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  Channel NewsAsia 6 Aug 07
NUS creates benchmark for hotels to compare energy use

Business Times 4 Aug 07
NEA dangles carrot for hotels to go green
Top 25% of the energy efficient to get Energy Smart Hotel label
By MATTHEW PHAN

Today Online 4 Aug 07
Luxurious, but eco-friendly
Energy Smart hotels save energy without stinting on quality
Lin Yanqin

Channel NewsAsia 3 Aug 07
New Green label for energy smart hotels

SINGAPORE - A scheme to promote energy efficiency in hotels has been launched by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to give recognition to energy efficient hotels and promote energy efficiency by the better use of resources.

At the launch of the Energy Smart Hotel Label scheme, four hotels - The Regent, Shangri-la, Intercontinental and Changi Village - made it to the inaugural list.

Noting that recognition given to the four hotels, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources who was at the launch said, "I’m sure we will be able to get more on board, because they will be able to see there are really direct, tangible benefits that can be reaped with not very significant investments really, and the payback period because of the improvement in technology is getting shorter."

Studies conducted in Singapore and other parts of the world have identified hotels as one of the more energy-intensive buildings in a city.

And having acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in April 2006, the NEA’s Chief Executive Officer Lee Yuen Hee pointed out that Singapore’s commitment to combat climate change will require support from all sectors, especially the energy and carbon-intensive ones such as the hotel industry.

Speaking at the launch of the Energy Smart Hotel Label scheme, Mr Lee stressed that energy efficiency is important to maintain Singapore’s competitiveness.

"The productive use of energy, which is what energy efficiency is about, is one additional tool that Singapore businesses can make use of to stay ahead of global competition," added Mr Lee.

Hotels currently account for almost two percent of Singapore’s total greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to electricity consumption. In the next few years, the emissions are likely to rise with higher hotel occupancy rates and the addition of more hotel rooms.

The industry expects occupancy to increase by 1,000 rooms per year over the next two years and 4,300 new rooms by early 2010 when the two integrated resorts are completed.

By recognizing the best-performing hotels in terms of energy efficiency, it is hoped that the scheme will motivate others to make improvements to their buildings.

At the same time, the building owners get to enjoy a quick payback on energy efficiency investments as they can be amortized through immediate savings from the lower energy-related operating costs.

The Regent, which is among the first to receive the Energy Smart Hotel Label, was able to realize an energy reduction of about 26% in kilowatt-hour (kWh) terms after doing an energy audit.

The initiative led to measures such as the replacement of diesel boilers with a new heat recovery system which saw economic returns in about 18 months.

To participate in the scheme, hotels can engage an accredited Energy Service Company (ESCO) to conduct an audit of their energy efficiency against a set of benchmarks developed jointly by the NEA and Energy Sustainability Unit of the National University of Singapore.

The benchmarks were developed after a thorough survey involving a representative sample of 30 hotels.

Building physical features, operational characteristics, and data on energy use were amongst the key factors taken into consideration in designing the benchmarks of the system.

If a hotel meets all the criteria, it qualifies for the Energy Smart Hotel Label. If not, it can conduct a more detailed study, aimed at identifying areas of inefficiency and drawing up a set of realistic targets for improvement.

NEA will fund 50% of a hotel’s audit, up to a maximum of $200,000, from its Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme introduced in April 2005 to help companies defray the cost of conducting energy audits. - CNA/ym

Business Times 4 Aug 07
NEA dangles carrot for hotels to go green
Top 25% of the energy efficient to get Energy Smart Hotel label
By MATTHEW PHAN

HOTELS in Singapore now have a new incentive to be more energy-efficient. The National Environmental Agency (NEA) has launched a scheme that will give the top 25 per cent of them an Energy Smart Hotel (ESH) label.

There is no prize money, but hotels can expect to reap benefits via lower energy-related operating costs, with payback periods as short as one to two years, NEA said.

The energy-use intensity of hotels - measured by consumption per unit of gross floor area - is the highest of all building types because they are cooled and lit 24 hours a day, according to Lee Siew Eang, a professor at the National University of Singapore.

Hotels account for almost 2 per cent of Singapore's greenhouse gas emissions and about 10 per cent of energy use in commercial and institutional buildings, which as a group accounts for 18 per cent of Singapore's emissions.

And this is set to rise, said Amy Khor, senior parliamentary secretary for Environment and Water Resources and guest-of-honour at the launch of the ESH label. About 1,000 hotel rooms will be added over the next two years, and a further 4,300 when the two integrated resorts are completed by early 2010, she said. Singapore's stock of hotel rooms stands at 38,000, Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels said in March.

To obtain the ESH label, a hotel must first register with the NUS's Energy Sustainability Unit at www. esu.com.sg/smarttool.php. It must then hire an accredited energy service company to audit its energy use and the performance of its heating, lighting, ventilation and other systems.

The results will be compared against performance benchmarks that represent the top 25 per cent of hotels from an NUS study of 30 hotels in Singapore.

If a hotel meets the criteria, it will qualify for the ESH label, which will last for three years.

NEA chief executive Lee Yuen Hee said benchmarks and criteria will get tougher over time as hotels compete to improve efficiency.

