Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) 40-year-old headquarters in Taipei is the first eco-friendly building that is at least 100m tall in Taiwan, the company said on Friday, touting renovations from 2017 to 2020.

In 2017, Taipower installed active magnetic bearing compressors developed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute for its air-conditioning system.

The compressors use 900 megawatt-hours less power per year than traditional compressors, whose gears are prone to friction, leading to loss of compressor momentum, Taipower said.

Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co

The company also installed precision cooling technologies for its server room and data centers, which together accounted for about 20 percent of the building’s power consumption due to the need for constant air conditioning to keep computers cool, it said.

The technology has halved the power use in its server rooms and data centers, it said, adding that compared with 2016, it has conserved 700MWh per year.

The upgrades in 2018 were recognized by the US Green Building Certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which gave the headquarters its platinum certification — its highest honor — for operations and maintenance of an existing building.

Last year, automated air-conditioning — which responds to temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels — was installed, Taipower engineer Chiu Yung-tang (邱泳棠) said.

The automated system has allowed the company to conserve 300MWh per year, Chiu said.

The building’s water recycling system captures rainwater and condensation from the air-conditioning system to water plants or flush toilets, Taipower said.

It refitted the restrooms with water-efficient toilets, which slashed water consumption by about 30 percent, it said, adding that the company this year began collecting water from its central kitchen.

The company has conserved up to 15,000 tonnes of water since 2018, enough for one of its water-efficient toilets to be flushed 2.52 million times, it said.

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