A complete first of its kind green
apartment building has been built in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
The building has nine wind turbines
and the roof is cover with solar panels.
The turbines generate all the electricity for
the building which consist of 16 floors, 54 apartments, two penthouses, eight
elevators, garages, pumps, electrical awnings and all the amenities that such a
modern building demands.
The solar panels provide the hot
water, the heating system and even the hot water for the two pools, one indoor
and one outdoors.
Punta de Este is a summer beach
resort, due to that fact, there is a significantly lower consumption by the
number of apartments that can be unoccupied, and the excess energy is given to
the electric company which in return will give the extra energy back to the
building in the summer without any exchange of money involved.
This is the first and only building
of this kind and as such it was very expensive to build. However due to the
progress in the technologies for solar energy and wind turbines prices should
lower making this process available to more apartment buildings and private
homes.
Or I least I hope.
