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Energy Masterplan |
BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY MASTER PLAN
The Inter-Agency Committee on Energy Efficiency (IACEE), which comprises senior officers from various government agencies, was formed in 1998 to address the concerns over the increasing energy consumption of Singapore. In its report, the committee recommended a number of strategic directions to improve the energy efficiency of the buildings, industries and transport sectors.
The Building Energy Efficiency Master Plan (BEEMP), which is formulated by the Building & Construction Authority (BCA), details the various initiatives taken by the BCA to fulfil these recommendations. The plan contains programmes and measures that span the whole life cycle of a building. It begins with a set of energy efficiency standards to ensure buildings are designed right from the start and continues with a programme of energy management to ensure their operating efficiency is maintained throughout their life span. The BEEMP consists of the following programmes:
The BEEMP will be reviewed and updated annually to incorporate the latest plans and changes necessary to keep building energy efficiency in Singapore a sustainable goal. The details of the BEEMP 2000 are given in the ensuing sections.
REVIEW AND UPDATE OF ENERGY STANDARDS
The design of a building and its services determines to a great extent the future energy consumption level of the building. It is for this reason that since 1979 building regulations have been introduced to curtail energy wasteful building design.
Regular updates of codes and regulations are necessary to keep them in tune with the latest technical knowledge and developments. As interest in energy efficiency globally heightens and developments and progress rapidly increase, frequent reviews and updates of the codes and regulations become necessary.
The BCA has revised the OTTV standard and other building regulations pertaining to energy efficiency. It has also contributed to the revisions of the codes on lighting loads and air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation. Further reviews will be targeted every three years or sooner upon request by the professional institutes and boards.
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ENERGY AUDIT OF SELECTED BUILDINGS
In the tropical climate of Singapore, much of the electricity consumed in buildings goes towards air-conditioning. In particular, in places of work such as office, commercial and institutional buildings that are designed to be fully air-conditioned, it can account for up to 60% of the electricity bills of the buildings.
Badly maintained air-conditioning plants can inflate the energy consumption significantly. With proper energy audits and the implementation of their findings, savings of up to 30% with payback periods as short as two years are possible.
The BCA aims to conduct energy audits of a sample of buildings with high energy consumption. The study will include large offices, hotels, shopping complexes, hospitals and institutions. It will commence with a pilot scheme involving a few government buildings.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY INDICES (EEI) & PERFORMANCE BENCHMARK
For the industry to be more efficient, government and building owners as a whole must have better information to help them gauge the potential in building energy savings. The first step towards this is to derive an Energy Efficiency Index for every building with a sizeable air-conditioning load. When this has been established, the government can set performance benchmarks for the buildings by type. With all these in place, building owners will know how their buildings fare compared to the performance benchmark. Any performance below the benchmark would imply that improvement could be made to the building to attain the required energy efficiency level.
The BCA aims to establish an EEI for all buildings with a sizeable air-conditioning load and to set an energy performance benchmark by building type. This will be carried out over the next two to three years.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC SECTOR BUILDINGS
The public sector by virtue of its size is well positioned to be a role model as well as a showpiece of energy efficiency measures that are viable. Any improvement in building energy efficiency in the public sector will make a significant contribution to the performance at national level besides creating the necessary public awareness.
Banding of public sector buildings based on energy performance would provide landlord government agencies a rough indication of how they fare in comparison with other buildings of the same type. The buildings could be banded by type into three groups i.e. top 25%, middle 50% and bottom 25%. Banding is preferred to ranking as the present data does not allow a precise evaluation. Over time, as evaluation of buildings is improved under the EEI scheme, ranking can be considered at a later stage.
The BCA will undertake to band all public sector buildings by type based on energy performance into three groups i.e. top 25%, middle 50% and bottom 25%. An initial banding of all large public office buildings has been completed.
PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING
Under performance contracting, an energy service company (ESCO) finances the implementation of energy saving measures in a building. The building owner is therefore spared the cost of upgrading and replacing the existing plants and equipment. When the improvements result in running costs savings, the building owner benefits and in return the ESCO receives a share of the cost savings over a prescribed period.
Performance contracting has proven to be viable in other countries. If the public sector in Singapore is to be seen as role models, then the Singapore Government must actively encourage landlord agencies to undertake such schemes.
The BCA will encourage performance contracting and work with the Ministry of Finance on a standard form of contract for public buildings. The audit of a few public buildings over the next nine months will help to firm up the required documentation for such contracts.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
In order for Singapore to develop into a leading building energy efficient country, there has to be sufficient knowledge and expertise within the country to keep abreast of the latest technological changes as well as to face the challenges of global environmental issues.
Research in energy efficiency measures, developing design tools specifically to meet our local market and building a comprehensive database of energy related building information are some of the activities central to Singapore’s R&D needs. It will also provide the necessary information and support for future reviews and updates of the building regulations and performance benchmarks.
The BCA will collaborate with NUS & NTU on research and development to enhance energy efficiency in buildings. This will be a long term and continual process to keep Singapore in the forefront of technology.
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Building Energy Efficiency Master Plan |
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