2010-03-26 - Millions of people around the world will switch off the lights for Earth Hour, a global initiative to demonstrate concerns about climate change. ABB supports efforts to conserve energy and protect the environment – and not just on that day.
Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday, March 27 at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. The initiative started in Sydney, Australia in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned off their lights for one hour. The initiative has grown rapidly and some of the world’s most recognized landmarks will go dark for an hour, as a sign of commitment to action to address the issue of global warming.
Buildings worldwide account for 40 percent of global energy consumption, and the resulting carbon footprint significantly exceeds that of all transportation combined. Of course there is much more to addressing this issue than switching off lights for one hour once a year.
Energy savings and energy efficiency is a key focus for ABB, both in our own activities and through the products, systems and services we offer our customers. And it’s a very important focus for our customers – last year, ‘energy efficiency’ was a primary purchase criteria in 45 percent of ABB's revenues. ABB’s portfolio includes energy-efficient solutions throughout the supply chain, from the extraction of energy to its use by consumers. Two examples show how ABB’s offering can lower the environmental impact of buildings:
A school in Helsinki, Finland installed ABB drives to cut energy use in its gymnasium by about 15 percent. The drives allow adjusting the motors of the HVAC system and govern energy use according to need. HVAC motors account for more than 60 percent of a building’s total energy consumption.
ABB's i-bus® KNX building automation solution controls energy-intensive functions, such as air conditioning and lighting. An ABB KNX solution is reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions by as much as 35 percent in “Le reve”, a luxury apartment tower in Dubai.
Energy efficiency is also a key element of ABB’s sustainability objectives for 2010 and 2011. The target was set to reduce the energy intensity at our manufacturing and non-manufacturing sites by 2.5 percent annually for 2010 and 2011. ABB is also putting a special focus on its 23 most energy intensive sites.
To support our overall energy reduction efforts, ABB’s real estate specialists are also committed to reducing energy consumption in buildings. Activities range from technical improvements such as adoption of intelligent building control systems, ABB drives and efficient electrical appliances to the application of building insulation and use of natural lighting.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people. ABB has a full range of business activities in China, including R&D, manufacturing, sales and services, with 15,000 employees, 30 joint ventures and wholly owned companies, and an extensive sales and service network across 60 cities.