"Energy to Spare": Gwangmyeong City Unveils First Local Government 'Energy-Producing Public Facility'

'Sohah Municipal Childcare Center' Achieves Plus Grade in Zero Energy Building Certification
30% Energy Surplus Through Solar Power and Green Remodeling

A new public building has been established that not only generates all the electricity it needs through renewable energy but also produces 30% more, allowing for the sale of surplus energy.

The 'Sohadong Municipal Sohah Childcare Center' in Gwangmyeong City, the first local government in the country to receive the 'Zero Energy Building' Plus grade. It produces more than 30% excess electricity compared to the required energy through solar panel installation and green remodeling. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

On May 2, Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province announced that the 'Sohadong Municipal Sohah Childcare Center', located at 55-17 Sohadong, has become the first local government facility to receive the 'Plus (+)' grade in the official Zero Energy Building (ZEB) certification administered by the Korea Energy Agency.

The 'Plus grade' is the highest level newly introduced in January under the revised Zero Energy Building certification system and is awarded to buildings with an energy self-sufficiency rate of 120% or higher.

The Sohah Childcare Center has achieved an energy self-sufficiency rate of approximately 131%. This means it produces all the energy required for the building, with an additional 31% surplus. Previously, the Sohah Childcare Center received a first-grade preliminary certification in December last year, and has now been awarded the highest official certification, the Plus grade.

This building was selected for the '2023 Public Building Green Remodeling Project' organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Remodeling began in January of this year, and the building was completed on May 2, with one basement floor, two above-ground floors, and a total floor area of 499 square meters.

During the remodeling process, the city enhanced insulation performance and replaced windows with high-performance models to reduce energy consumption. A Building Energy Management System (BEMS) was also installed to measure and analyze the building’s total energy use in real time for efficient operation, and major equipment was replaced with high-efficiency devices.

Solar power facilities capable of producing 96,897 kWh annually were installed on the rooftop and exterior. This is 31% more than the building’s required annual primary energy consumption of 73,971 kWh.

Additionally, through green remodeling, the building’s annual certified primary energy requirement was reduced by 20,728 kWh, from 82,712 kWh to 62,984 kWh.

The city plans to conduct 'net metering' with Korea Electric Power Corporation for the surplus electricity. Net metering is a system where, if more electricity is produced than consumed, the excess is sent to the power grid and the value is deducted from the electricity bill.

Park Seungwon, Mayor of Gwangmyeong City, stated, "Going forward, we will expand the transition to zero energy buildings to the private sector as well, in order to achieve energy savings and carbon neutrality."

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