For more news visit ☛ http://english.ntdtv.com<br />Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision<br />Add us on Facebook ☛ http://facebook.com/NTDTelevision<br /><br />South Korea is showing off what it says is the world's first totally eco-friendly business building. It's a structure that emits zero carbon and uses only renewable energy. The project is designed to underline the government's drive to reduce greenhouse gases.<br /><br />South Korean officials are showcasing the world's first zero carbon business building, located in Incheon, near the capital, Seoul.<br /><br />The twenty-five hundred square-meter building, housing the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), is part of the government's drive to reduce carbon emissions.<br /><br />A project of the Environment Ministry, the building has been in operation since April.<br /><br />It cost around $8 million U.S. dollars and uses 66 different technologies, including solar and geothermal energy.<br /><br />A NIER researcher says the building uses passive and active systems to cut energy consumption by 40 percent.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />Photovoltaic panels on the roof produce the building's electricity. Solar and geothermal pumps work in concert to provide heat.<br /><br />Highly efficient insulation on the walls, and triple-glazed windows keep the building warm in winter and cool in the the summer.<br /><br />Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs provide light.<br /><br />Window blinds are programmed to automatically adjust light coming into the building from outside. <br /><br />[...]<br /><br />The NIER says it hopes the building will cut CO2 emissions by 100 tons a year.<br /><br />It also hopes to save about 100 thousand U.S. dollars in energy costs.<br /><br />Green growth is a central policy for South Korea's government.<br /><br />Lee says new building construction is a good place to start.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />Lee says the carbon-zero building will mostly play a symbolic role in the country's drive to reduce greenhouse gases.<br /><br />But the information from the building may also be useful in future zero carbon building projects.
