Longmeadow a shining example of ABB environmental best practice

This is a scenario that ABB worldwide takes serious cognisance of and here in South Africa we have a shining example of putting into practice just what we preach. We need look no further than ABB South Africa’s new headquarters, factory and logistics centre on a 96 000m² site at Longmeadow near Modderfontein.

The building is one that watermarks a change of mindset that is permeating South African commerce and industry. Longmeadow demonstrates an impressive depth of research and focus on design, construction, facilities management, automation, recycling and ongoing minimal environmental impact.

From the outset ABB South Africa took decisions to implement green elements into the building and construction of its Longmeadow premises. ABB South Africa is among the first to put this ethos into practice at significant levels.

Sustainability Manager for ABB South Africa, Chesney Bradshaw, points out that lighting and air conditioning alone account for the lion’s share of total energy use in a building and that a 35% saving can be achieved through energy efficient technology and systems.

“The return on the investment can be high and the payback period relatively short. ABB South Africa also intends adhering to ABB's "Green Building Policy" that includes an internal verification system for buildings.”

Longmeadow will reduce energy through use of solar heating, the recycling heat from air conditioning motors, extensive use of “grey” water and by implementing the building automation systems developed by ABB.

The man driving the ABB Longmeadow construction and design is Project Manager Paulo David, who provided the following detail of the building’s green elements:

A daily average of 15m³ of “grey water” from the showers and hand basins in the complex will be collected, cleaned and recycled. Thereafter it will be piped into the toilet reticulation system and used to flush toilets.

There is a rain water collection system. The roof area of Longmeadow amounts to 22 000m² and is designed as a catchment. Should a rainstorm deliver 10mm of rain, a total of 2 220 litres of rain water will be diverted from the roof catchment into two attenuation ponds and fed to tanks from where it can be used to water the gardens and top up water features. A ball valve system automatically distributes this water.

A north-facing solar heating system on the roof heats the water delivered to the showers. This natural, free energy source replaces the need for electrical heating and does not produce carbon emissions. Energy consumption for the building’s heating system is also reduced with a heat reclaim pump system that captures hot air from the air conditioning system and diverts it to supplement the building’s boilers.

The building’s H-shaped design contributes to lower energy demand for lighting by ensuring the office workstations are located in the exterior portions of the building where they receive good natural light. Each workstation is fitted with a photo-sensitive switch that turns the light on when people arrive at their workstations and off when they depart. All lights are low-energy and all of the service areas are located in the middle where 12V down-lighters and emergency lighting are installed.

In the factory section, low energy consumption, compact fluorescent lights are fitted. The power reticulation grid to the lights allows individual units within the factory to turn their lights on and off as required. For working overtime, only the section involved need be lit.

Building insulation and air conditioning are other areas where energy efficiency was top of mind. The basement is open and was designed as such for effective natural ventilation. Fans are fitted but have carbon dioxide detection meters that will automatically turn air conditioning on when the CO₂ reaches a pre-determined level. The fans and air conditioning plant are driven by ABB low energy, high efficiency, variable speed drives that use energy more efficiently and pick up speed in a slow controlled manner which eliminates high power demand burst at start-up.

Temperatures in the basement in winter can be as low as 5^oC and therefore the ground floor’s 200mm-thick concrete slab is insulated with a Styrofoam layer 100mm deep, as are the side walls and the roof of the building. The insulation ensures that the air conditioning plant is 20 - 30% more efficient in maintaining the right temperature.

Last, but hardly least, is the ABB Building Management System (BMS) which is programmed to automate, control and manage all of the energy demands in the building with the result that the entire operation is as energy efficient as possible. The BMS provides a wide range of control functions, including fire control, security, power monitoring and air conditioning control. Variable speed drives, or VSDs, provide infinite control over the speed of motors driving pumps and fans, maximising the building’s environment by matching the temperature and humidity to the demands of the prevailing weather and the number of occupants.

The other major advantage of VSDs is energy saving – by controlling the speed of the motor so it runs at only the speed needed energy usage is controlled via the BMS and results in significant cost savings as well as raising the building’s green profile. Lower pump speeds extend mechanical life and reduce maintenance costs.

Llewellyn van Wyk, a construction sector expert at the CSIR, summed up the green building concept in a recent address to delegates at a Council for the Built Environment lecture at Pretoria University by saying: “If green buildings are to gain credibility, they must include, respect, and even have reverence for the multi-dimensional and evolving potential of the human experience, way beyond the indoor and external environment.”

ABB South Africa is confident that Longmeadow Park will live up to this summation.