Recent revisions to the Act on the Rational Use of Energy have expanded the regulations to include offices and stores. Sensing new business opportunities, a number of companies are developing new technology to reduce energy consumption. One of them, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. of Japan, has developed a technology that uses cameras to control air conditioning and lighting.
"Reduce energy consumption in the office." The goal is pretty easy to state, but a lot harder to achieve. It is difficult to optimize air conditioning or lighting in busy offices where people are constantly coming and going, but Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. of Japan is challenging the problem with cameras. The firm's approach uses cameras to continually monitor the office, automatically adjusting air conditioning and lighting as needed where people are present. Estimates indicate the technology could save 1.3 million yen annually in energy costs for an office of 12,000 square meters.
A large number of companies are in competition with Sanyo Electric, providing new ways to effectively reduce energy consumption. The activity was sparked off by the revised Act on the Rational Use of Energy, which went into effect in April 2010, and has accelerated development of technologies to save energy in offices and stores. Before the revisions there was demand for energy management in large-scale facilities or workplaces, but the revision has led to growing need for energy management on company-wide scales, regulating energy consumption in all the business locations of the corporation, even small offices.
CO2 emissions by offices and stores continue to rise. A look at CO2 emissions for fiscal 2008 shows that emissions from the 'commercial and other' sector, including offices and stores, has risen 41.3% over fiscal 1990 levels (Fig.1). A breakdown of the 'commercial and other' sector shows that 'wholesale, department stores and supermarkets' account for 21% of the total, and 'offices and buildings' 19% (Fig.2). The revisions to the Act are intended to restrain this growth.
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