A Shift into Low-Energy Conservation Economic Structure

Electricity-gulping products such cooling and heating systems and energy storage systems (ESS) face stricter energy efficiency management

The government and the private sector are poised to shift into a low-energy conservation economic structure.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) held a meeting with business leaders to improve energy efficiency at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on March 8 and announced four major energy conservation steps, said Director Ahn Sung-il in charge of energy management at the MKE.
Electricity-gulping products such cooling and heating systems and energy storage systems (ESS) will be put on the list of the items subject to stricter energy efficiency management, while electronic home appliances and lighting fixtures will face stricter energy efficiency standards.
Taking a look into energy efficiency management, one of the four major energy conservation steps, the ministry said starting in April, electric heat pumps (EHP) will be reclassified from the higher efficiency certification category into the efficiency grade indication category, removing such benefits as government financing support and advantages in public enterprises’ procurement.
Showcase refrigerators and freezers of retailing outlets, which account for one-fourth of their total consumption, and server/storage for internet data centers will be put on the efficiency grade indication category for stricter energy conservation.
Gas heat pump, ESS, light emitting diode (LED) street lamps, tunnel lamps, floodlight, Tubular LED lamps, which replace the conventional fluorescents, will be put on the list of the higher efficiency certification category.
The ministry decided to ramp up energy efficiency standards. Subsequently, the top first-class classification rate of major electric home appliances such as kimchi refrigerators, electric washing machines, dishwashers and electric rice cookers will be lowered from the current rates of 30 to 60 percent to a 10 percent range.
The efficiency standard of three-phase induction motors, a single electric system accounting for about 40 percent of the national electricity consumption, will be required to shift from the higher efficiency category to the premium efficiency category for furthering efficiency starting from 2015.
The lower fuel economy standard of electric transformers will be upgraded on a gradual basis to the levels of the United States while the higher efficiency certification standards of uninterruptible power systems for emergency power generation will be reinforced.
In order to cut down on standby power, which stands at about 6 percent of the nation’s electricity consumption, the standby power standard will be lowered from the current 1W to 0.5 starting from 2015. Starting from this year, monitors, scanners and dishwashers will be obliged to meet the 0.5-watt standby power standard. Makers of built-in electric home appliances and set-top boxes will be recommended to meet the second-class consumption efficiency standard or higher and excellent standby power requirements, and to this end, legal foundation will be laid.
The ministry has set aside 47.8 bi8llion won to finance the LED replacement of lamps for public organizations, the lightings of traditional markets and advertisement boards of smaller businesses.
Song Yoo-jong, director general for MKE’ s energy & efficiency, said, “Expelling lower efficiency systems and replacing them with higher efficiency ones from markets will cut down on the electricity peak load, which is projected to stand at 1.2 million kW, and the energy conservation efforts will pay off with the projected effect of curbing power peak to the equivalent of two or three 1 million kW-class nuclear power units by 2015.”
MKE Minister Hong told the meeting that despite the current stark reality in which electricity is in short supply, it is more important for government and private sectors to make concerted efforts to conserve energy and improve energy efficiency of products.
He urged businessmen to develop world-class products by expanding investments to improve energy efficiency and the government to build infrastructure and expanding incentives for improving energy efficiency.? He also called for collaboration between government and private sectors to expand energy conservation efforts and low-energy systems.?

Minister of Knowledge Economy Hong Suk-woo and representatives of industries discuss ways to conser energy? at a meeting in Seoul on March 8.