According to the European Union’s Copernicus climate change service, the global average temperature for July this year was 16.95 degrees, the highest ever recorded for any month of the year. At a time when climate change has become the topic of the day, concern about the impact of any activity on the environment is becoming more and more relevant. Green solutions are also becoming indispensable for real estate development, especially in overpopulated cities exposed to global warming, such as Bucharest.

How does One United Properties address environmental issues?

In these urbanized areas, with increasing pressure on resources and the environment, green solutions are becoming critical to counteract negative climate impacts and ensure a sustainable future for communities. By implementing concepts such as the use of renewable energy sources, efficient water management, the use of sustainable building materials and intelligent building management systems, real estate developments can not only create modern and comfortable homes, but also bring significant benefits to the environment and people’s Quality of Life.

One United Properties, a leading developer of high quality residential, office and mixed-use projects in Romania, is already moving towards such solutions. Since last year, the company has entered into a partnership with Veolia Romania Solutii Integrate (VRSI), a member company of Veolia Romania and a provider of services for the operation, maintenance and management of water supply, sewage and energy systems, to implement innovative energy solutions with the aim of optimizing the sustainability parameters related to with ONE residential buildings.

Therefore, for the ONE series of developments, namely One Lake District, One Peninsula, One Lake Club and One High District, VRSI will invest in the development and operation of a geoexchange heating and cooling system.

The geoexchange system is one of the most energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective solutions for air conditioning. A geothermal exchange solution does not emit carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or other greenhouse gases that contribute to air pollution. Also, because geothermal exchange systems do not burn significant amounts of fuel such as gas, oil, propane, or coal, they operate at lower costs and are much cleaner. As a result, heating and cooling costs are lower than traditional solutions and will have predictable and long-term self-consumption.

“At One United Properties, we always strive to ensure the sustainability of our developments throughout their lifetime. Given the global impact of the real estate industry on the environment, we have always paid special attention to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to minimize climate change, as well as to optimize operational activities to ensure that the developed projects maintain their qualities years after their completion. In recent years, we have also noticed a growing interest of end users in safe and sustainable development, an increasingly clear awareness of the importance of energy efficiency, so we aim to continue investing in geoexchange systems in all residential buildings that enable these solutions to be implemented. “, he says Andrei Diaconescu, Co-CEO of One United Properties.

How does it work and what are the advantages of a geoexchange system compared to traditional air conditioning systems?

Geoexchange is a technology that uses the Earth’s thermal energy as a source for heating, ventilation and cooling of buildings.

In the case of residential buildings, heat pumps take heat from inside the apartments and transfer it to the ground through geothermal probes in cooling mode and do the opposite in heating mode, that is, they extract heat from the ground. with the help of the same probes and move it around the apartments. Thus, the ground is used as a heat source when the system is in heating mode and as a heat sink when the system is in cooling mode.

In the case of ONE developments, ground-water heat pumps take low-temperature heat from the ground and, with the help of pumps, depending on the season, raise/lower the water temperature of the internal heating system (underfloor heating) and internal cooling system (fan coils), and then distribute it to end users . The hot water supply temperature for heating is 30-45°C, and the chilled water temperature for cooling is 7-16°C.

Compared to the mode of operation of the classic air conditioning system, without which it is impossible to imagine thermal comfort inside the room in the hot season and which transfers from the inside to the outside, into the atmospheric air, the heat dissipated by the external unit (condenser) during the cooling period, in the case of heat pumps (soil -water) heat dissipated by the condenser of the installation (warm period of the year), is introduced and stored in the ground and used in the cold period of the year (for room heating). Thus, the thermal impact on the external environment is reduced with high energy efficiency.

During the calendar year, this system (heat pumps) can satisfy up to 80% of the building’s needs, the rest of the needs are covered by water heating boilers.

