Vietnam News: Viet Nam Earth Hour reduces power usage by 431,000 kWh (9 April 2014)

Viet Nam Earth Hour reduces power usage by 431,000 kWh

Viet Nam Earth Hour reduces power usage by 431,000 kWh

Representatives participate in a ceremony to kick off the 2014 Earth Hour in Ha Noi on Saturday. This year's campaign saw all 63 provinces and cities nationwide participate to reduce electricity usage. — VNA/VNS Photo The Duyet

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam saved 431,000kWh of electricity, equivalent to VND650 million (US$31,000), by switching off unnecessary lights and electrical equipment during Earth Hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on Saturday.

The savings were calculated by the Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN).

Addressing a ceremony in Ha Noi on Saturday, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung said the campaign not only helpes reduce electricity consumption for one day, but also has a spillover effect throughout the entire year.

The event contributed to raising public awareness about using energy in an economical and effective manner, promoting sustainable socio-economic development and coping with climate change, Hung added.

Danish Ambassador John Nielsen, who is also Ambassador of the 2014 Earth Hour campaign, said that protecting the Earth, which is the responsibility of everyone, should start from daily changes in life to build a sustainable future.

The campaign has also seen 3,000 volunteers join a "riding for the environment" programme along streets in Ha Noi and central Da Nang city. As many as 5,000 restaurants and coffee shops pledged to donate to the campaign and offer discounts to riders.

This year's campaign saw all 63 provinces and cities nationwide participating in reducing electricity use.

In Ha Noi, lights were turned off at famous sites, such as the Ha Noi Opera House, Ngoc Son Temple, Truc Bach Lake and areas surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake.

Meanwhile, in central Quang Nam Province, thousands of local residents and tourists came together at Song Hoa Square and An Hoi Sculpture Garden in Hoi An City to light up the areas with lanterns, as well as sing and dance together in response to the campaign. All restaurants in the ancient city turned their lights off at 8.30pm and lit candles or oil lamps for diners.

Also, major streets and all billboards along the Han riverside in central Da Nang City turned off their lights.

As many as 5,000 young people gathered at Youth Cultural House in HCM City to perform a "Green dance step" flash mob as part of the campaign on Saturday.

The Central Highland province of Kon Tum also called upon local people to economise on electricity, setting a target of saving 40,000 kWh of electricity during the campaign and 3 million kWh during the dry season.

Earth Hour was first organised by the World Wild Fund for Nature in Australia in 2007 for action to prevent climate change, and has since grown to become the world's largest voluntary action for the planet, uniting organisations and individuals on seven continents and in more than 7,000 cities.

Earth Hour was first held in Viet Nam in 2009. It saved 401,000kWh of electricity last year, equivalent to VND576 million ($27,000). — VNSsource from: http://vietnamnews.vn/environment/253038/viet-nam-earth-hour-reduces-power-usage-by-431000-kwh.html

Read More

Taiwan News: 電動二輪車電池交換新北市示範系統民眾免費試乘活動正式開始 (18 Feb 2014)

電動二輪車電池交換新北市示範系統民眾免費試乘活動正式開始

提供單位：行政院環境保護署空保處 發布日期：2014.02.18         為讓民眾有機會體驗電動二輪車（包括電動機車、電動自行車及電動輔助自行車）及電池交換系統，環保署與台灣城市動力股份有限公司今日（2月18日）共同辦理「城市動力電動二輪車電池交換新北市示範系統民眾免費試乘啟動典禮」，自今（103）年2月20日起，將於新北市設置10個借用點並提供100輛電動機車供民眾免費試乘體驗。配合本次活動，環保署將進行為期1個月全民發現問題計畫，歡迎試乘民眾踴躍將寶貴的試乘意見提供該署改善參考，一經採納改善，該署將給予300元超商禮券做為獎勵，以確保電池交換系統正式啟用後，系統可穩定正常之運作。         環保署說明，為了解決電動二輪車充電不方便及續航力不足之問題，該署補助台灣城市動力股份有限公司在新北市設置之30站電池交換系統已經完成建置，即將正式營運。電池交換系統雖已由該公司進行一段時間之測試，但相信還是有改進的空間，因此，該署將進行「電動二輪車電池交換新北市示範系統全民監督計畫（詳附件1）」，歡迎各界隨時針對系統異常狀況或任何改進建議向該署提出，一經採納改善，該署將給予超商禮券做為獎勵。         此外，為了讓更多民眾有實際體驗電動二輪車及電池交換系統的機會，環保署委託台灣電能車輛發展協會辦理「電池交換營運系統示範推廣專案工作計畫」，自今（103）年2月20日起，將結合現有30站電池交換站裡面的10個站點，設置電動二輪車免費試乘體驗借用點（主要分布於板橋區、新莊區、蘆洲區、樹林區、三重區及五股區，借用要點詳如附件2），第1階段將提供100輛電動機車供民眾免費試乘體驗，並將分3階段將免費試乘體驗電動二輪車數逐步提升至600輛，該計畫將持續電動二輪車免費試乘1年，以利更多民眾有機會親身體驗電動二輪車及電池交換系統，更多資訊可至該署網站查詢（http://mobile.epa.gov.tw/ec/cellexchange.html）。         環保署表示，除了辦理上述試乘活動外，為鼓勵民眾踴躍購買可交換電池的電動機車，針對前5,000位購買可交換電池電動機車並加入成為城市動力電池交換系統會員之民眾，該署將補助新臺幣1萬元之電池交換費用；另外，未來購買可交換電池電動自行車並加入城市動力電池交換系統之前2,500位消費者，該署將補助新臺幣5,000元之電池交換費用，以協助評估電池交換系統之技術及營運可行性。         環保署呼籲，電動二輪車完全以電能為動力，相對於傳統汽油引擎機車，具空氣污染物減量效益，該署鼓勵民眾踴躍購買可交換電池的電動二輪車並加入成為電池交換系統之會員，電池將只是電能之載具，民眾無須擔憂交換後電池之品質及性能，除了可以永遠不用負擔後續電池維修更換費用外，還可以像加油一樣，透過交換電池的方式快速地補充電動二輪車的電能，實在是一舉數得，讓我們一起為創造更好的空氣品質而努力。 source from:  http://ivy5.epa.gov.tw/enews/fact_Newsdetail.asp?InputTime=1030218170753

