Vietnam won four prizes from the contest “2010 ASEAN Energy EfficientBuilding and Energy Management” held this July in Hanoi, for four projects that have used power in an efficient manner. In particular, these building projects, both new and renewed, have successfully applied heat-resistance solutions.

The Anna Mandara Da Lat Resort, which won a first prize for a tropical building, has built most walls from thick, baked materials and painted them with dark paint outside and light paint inside to keep the heat from the fireplace system at night. In addition, most roofs were made from tiles and wood, which have contributed to increasing heat resistance and ventilation.

Likewise, the Tien Dat Mui Ne Resort in Binh Thuan Province has made the most of natural materials such as leaves, bamboo, wood and tiles for construction of roofs and blind shades to take advantage of natural light and natural wind and to protect against intense heat in summer.

In so doing and in combining with technical measures to save power, these resorts have saved hundreds of millions of dong worth of power annually. Moreover, natural construction materials have made the resorts nice on their own and made visitors delighted.

Regulations must be in place

Actually, given that the cost of power is increasing, energy efficiency is a growing trend. However, for offices for lease and apartment buildings, applying energy efficiency technology leads to higher construction costs and less profits when compared with normal projects. For this reason, unless transparent regulations and sanctions are in place requiring investors to apply energy efficiency technology, energy saving projects will not be many.

Dr. Tran Huu Ha, the deputy director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment of the Ministry of Construction, said that the construction sector grew 12-16 percent annually and that the sector consumes 20-24 percent of the amount of national power. There are more than 1,000 construction projects that consumed over one million kWh annually.

The Ministry of Construction said that once these projects are energy efficient, they will save 20-30 percent of power.

Despite the great potential for energy savings from green buildings, projects like these are not many. Pham Van Bac, the deputy director of the Construction Material Deparment of the Ministry of Construction, said that Vietnam has not yet identified exactly what kinds of construction materials are energy efficient and has not provided specific guidelines for choosing energy efficient materials. He said that Vietnam has honored and encouraged green buildings but has not applied punishment regulations to those projects that are power consuming.

The Ministry of Construction said that the government has adopted the Overall Plan for Vietnam Construction Material Development until 2020. The plan is to make construction materials that are high-quality, energy efficient, economical and environmentally friendly using advanced technology. There must be specific plans for the development of each kind of construction material. For example, the construction glass production development plan must focus on large-sized, thick glass and those kinds of glass that are noise-resistant, heat-resistant and tempered.

With the plans, it is expected that the number of energy efficient buildings will increase significantly in the future contributing to beautifying the urban face, save costs and protect the environment in the direction of sustainable industrialization and modernization.

By Nga Nguyen