Seoul City Remodels 118 Facilities Including Daycare Centers into Low-Carbon Buildings... Greenhouse Gas Reduced by 344 Tons

Average 17% Greenhouse Gas Reduction After Analysis of 118 Sites
Jongno-gu Changsin Jeil Daycare Remodeling Shows Greatest Effect...70% Decrease in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 12th that it achieved a reduction of 344 tons of greenhouse gases by implementing green remodeling projects on 118 aging public daycare centers and medical facilities last year. This amounts to an average reduction of 17% of greenhouse gases per building.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Green Remodeling Project' involves installing high-performance insulation, windows, high-efficiency boilers, and eco-friendly ventilation systems in aging public buildings to improve energy performance, indoor air quality, and overall living environment.

Seoul City signed a mutual cooperation agreement with the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology and Sungkyunkwan University through the Metropolitan Green Remodeling Regional Hub Platform to analyze the effects of the green remodeling projects on 118 target sites last year (114 daycare centers and 4 public health centers), including Dobong-gu Doseon Daycare Center, and conducted an analysis of greenhouse gas reduction effects through early this year.

The analysis showed that the energy performance of buildings before and after remodeling resulted in an average 16% reduction in energy demand per unit area. This is equivalent to reducing 344 tons of greenhouse gases, which corresponds to the amount absorbed by 42,000 pine trees. To absorb the amount of carbon reduced, approximately 360,000㎡ of forest area would be required, which is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions of 141 passenger cars over one year.

Doseon Daycare Center in Dobong-gu, selected as a 'Public Building Green Remodeling Signature Project' by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, showed a 27% reduction in energy demand and a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions after remodeling. Doseon Daycare Center is an aging building over 30 years old, where condensation occurred in winter and heating and cooling equipment frequently malfunctioned, resulting in high energy consumption and poor indoor environment. Currently, the aging exterior wall insulation has been reinforced, windows replaced, and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems along with eco-friendly boilers installed, making the indoor environment much more comfortable.

The sites with outstanding remodeling effects among the project targets include ▲Changsin Jeil Daycare Center in Jongno-gu and ▲Hagye Daycare Center in Nowon-gu, where the energy efficiency rating improved to the highest level of 1+++ grade, reducing energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50%. The main applied technologies include low-emissivity double-glazed windows, enhanced insulation, and high-efficiency heating and cooling devices. The significant energy savings and indoor environment improvements before and after the project are expected to serve as exemplary cases for the spread of low-carbon buildings.

Seoul City is currently conducting projects at 85 sites including Seonwoo Daycare Center in Gangnam-gu this year, and plans to promote green remodeling for more than 100 public buildings next year. It is currently conducting preliminary surveys and consulting for 115 aging daycare centers and other sites in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and each autonomous district. Seoul plans to expand the project aiming for low-carbon transformation of 628 daycare centers and medical facilities by 2026.

Yoo Yeon-sik, Head of the Climate and Environment Headquarters of Seoul City, said, "Through green remodeling of public buildings such as daycare centers and public health centers last year, we reduced greenhouse gas emissions and created an environment where vulnerable groups to climate change, such as children and the elderly, can live healthily and comfortably," adding, "We will actively promote low-carbon building projects including public building green remodeling to expand into the private sector as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.