Singapore already started depositing efforts toward becoming more efficient from the point of view of the consumed energy. What does this mean? It means that some residential buildings are beginning to enjoy lower energy bills. For example, the Joo Chiat Complex enjoys a top-notch chiller system, which helped save approximately $250,000 or 1.2 million kWh when it comes to utilities. The good news that such improvements are not going to stop. One of the country’s goals is to reach an energy efficiency of 80% by the time it reaches 2020, which is great news.
If you go through the Central Business District, it is easy to notice an interesting structure, painted in red, at the top of the CapitaGreen building. The structure we are talking about, located above the 40th floor of the building, is actually a wind scoop. Its purpose is to take air from the outside, filtering and cooling it, and then introducing it into the buildings air conditioning system. Thus, the tall building is now capable to save energy with its cooling system while offering a pleasant environment to everybody located on the inside. Why is this necessary? Well, cooling systems are one of the main energy consumers in Singapore, eating anywhere between 40 to 50% out of the energy consumed by one single building. Paired with a double-skin layer on the building, which will keep the structure from accumulating heat, such wind scoops can help save a lot of energy that would otherwise be wasted on air cooling.
As an example, since the wind scoop was installed on the CapitaGreen building, it is capable of saving approximately 580,000kwh on a monthly basis. To have an idea just how much this is, it is worth knowing that the amount of energy saved by CapitaGreen every month is enough to power approximately 1,500 4-room HDB apartments for a month. This office building developed by CapitaLand, together with Galaxis, a development made by Ascendas-Singbridge, save $900,000 in water and energy bills each year. They were created, right from the start, to be 30% more effective when it comes to energy consumption than the rest of the buildings.
But, as mentioned earlier, not just skyscrapers and modern buildings enjoy top-notch energy-saving technology. You probably didn’t expect or know that the Joo Chiat Complex, which is actually a shopping mall that was built back in 1982, is energy-efficient with the help of amazing technology. In 2015, Johnson Controls made the building go through a retrofitting process that took two whole years. The building of the mall is still old, but when it comes to its chillier system, you can be sure that the latest technology was employed here. Since the new plant started working in 2017, the building managed to save up to $250,000 on energy bills or 503 tonnes of carbon dioxide that were prevented from being released into the atmosphere. The upgrade made the Joo Chiat Complex earn the Green Mark Platinum award, which is the most sought-after and prestigious of the kind offered by the BCA to green buildings only.
At the moment, only 40% of Singapore’s buildings are meeting the requirements that turn them into green buildings. But, the country is aiming toward 80% in the coming years, reducing the consumption of energy and allowing the air to be cleaner.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/building-a-green-singapore