Read More

Vietnam News: 2014 Earth Hour: "Turn off the lights, turn on the ideas" (4 Feb 2014)

2014 Earth Hour: "Turn off the lights, turn on the ideas" 
Thứ tư, ngày 22 tháng 01 năm 2014 cập nhật lúc 16:13

The contest "Turn off the lights, turn on the ideas 2014" was launched on 21 January, in Hanoi and called for e "I Will If You Will2014" campaign.

With the theme "For a Green Clean and Beautiful Vietnam", this year’s contest is to response to Earth Hour 2014, an annual eventof the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) which will take place from 20:30 to 21:30 on 29 March, 2014.

The "Turn off the lights, turn on the ideas”slogan is "An Idea, A Shirt, One Planet".  It is not only a T-shirt design contest as in previous years, but also plan for the marketing of the products. 10 best designs will be printed on 1,000 T-shirts and sell on the market. All the profits from the sale will be given to support reforestation fund in 2014 contributing to disaster prevention and climate change mitigation. The T-shirt will be an effective tool to convey an Earth Hour’s message to Vietnam’s youth community.

The message of this year's campaign is "Let's Spread The Green". “I Will If You Will 2014” aims to raise funds to plant 3,000 mangrovetrees in Hue. The event will attract the participation of 3,000 – 5,000 with a purpose of making the Guinness record for the largest number of forest planters in Vietnam. Also, "I Will If You Will 2014" will call for students to contribute old things so as to raise reforestation fund.

source from: 

http://www.monre.gov.vn/v35/default.aspx?tabid=675&CateID=58&ID=131418&Code=4BSF131418

Read More

Event: High Performance Building Facades and Net Zero Energy Buildings ，PCE Public Lecture （17 Oct 2013)

Date: 2013/10/17
Event:    FCE Public Lecture, High Performance Building Facades and Net Zero Energy Buildings  
Venue:   AG710, PolyU
Contact: Mr Jason Au
                Tel : 3400-3877
                E-mail : jason.au@polyu.edu.hk

for more information: http://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/events_upcoming.html

Read More

Chinese Updates: Windows and doors behind China's wasted energy (25 Sep 2013)

Windows and doors behind China's wasted energy

Xinhua, September 25, 2013

Want to lead a green life? Start by replacing poorly fitting windows in your apartment.

Energy wasted from leakage around windows and doors makes up 20 percent of total home energy consumption in China, according to Ni Shouqiang, deputy director of the China Construction Structure Association.

Windows and doors are major weak spots in the thermal envelope of buildings, failing to reduce heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer, said Ni at the China International Festival of Windows and Doors held from Saturday to Monday in the city of Gaobeidian, in north China's Hebei Province.

The inefficiency increases the burden on the public heating system in the winter and means more use of air conditioners in the summer, Ni said at the event dedicated to energy-saving, high-tech windows and doors.

Winter heating in northern China consumes a huge amount of coal and warm air escapes easily through gaps around windows and doors, he said.

In Hebei, each resident needs an average of two tons of coal each winter, which is a major contributor to haze and air pollution.

If the efficiency of windows and doors, totalling 11 billion square meters in China, reached the level required in Europe, it would save 430 million tons of coal equivalent every year.

"It will reduce both energy use and pollution," Ni said.

China builds 2.5 billion square meters of new structures each year, more than the total for all developed countries combined. Energy-efficient windows and doors only account for 0.4 percent of those being used, which means energy consumption caused by leakage and drafts in China is two to three times more than in developed countries.

China has standards of energy efficiency for windows and doors, but they are poorly implemented, said Wei Hedong, chief engineer of Hebei Orient Sunda, a Sino-German venture that manufactures efficient windows and doors.

An abundance of substandard products has exacerbated the problem.

"Some developers just care about price, not quality. They cheat home buyers with false certificates of quality," said a window producer in Hebei who declined to be named.

Statistics from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development show China has more than 30,000 manufactures of windows and doors, the vast majority of which are small enterprises with outdated machines and techniques.

In order to seal off the energy waste, experts say the government should update current standards and encourage citizens to make improvements.

"We lag far behind in terms of new standards. Some of the standards we follow today were decided on twenty years ago," said Yao Bing, deputy director of China Energy Conservation Association.

Ni Shouqiang wants subsidies and low-interest loans to help home owners replace or upgrade their windows and doors, an approach that was successful in developed countries. He also wants to see universities and other institutions researching efficiency.

Driven by increasingly tough environmental legislation, European companies have been working on the problem for sixty years, said Bao Youge, general manager of Rehau Polymers (Suzhou) Co., Ltd, a Chinese subsidiary of the Germany polymer processor Rehau.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is expected to unveil revised standards for green buildings this year, a significant move to cutting energy consumption in buildings use 40 percent of total social energy.

"Energy-efficient windows and doors are fundamental to achieving our goal," said Lin Haiyan, deputy dean of China Academy of Building Research.

Source: http://www.china.org.cn/environment/2013-09/25/content_30126164.htm

Read More