ACCIONA Real Estate hands over 93 new eco-efficient homes in Vilagarcía de Arousa, saving 2,200 tonnes of CO2

The Las Gardenias de Vilagarcía residential complex will save 10,200MWh of energy y 160,000m3 of water during its life span.

The development, in Vilagarcía de Arousa (Pontevedra province, Spain), is made up of 93 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes.

ACCIONA Real Estate is currently handing over the new apartments that make up its Las Gardenias de Vilagarcía residential development, located in Vilagarcía de Arousa, in the province of Pontevedra, Spain. Over their estimated 50-year life-span, the 93 eco-efficient homes are expected to save 10,200MWh in energy and 160,000m3 of water (enough to fill 64 Olympic-size swimming pools). In addition, the homes will save 2,200 tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to 3,800 trees. Apart from these environmental benefits, the eco-efficient apartments generate considerable energy savings for their owners through reduced consumption of electricity, gas and water.

The Las Gardenias de Vilagarcía residential development gives buyers a choice of one-, two- or three-bedroom homes, each with a parking space and lock-up storage room. The apartments are equipped with the latest home automation technology, including programmable systems for lighting, domestic appliances and heating. The development is located within the city area and not far from the 18-hole golf course in the nearby town of Meis. Vilagarcía itself is a coastal city with a multi-purpose port, a railway station and direct access to the highway and the nearby airport.

The Las Gardenias development makes a positive contribution to the environment through the use of clean construction technology, avoiding the use of lead, and using halogen-free wiring, aluminium shutters, and PVC-free down pipes.

Other environment-friendly measures include an array of energy-saving devices and systems such as solar panels for domestic hot water, condensation-free metal joinery, thermal-break window frames, light- and solar energy control glass, and programmable thermostats. The complex also keeps energy consumption to a minimum using movement detectors and low-consumption lamps in common spaces.

Las Gardenias de Vilagarcía also features systems designed to make rational use of water: faucet aerators, thermostatic faucets for baths and showers, double-flushing cisterns, and cut-off valves for hot and cold water in general and on individual appliances.

In August 2008, ACCIONA Real Estate began the sale of Los Tilos de Sanxenxo, the company's second eco-efficient residential development in Pontevedra (Spain), comprising two hundred apartments and houses that are expected to save more than 5,400 tonnes of CO2 and 490,000m3 of water.

ACCIONA Real Estate's goal is to contribute towards easing climate change across the globe by stepping up eco-efficiency measures in all of the company's projects.

Pioneers in eco-efficient homes

All ACCIONA Real Estate developments are designed and built according to sustainability criteria, and one of the company's main goals is to guarantee that all of its projects contribute towards environmental conservation and generate cost savings for home owners. Energy saving devices and materials, rational use of water and clean construction are among the important innovations introduced by ACCIONA Real Estate.

Housing built by ACCIONA Real Estate is energy efficient thanks to extensive use of solar panels for heating water; cross ventilation, high-quality materials and insulation; thermal break window- and door frames for improved insulation; light-  and solar energy control glass; and movement detectors and timing devices in common spaces.

Similarly, ACCIONA Real Estate promotes the rational use of water by installing separate down pipes, double-flushing cisterns, faucet aerators, and cut-off valves in rooms with plumbing.

All construction materials used by ACCIONA Real Estate are environmentally certified -they are neither toxic nor contaminating and they promote the reduction of waste. Examples include plasterboard, lead-free materials and PVC-free pipes. ACCIONA Real Estate uses technology in the pursuit of eco-efficiency through domotics, technological applications that allow efficient management of energy, comfort and safety in the home.

ACCIONA, a leading player in infrastructure, services and renewable energies

ACCIONA is one of Spain's leading corporations. Our activities in infrastructure, energy, water and services span more than 30 countries on the five continents.

ACCIONA Real Estate is a standard-setting company within the real estate sector, with more than 20 years' experience in two business areas: residential housing and real estate asset management. In the residential market, the company develops and markets homes spread across Spain, Portugal, Poland, Mexico and Brazil; and in real estate asset management, it develops and manages other types of buildings, such as offices, hotels, student apartments, shopping malls and rental homes.