Buildings to Be Required to Install Window Coverings from May Next Year

According to the new law, buildings with large glass walls are bound by law to cut back on sunlight by mounting blinds, curtains, and other window coverings.(image:battlecreekcvb/flickr)

SEOUL, May 28 (Korea Bizwire) – Beginning in May next year, air-conditioned office buildings will be required to install curtains or blinds to save energy. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation published on May 28 a revised law on green buildings. According to the new law, buildings with large glass walls are bound by law to cut back on sunlight by mounting blinds, curtains, and other window coverings.

The law also mandated buildings in excess of a certain size to install insulation layers or vapour barriers as a way to improve energy efficiency. The law’s requirements included building energy management systems such as the smart meter, an electronic device that records electric energy consumption in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes.

An infrastructure ministry official said, “The details on the law will be prepared by September and published in the enforcement ordinance.” Once such information is made available, consumers looking for new homes and office spaces can check out a given real estate property’s energy saving performances on the newspaper’s rental classified ads and online announcements.

As for buildings used by government agencies and state-run enterprises, they will be subject to more stringent energy-saving standards. For example, the green building and energy efficiency rating certifications that have been limited to a few exemplary public buildings will be applied more widely to other public offices, which will be mandated to earn energy efficiency certifications before commencing on construction projects for buildings of a certain size.

Written by Sean Chung (schung10@koreabizwire.com)

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