The iconic Portside building in the Cape Town skyline, with its eye-catching Atlantic-green glass façade, has set an example for all skyscrapers in South Africa by becoming the first of its type to have received an Energy Performance Certificate. The Portside Body Corporate has taken the lead in the Cape Town city bowl and has successfully completed the EPC process. Bluedust EPC, as their consultants on the project stated, “It is an honour to have ensured that this iconic building is leading the charge in both the Mother City and the country on compliance with energy efficiency regulations”.  The building was originally given a 5 Star Green Star SA – Office v1 Design Rating in 2013, followed by a 5 Star Green Star SA Office v1 As-built rating in 2015. By receiving its EPC so soon after the regulations were promulgated, and more than a year and a half before the deadline for compliance for mandatory buildings, the Body Corporate has demonstrated its continued commitment to providing their tenants and owners alike with a well-managed and sustainable building.

The new regulations on EPCs for buildings in South Africa were promulgated by the Minister of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in December 2020 and form part of the Energy Act. These regulations aim to be the first step in creating energy efficiency awareness and corporate responsibility in the commercial building sector. As such, currently only privately owned buildings larger than 2,000 square meters and government-owned buildings larger than 1,000 square meters must comply with these regulations. Furthermore, only buildings with an occupancy class of “Offices”, “Place of instruction”, “Entertainment and public assembly” and “Theatrical and indoor sport” require the EPC certification before December 2022. Finally, the buildings should be older than two years and not have had any major renovations within the past two years of operations; and any changes to a building or structural changes that require planning approval from the relevant local authority.

The EPC process requires that a building owner have their building assessed by an accredited inspection body. This assessment is to determine the energy use intensity (EUI) of the building in kWh per square meter per year. This is then compared to benchmarks determined in the SANS 10400-XA standard, which has predetermined values for the different types of buildings in different climatic or energy zones within South Africa. Depending on how much below or above the benchmark a particular building is, it receives a rating from A to G, with A being the lowest EUI and D being the benchmark value.

The Portside building received a rating of D, meaning that it complies with the national building regulations on energy performance for an office-building in the temperate-coastal climatic zone. This rating has made the Portside building both the largest building, at more than 52,000 square meters, and the tallest building, at around 140m to be certified in compliance with the regulations. It is also the first building with more than 20 floors to be certified for its energy performance. An interesting consequence of the building’s hight is that a lot of energy is required for water pumping, both for HVAC purposes but also for sanitation, since each floor has a small kitchen area, bathrooms and some even have catering services.

Dr Frank Duvenhage, from the Bluedust EPC team who facilitated the EPC process, noted that the EPC process for the Portside building was complex due to the number of floors, the presence of retail tenants and the amount of parking that needed to be excluded. However, despite these complexities, through a thorough understanding of what was required by the accredited inspection body to issue the EPC, and clear communication with the client, Bluedust EPC was able to ensure a speedy turn-around time for the client. The competent team from Energy Management and validation Services (EMVS) and excellent cooperation from the Portside Technical team ensured the entire process was effective. Dr Duvenhage concludes with: “While the Green Star rating and efficient use of energy through LED lighting and solar-heating on the rooftop makes the Portside building more efficient, the need for energy to overcome gravity in supplying water to the building cannot be underestimated. Considering this, and with more skyscrapers receiving EPCs, it will be interesting to see if the regulations and benchmarks are updated to account for this higher EUI.”