPP was constructed by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) and the construction was completed in September 2011. The building has a total built-up area of approx. 15,900 sq. m. including basement parking areas. The building houses 4 Ministries namely Ministry of Environment (MoE), Ministry In charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA), Ministry of ICT and Innovation (MINICT), and Ministry of Youth (MINIYOUTH) and 2-line agencies of the MoE namely Rwanda Forests Authority (RFA), and Rwanda Lands Management and Use Authority (RLMUA).

Objective of the Assessment

The objective of the rapid building assessment is to take stock of the performance of NPP focusing on energy efficiency, water efficiency and waste management practices and the associated costs. This has been carried out by conducting a walk-through audit followed by recommendations to promote efficient energy, water and waste management practices in existing government-owned public buildings with an aim to convert them into a green building.

House in Rwanda, focused on the recommendations from the assessment that are of interest to one of its visitors like property managers, real estate professionals, students and others:

Recommendations from the Assessment

Short-term recommendations

Short-term recommendations are those that can be immediately taken up by NPP management to achieve quick results. Most of the recommendations are less capital-intensive (including no/minimal costs) and have a short payback period.

Energy Conservation Measures

  1. Replace all CFL, T8 lamps with LED lighting.

  2. Replace all metal halide outdoor lamps with LED outdoor lights and retain the timer controls.

  3. Install occupancy sensors in washrooms, conference/meeting rooms and closed cabin spaces.

  4. Install daylight sensors for spaces that have access to daylight.

  5. Apply high Solar Reflective Index (SRI) paint for the exposed roof area of metal and concrete roof on the office and parking block rooftop. The suggested minimum initial SRI value is 78. The high reflective paint will reduce the direct heat gain and minimize heat island effect

  6. Install smart virtual sub-metering devices to measure electricity consumption at various end uses such as lighting, air-conditioning system, wastewater treatment, diesel generators and elevators. The quick break-down of electricity consumption provides an opportunity to have targeted energy conservation measures.

  7. Motivate occupants to turn off lights, air conditioners when they leave the office space. This can be encouraged through green awareness and energy conservation campaigns.

  8. Ensure that the door and windows are closed when the air conditioning is turned on.

  9. Set the air conditioning temperature setpoint between 24 – 26 degrees C (as prescribed by the Rwanda Building Code 2019) so that people need not open the windows when the space becomes excessively cold.

Water Conservation Measures

  1. Install a 100 cu.m. rainwater collection tank and reuse the collected rainwater for landscape irrigation, cleaning and flushing applications.

  2. Replace inefficient plumbing fixtures such as taps and single flush water closets with water efficient plumbing fixtures to meet or exceed the baseline rate mentioned in the Rwanda Green Building Minimum Compliance System 2019.

  3. Test the quality of water from the wastewater treatment plant before discharging. The testing will help to understand whether the treated wastewater is meeting the desired quality standard as prescribed by RSB. Furthermore, corrective measures can be identified to improve the functioning of the treatment plant. 

Waste Management Measures 

  1. Encourage occupants to segregate waste at source by providing easily accessible colour coded bins in every office space and explore recycling opportunities to avoid the recyclable waste sent to landfill.

  2. Designate a space to store the segregated waste.

Medium to Long-term Recommendations

Medium to long-term recommendations are those that require detailed studies to estimate the impact of implementing the measure, GHG emission reduction potential, the associated capital requirements, cost savings and payback period.

Energy Conservation Measures

  1. Install external architectural sun shading devices or anti-glare window film, which can reduce the amount of sunlight coming from windows especially on the east and western façade, without changing the building appearance.

  2. Increase the number of openable windows on each floor to facilitate cross ventilation and take advantage of the ambient weather conditions to reduce the need for air conditioning. 

  3. The refrigerants used in the air-conditioners have high Global Warming Potential (GWP) and one of them is an Ozone Depleting Substance (ODS). Explore the usage of climate-friendly refrigerants in the air-conditioning systems.

  4. Install 100 kW grid connected Solar PV plant on the building rooftop. A solar PV with Lithium-ion battery storage system can also be explored to store the excess electricity produced and reduce dependence on grid electricity. A feasibility study can be commissioned.

Water Conservation Measures

  1. Upgrade the wastewater treatment plant to ensure that the treated wastewater can be reused in the building for flushing and landscape irrigation applications.
  2. Install sub-metering at various end uses such as treated wastewater consumption, water consumption for flushing and landscape irrigation.

     

Waste Management Measures 

Engage with building occupants and maintenance crew to explore ways to reduce the most commonly produced waste from the building such as paper, packaging, etc. 

 

You can access the full report by clicking here

-----

For daily real estate updates!

Published on
Wed, 11/11/2020 - 14:52

Register to our free property alert