Samsung C&T unveiled an energy self-sufficient housing unit in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday.

The "Green Tomorrow" house is the first sustainable housing unit from the company. The home, which consumes less energy, is powered entirely by renewable energy sources.

The project is part of the company`s plan to cut energy use of apartments in half by 2013, an official of the company said.

"Our goal is far more advanced than the government`s target of reducing energy use by 30 percent. From now on, all buildings constructed by Samsung will be upgraded versions of Green Tomorrow, which will apply sustainable technologies tested in the project," said Lee Kyu-jae, vice president of Samsung Technical Research Institute.



The one-story home built on 400 square meters of land is equipped with 68 eco-friendly concepts.

To minimize energy loss, the construction company built triplex windows, applied an insulator made from new materials and used a highly-efficient skylight to illuminate the house in the daytime.

Also to reduce heat loss, the company installed a state-of-the-art ventilation system that keeps the house warm and provides fresh air constantly.

The use of renewable energy is grabbing attention.

The company said it has reduced the house`s energy use by 56 percent, based on standard home usage of 33 megawatt-hours of electricity per year. The rest of the energy comes from renewable sources: on the roof there are integrated photovoltaic solar panels and in the back yard there is a small wind turbine that generates energy.

Air pollutants coming from buildings is a serious problem as buildings were blamed for more than 25 percent of the country`s greenhouse gas in 2008, according to the government.

It has 176 solar panels on the roof, which generate 21 megawatt-hours of electricity per year. The solar power runs most of the heating system, including a hot water boiler.

Residents can also check energy consumption through a real-time monitoring system, the company said.

Recycling is another feature of the house. Used water is recycled for gardening.

Samsung C&T, a construction and trading unit of Samsung Group, plans to apply these green technologies to new apartments to be built from 2013.

The construction cost of "Green Tomorrow" is about 10-15 million won ($8,600-$12,900) per pyeong or 3.3 meter square, twice as expensive as the cost of building a conventional apartment. But the company could reduce the cost in the next four years by commercializing and further developing the products. The company projects that the cost of building a green apartment will be reduced to just 10 percent above that of regular apartments by 2013.

The project building has received LEED platinum grade from the U.S. Green Building Council. This is the first time a Korean building has gotten the highest rating, the company said.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System is a major building rating system in North America.

(christory@heraldm.com)



By Cho Chung-un