“We are very excited to expand our strategic partnership with One United Properties, developing and implementing one of the most innovative heating and cooling systems for residential parks, a geoexchange solution. It is our duty and responsibility, as a fighter for ecological transformation, to provide our customers with appropriate solutions for decarbonization and energy efficiency. In fact, improving our impact on the environment and our customers is central to our company and its business model. The investments allocated to the implementation of these green solutions for heating and cooling are 3.1 million euros for One Lake Club and 3.6 million euros for One High District,” said Mădălin Mihailovici, CEO of Veolia Romania.

Environmentally friendly real estate projects

One peninsula it is the first residential club in Bucharest with a geothermal heat pump system and the most exclusive complex in the capital. Here, the system, built by One United and operated by VRSI, consists of a heat pump and 270 geothermal wells located at a depth of 120 linear meters each, which will provide both the coolant and cooling water for the villas and apartments located at One. Peninsula complex. The system will reduce approximately 550 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

One peninsula

to One Lake ClubVRSI is investing €3.1 million in environmentally friendly heating and cooling solutions that will benefit all residents of the complex. Located on the shores of Lake Tay, One Lake Club will be an exclusive lakeside development consisting of five residential buildings with modern apartments, commercial space and a range of services available on the ground floor. The solution installed by VRSI will save approximately 905 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

One Lake Club

One high district, a community-based property concept that offers residents more than just living space, will also benefit from a state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly energy source, geothermal heat pumps, following a €3.6 million investment by VRSI. During the entire process of heating and cooling the 786 apartments located in three 20-story towers, the tallest residential towers in the Lake Tay area and among the tallest residential towers in Romania, 995 tons of CO2 emissions will be reduced annually.

Also on One lake region, a residential complex located in Sector 2 of Bucharest, which will house more than 2,000 apartments, VRSI is investing in the construction of a system of geothermal pumps that will provide renewable energy for all residents. By implementing this solution in One Lake District compared to the traditional one, approximately 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year could be avoided, which is equivalent to 2,000 cars, given that a new car emits around 100g of CO2/km and travels 10,000 km. / year.

One lake region

“Energy-independent buildings are already a reality, but also a necessity of the time in which we live. In the projects developed for ONE, we guarantee from the concept phase that they can get at least 30% of their energy from renewable sources, and we propose that they emit 15-30% less CO2 than conventional buildings. apartments,” he says Marius Kaelin, director of X Architecture & Engineeringthe architectural firm that signs designs for most of One United Properties’ developments.

Concern for sustainability goes beyond specific projects and is part of a larger strategy that a development company like One United Properties pursues in the long term, which prioritizes the continuous improvement of ONE development parameters to better serve the environment and, as a result, the community.

One United Properties has been a member of the Romanian Green Building Council (RoGBC), an organization that promotes environmental responsibility and energy efficiency, since 2015. Since 2017, all One United Properties residential complexes have been RoGBC green building certified, which implies full compliance with several environmental protection criteria: from the sorting of materials at the recycling stage to the use of sustainable building materials such as bricks, to the optimization of water consumption through efficient irrigation of green surfaces to the installation of intelligent BMS systems to manage environmental parameters in the building or to eliminate light pollution by installing LED lamps, etc.

In fact, the partnership between One United Properties and Veolia is part of a broader sustainability strategy that the developer began implementing at the end of 2021 after deciding to join the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest sustainable development initiative. After joining the UN Global Compact, the company undertook to report annually on progress in the field of sustainable development.

One United Properties recently released its 2022 Sustainability Report, which can be viewed here. The report highlights the company’s progress in key areas of sustainability, covering broad environmental, social and governance issues.

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ONE UNITED PROPERTIES (BSE: ONE) is a leading real estate investor and developer of luxury residential, office and mixed-use projects in Bucharest, Romania. One United Properties is an innovative company committed to accelerating construction practices for safe, energy efficient, sustainable and healthy buildings. It has received numerous awards and recognition for sustainability and energy efficiency. The company is traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and its shares are included in several indices such as BET, ROTX, STOXX, MCSI, FTSE Russell Global All-Cap and FTSE EPRA Nareit EMEA Emerging.

Article based on One United Properties