A major overhaul has started on the City of Sydney’s 45 properties, to make them more energy and water efficient, saving more than $1 million a year.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the two-year $6.9 million project would include Town Hall House, Customs House, pools, community centres, libraries and car parks across the city.
“Retrofitting our buildings with energy and water efficiency technologies will cut our costs, and deliver almost triple the reduction in the City’s carbon emissions, from 6.8 to 19.9 percent,” said the Lord Mayor.
“Our approach is to show by doing; we’re showing that you can cut bottom line costs and seriously reduce your impact on the environment. It’s a win-win.”
The buildings will be fitted with energy efficient lighting, air-conditioning and heating, centralised power management systems for computers and voltage reduction units to slash electricity use by pumps, fans and lights.
Following a tender process, the Council approved Origin Energy to deliver the innovative program of work.
The retrofit will cut electricity use by about 6.4 million kiloWatt hours (kWh) a year, enough to save an estimated $880,000 a year in power bills.
Water-saving devices include aerated taps and showerheads, cistern modifiers in toilets and waterless urinals. Water consumption will fall by about 53,300 kilolitres a year, enough to supply nearly 300 households and save about $200,000 a year. The retrofit will also reduce maintenance and carbon pollution costs.
The City of Sydney’s 2030 target to reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent is one of the most ambitious targets of any Australian government and Sydney is Australia’s first officially certified carbon neutral government.
