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  Today Online 14 Jul 07
Buzzed ... by an electric stroke of genius
Teacher wins MOE award for developing a system to control school's air cons
Lin Yanqin yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg

A FEW taps on his mobile phone, and physics teacher Mr Sia Lai Chai is able to save his school around $10,000 every month on its electricity bill.

The Saint Andrew's Junior College (SAJC) teacher — also the school's head of Information Technology — modified a device that made use of Short Message System (SMS) messages to turn on and off appliances such that the air conditioners in the school's lecture halls were made use of more efficiently.

His stroke of inspiration won him a Gold Innergy Award at the Ministry of Education's ( MOE) ExCEL Fest on Friday — an annual event for teachers showcasing innovative practices and solutions that schools have devised.

Shocked by the sharp rise in electricity costs after the school's move to new premises at Potong Pasir, Mr Sia looked for solutions to the problem last year.

"The premises are much bigger and we have more equipment, so our bill went up ... to $ 40,000 at one point," said Mr Sia, who has been teaching at SAJC for more than 20 years.

"Everyone was very concerned, so I decided to try and solve it."

Mr Sia said the air conditioners in the five lecture theatres were consuming the bulk of the electricity. "People forget to turn them off when they leave, or some a small group of people uses a big room because they want to enjoy the air con."

The solution was to find a way to control when the air conditioners could be used.

At Sim Lim Square, he came upon a device that could control appliances with SMS commands from mobile phones. Using that, Mr Sia then developed a system that could be implemented throughout the school.

"Now only people with the commands can turn on the air cons," he said. "The school also has guidelines that the lecture theatres can only be used if it's at least half full. This way, we managed to cut costs."

From Townsville Primary School, operations manager Mr Ridwan Abdullah won a Best Suggestion Award for reducing water wastage at the school.

Mr Ridwan noted that water bills went up when the school had to empty its water tanks for annual cleaning.

He suggested that cleaning inspectors give prior notice before their visits , so that the school could reduce the volume of water in the tanks before they had to be emptied. "Otherwise, thousands of litres of water get thrown out just like that, " he said.

Thanks to Mr Ridwan's suggestion, the school saved about $400 in water bills during its latest round of cleaning last year.

In its 11th year, the MOE ExCEL Fest was held at the Singapore Chinese Girls' School on Friday, and featured exhibits and seminars — all in the spirit of sharing ideas on how to manage schools better. Three categories of awards — Innergy Awards, Thinking Culture Awards, and Best Suggestion Awards — are also given to recognise schools' creative efforts at improvements.

Minister of State for Education Gan Kim Yong, who presented 81 awards to MOE staff, said: "There is much to be gained by having staff coming together for mutual learning and sharing."

Citing Pathlight School's presentation about autism-friendly teaching strategies as an example, Mr Gan said: " Mainstream school teachers would be able to gain some insights on the learning needs of pupils with autism."

Such events, he said, are the key platforms for teachers to learn and share the innovative practices in Singapore's schools.
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