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9th December 1999, The Straits Times

Plan to improve energy use here  

Standards for materials used in facades will be modified to include the use of glazing materials that can reduce the retention of heat from the sun, says the Building and Construction Authority.

Initiatives to reduce power consumption and make buildings more energy-efficient are in the pipeline

Singapore’s buildings may be clean but they are far from being green – energy wise, that is.

In fact, when it comes to measuring energy consumption against a country’s gross domestic product, the Republic is behind countries like Switzerland, Denmark, Japan and even Hong Kong, says the International Energy Agency.

To catch up, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is putting energy efficiency high on its agenda and kicking off several initiatives to reduce its consumption by making buildings here more energy efficient.

Associate Professor Koo Tsai Kee, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (National Development), said that under the plan, BCA will modify current standards for materials used in building facades to include glazing materials that can reduce the retention of heat from the sun.

At the same time, it will study the cost effectiveness of building materials, equipment and systems, he said.

If necessary, BCA will also set up an Energy Resource Information Centre for Buildings, as a one-stop center on efficiency, and create an index by which building owners and managers can measure and compare the energy efficiency of their structures.

Speaking at the opening of a series of exhibitions for the building and construction industry, Prof Koo said: “Compared with many developed countries, Singapore is not a very efficient consumer of energy.

“By and large, there appears to be a prevalent indifference towards energy efficiency in Singapore,” he added.

He said that Singapore would have to improve its energy efficiency in the coming years, as it had signed the 1998 Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Under this agreement, developed countries have pledged to cut the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases they emit by about 5 per cent below 1990 levels, before 2012.

Singapore’s overall electricity consumption is projected to increase by 5.3 per cent each year. To meet this growth, about 3.3 billion would have to be spent.

“Promoting energy efficiency cannot be the responsibility of Government alone,’ said Prof Koo.

“Building owners and designers have key roles in ensuring that their buildings are optimally designed and efficiently run.”

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