The Seoul municipal government on Thursday announced a pending legal revision that aims to reduce energy consumption by placing restrictions on indoor temperatures to a minimum of 26 C in the summer and a maximum of 20 C in the winter.

The rules apply to buildings that consume large amounts of energy, such as businesses that use at least 2,000 tons of oil equivalent (TOE) per year, city officials said. TOE measures the amount of energy released by burning one ton of crude oil.

Summer is defined as June to September, and winter as November to March, according to the planned revision.

Tenement blocks, factories, medical facilities, social welfare facilities, kindergartens and religious facilities will be among the exceptions to the rule, the officials said.

The Seoul government also plans to expand the number of buildings subject to energy consumption checks from buildings that use 2,000 TOE per year or more, to buildings that consume 1,000 TOE per year or more. These buildings will be required to provide real-time data on indoor temperatures and energy consumption levels.

The municipal government said it also plans to install solar energy equipment on the rooftops of schools and other public buildings and aim for their total electricity generation to reach 320 megawatts by 2014. (Yonhap)