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  Straits Times 24 Jan 07
'Green' buildings are most welcome
Letter from Murali Sharma

Business Times Singapore 19 Jan 07
New energy standard to help reduce bills
By Vincent Wee

Straits Times 10 Jan 07
New green standard a must for buildings
New air-conditioned buildings must meet energy efficiency guidelines from July
By Jessica Cheam

Channel NewsAsia 9 Jan 07
Revised energy efficiency standard to help buildings reduce electricity bills
By Loh Kim Chin

SINGAPORE : SPRING Singapore has launched a revised standard on Energy Efficiency for Building Services and Equipment. The Singapore Standard or SS530 will help building owners, tenants and developers to save up to 30 percent on their electricity bills. For older buildings, the savings can be substantial.

Joseph Loh, Energy Efficiency Committee Member, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, said: "More than 300 buildings that are 10 years old and above will definitely fall into this saving category. And we're looking at about S$100 million of energy saving per year for these 10-year-old buildings."

SS530 will incorporate revisions that specify minimum energy efficiency standards for air-conditioning equipment and electric motors. The new standard will be open to all new building plans submitted to the Building and Construction Authority from this July. -

Business Times Singapore 19 Jan 07
New energy standard to help reduce bills
By Vincent Wee

A NEW standard for energy efficiency in building equipment - announced yesterday by Spring Singapore - will help building owners, tenants and developers reduce up to one third of their power bills.

The Singapore Standard (SS) 530, which governs energy efficiency for building services and equipment, now includes key revisions to improve the minimum energy efficiency standards of air-conditioning equipment and electric motors.

The new standard is slated to be implemented from July 1, when all new building plans submitted to the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) can use it. As electricity bills are the most expensive part of running most buildings, making use of the standard can bring significant savings.

The requirements for air-conditioners, in particular, will cut energy usage. The new standards will be more closely aligned to increasingly stringent international standards, and air-conditioning chillers that comply with them will use up to 30 per cent less energy than those built to the previous standard.

'Power bills currently make up the single largest operating expense of buildings in Singapore, and up to 60 per cent of that goes into air-conditioning,' said Spring chief executive Loh Khum Yean.

The new energy-efficient equipment may initially cost building owners and developers more, but the potential savings from the reduced energy wastage are expected to outweigh the additional investment.

In addition, meeting the standard will also help them qualify for the BCA's Green Mark certification, which stipulates how a building should conserve water and energy.

Straits Times 10 Jan 07
New green standard a must for buildings
New air-conditioned buildings must meet energy efficiency guidelines from July
By Jessica Cheam

GOING green will no longer be a choice but a prerequisite come July1, when all air-conditioned buildings in Singapore will have to achieve a standard level of energy efficiency.

The new guidelines, called the Singapore Standard (SS) 530, were launched yesterday by standards body Spring Singapore. They are the latest initiative in the wider push towards environmental sustainability.

By mid-year, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will use the SS530 as the industry standard in its Building Control Regulations for all new offices, and commercial, industrial and institution buildings.

An information booklet, formerly known as the Code of Practice, contains detailed engineering specifications for building services and equipment, such as air-conditioning units, cooling towers, water heaters, electric motors and high-efficiency lighting.

The new standard outlines the minimum level of efficiency each piece of equipment and technology should attain. This will help reduce energy bills, which usually make up the highest operating cost of buildings, said Mr Teo Nam Kuan, group director of Spring Singapore's Quality and Standards arm.

Each year, up to $100 million is lost by inefficient buildings that are 10 years and older, said Mr Vincent Low, chairman of the Energy Efficiency Committee of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (Seas).

He suggested that companies run audits to determine their building's energy efficiency. While these cost anything from $20,000 to $40,000, the long-term savings could be much more substantial. Firms seeking financial support to install green technology can apply for financial support from Seas. 'We'll then share the savings until we recover our investment,' he added.

The guidelines will also help developers meet the requirements for the Green Mark.

Launched in 2005, the BCA Green Mark scheme rates buildings for their environmental impact and performance. Last month, the National Development Ministry announced a $20million kitty to entice private developers to go green. A further $50 million was also dedicated for research and development in green building technology.

Speaking to industry players at a separate briefing yesterday morning, BCA's director for technology development, Mr Tan Tian Chong, said the response has been very encouraging. BCA has received 45 applications for assessment to date. In the last two years, 34 buildings have been awarded the Green Mark.

The 2007 awards will be announced in May. Organisations interested in research funding can apply for anything from 30 to 75 per cent of their costs, covering manpower, equipment and materials, professional services and intellectual property rights.

The deadline for proposals is Feb 28, but BCA said it will open a second round of applications in June or July. 'However, we want to encourage proposals to be submitted now,' said Mr Tan. More information can be accessed at Spring Singapore's website at www.spring.gov.sg and BCA's website at www.bca.gov.sg

Straits Times 24 Jan 07
'Green' buildings are most welcome
Letter from Murali Sharma

Come July, all air-conditioned buildings will have to meet Singapore Standard (SS 530) of energy efficiency ('New green standard a must for buildings', ST, Jan 19).

This is a giant step in the direction to promote energy savings and thus preserve the environment for future generations.

In pushing for environmental sustainability, the Government has spared nothing to help building managements to carry out the programme. It has produced a booklet of guidelines detailing engineering specifications, such as for air-conditioning units, cooling towers, water heaters, electric motors and lighting.

The occupants of the buildings will no doubt welcome this as their energy bills, which form a substantial part of their operating expenses, will be drastically reduced. The annual size of the bills is $100 million for inefficient buildings which are 10 years and older. It is a sizeable amount and the savings over years of rising costs will be substantial.

The Government is also holding out a carrot worth millions of dollars for private developers to go green. It is giving out $20 million to developers to go green and $50 million for research to help promote green building technology.

All this is to the credit to the Government, for Singapore has no energy resource except the sun and wind.

We should therefore encourage the use of solar power, wind power and the tides. They are sustainable and renewable.

The other source which should be explored is nuclear power. Just like Newater, we should research these two sources of free power. It should yield great dividends and help raise our standard of living.

And as we are ahead in this game, just like Newater, we will be able to sell our expertise to many other countries for their benefit and ours.

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