NUS's study, conducted last year, found the average hotel in Singapore uses about 430 kWh of energy per square metre. To qualify for the label, a hotel must reduce this to about 390 kWh per square metre.

A 15-25 per cent reduction in energy use is achievable without the need to retrofit and replace major energy consuming equipment, Dr Lee said.

For example, the Regent Singapore - which with the Shangri-La, Changi Village Hotel and the Intercontinental, received the ESH label yesterday - cut its energy use 26 per cent by replacing diesel boilers with a heat recovery system.

NEA will fund up to 50 per cent of a hotel's energy audit up to $200,000 through its Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme. According to NUS, an audit costs $10,000 to $40,000, depending on building size.

The ESH label extends a programme for office buildings launched in December 2005.

Dr Khor said NEA plans to extend the scheme to shopping malls and schools 'as soon as possible'.

Today Online 4 Aug 07
Luxurious, but eco-friendly
Energy Smart hotels save energy without stinting on quality
Lin Yanqin yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg

KEEPING guests pampered and comfortable comes at a high price — hotels are among the biggest energy guzzlers in Singapore, accounting for nearly 2 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions.

And with 2,000 rooms to be added over the next couple of years and another 4,300 by 2010 — courtesy of the integrated resorts — they are now in the green movement's spotlight.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has added hotels to the Energy Smart Building labelling scheme, a two-year-old programme that recognises establishments for being energy efficient.

"I would say the next eight months is a critical time," said Dr Lee Siew Eang from the National University of Singapore (NUS), who headed the team that developed the benchmarks for the scheme.

"When all the design work (for the hotels) is going on, we can use this opportunity to put energy efficiency at the forefront of (the developers') minds."

To qualify to be Energy Smart, hotels need to engage an accredited energy service company to conduct an audit on their energy efficiency.

As an incentive, the NEA will fund 50 per cent of the cost of the audit, up to a maximum of $200,000. If the audit shows that the hotel ranks among the top 25 per cent in terms of energy efficiency, it will be awarded the label.

The trouble, Dr Lee said, is that many hotels in Singapore are ignorant of how energy inefficient they are.

"And some of the posh hotels told us that energy saving was not their priority because they were luxury hotels," he said. "They think that saving energy means compromising on quality."

But four hotels that were awarded the inaugural Energy Smart Hotel label on Friday prove this is not necessarily the case.

The Regent Singapore, for instance, shaves about $20,000 from its monthly utilities bill thanks to clever tweaking of current operations.

The hotel now uses a heat recovery system — using the heat emitted when water is cooled — for the hotel's heating needs. The system cost the hotel $500,000 to install, but it is confident that it will recoup the amount within 18 months.

"That's what this whole scheme is about — improving energy efficiency without compromising the guests' stay," said Ms Ann Verbeek, public relations director of The Regent. "We are doing all this without sacrificing luxury."

The other three hotels — InterContinental Singapore, Shangri-La Hotel, and Changi Village Hotel — have similar heat recovery systems, as well as energy efficient lighting systems to reduce electricity usage on lighting.

Energy Smart Office labels were also awarded to five other commercial buildings on Friday, along with a special award for the National Library Building. This brings the total number of buildings under the labelling scheme to 13 office buildings, four hotels, and one library.

"There are real savings which contribute to the bottom line and the systems are a business asset," said Dr Lee, who also heads NUS Energy Sustainability Unit. "The challenge is to convince developers that energy efficiency is not just a running cost, but can become a capital gain."

Plans are in the pipeline to extend the scheme to other types of buildings including shopping centres, hospitals and schools.

Channel NewsAsia 6 Aug 07
NUS creates benchmark for hotels to compare energy use

SINGAPORE: Hoteliers can now measure how efficiently they are using their energy resources, relative to the rest of the industry, with a benchmark for comparison created by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The researchers hope the move will push fence-sitters to go the extra green mile.

In a study of 30 Singapore hotels, it was found that the most energy efficient ones use some 300 kilowatt hour of electricity per square metre every year or about 50 percent less than the least efficient ones.

Associate Professor Lee Siew Eang, School of Design & Environment, NUS, said "By making these statistics and numbers available, they can quickly go back and look at their own data and energy bill, compare with the benchmark and they would know where they stand. They can even find out which percentile of the industry they are in and set their own targets."

Hotels now account for nearly 2 percent of Singapore's total greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to electricity use. These emissions are expected to increase with the anticipated growth in occupancy rates and the number of hotel rooms.

There have been concerns that an energy audit could be expensive, but various government grants are now available to help defray the costs. Energy Smart Label winner, The Regent, said its complete energy audit cost S$28,000 and it paid less with the help of various government grants. The hotelier was awarded the Energy Smart Hotel Label by the National Environment Agency for eco-friendly practices, together with Shangri-la Hotel, Intercontinental Hotel and Changi Village Hotel.

There are also plans to measure the energy efficiency of other buildings like shopping malls and schools.

NUS said it does not plan to publicly announce the list of buildings that are the least energy efficient, so it is up to the consumers to ask for the information and vote with their money. - CNA/so
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