Inside Adelaide’s tallest all-electric tower
It’s 2021, and we’re in the midst of a building boom - by 2050, commercial floor space is projected to grow by 40.5 per cent.
The building industry has a significant global environmental impact and is a large contributor to climate change. In fact, buildings are responsible for 40% of the world’s carbon emissions, and use approximately 40% of the world’s energy and 30% of the world’s available drinking water.
But, as we’ve seen across the energy industry, new technologies have seen new innovations which allow for buildings to be entirely electric....which is why Adelaide’s tallest all-electric tower, dubbed Festival Tower, is set to begin construction next month.
The 26-story building, located in Adelaide’s city centre, is an eye-watering $1 billion project, designed to be the HQ for many local, interstate and global companies, as well as a retail space.
So...how does an all-electric building work?
Most buildings run on multiple fuels, using electricity to power light, refrigerators and electronic devices. For power furnaces, boilers and water heaters; most buildings rely on fossil fuels such as natural gas or propane.
In a fully electrified space, power furnaces, boilers and water heaters that run on natural gas are replaced with air-source heat pumps.
In the case of the Festival Tower, the building will use a heat pump hot water system and reverse cycle chillers with heat recovery capabilities instead of typical gas-power.
Reverse cycle chillers work in a similar way to heat pumps, except that they use water rather than air. The heat pump unit is connected to an insulated water tank, which removes or adds heat. From there, the water is pumped from the tank to various places where heating or cooling is required.
There is a slight exception to this - Walker Corporation (the building’s developer) announced that the ground floor of the Festival Tower would retain gas - a strategic decision intended to attract interest from Adelaide’s most renowned local bars and restaurants.
Is it more expensive for a building to be all-electric?
This is a bit of a trick question - upfront, yes, it is more expensive to build an all-electric tower - remember the $1b price tag!
But, if you do the maths, it is likely to be worth the investment. This is due to the predicted increase to the price of fossil fuel power, and companies being more environmentally-focused, meaning that working in a sustainable workplace is an attractive feature.
The same goes for already-existing buildings. Going electric is a great alternative as fossil-powered appliances and equipment already have viable electric alternatives. The only problem is making (and paying for) the switch.
How ‘green’ will the tower be?
They’re aiming to hit three key certifications:
A 6 Star Green Star rating, a 5.5 Star NABERs as well as a Gold- rating WELL certification.
To achieve a 6 Star Green Star rating, the building must:
Protect environmentally significant areas
Emit less carbon in construction and operations
Be water efficient
Have improved air, light, acoustics, and product finishes
Promote physical activity
Be built with climate change in mind
Manage environmental impacts during construction
Embrace the diversity of our population
Enable practices that reduce operational waste
Be verified to work
The other two are more so based on individualised assessments.
NABERS is a sustainability rating for built environments, which rates buildings from 1-6 stars based on their efficiency across
Energy
Water
Waste and
Indoor environment
And as for WELL certifications, these assessments are based on the design and operational protocols + policies within the building, ranked on their ability to foster a culture of health and well-being.
Again, this assessment is individualised, but essentially if they receive the Gold certification it’ll mean that their office fit-outs are thoughtfully designed to enhance human health on a variety of levels.
The construction will begin mid next month, with major tenant fit-outs expected to commence in August 2022 and the building set for completion in November 2023.
As electrical and commercial fit out specialists, we’re pretty excited by these new advancements.
Sparked by the idea of going all-electric? Get in contact with MPE Group today.