S’pore’s first zero energy building launched

It costs $11m to retrofit and is the first building of its kind in SE Asia

The republic’s first zero energy building (ZEB) was launched by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday at the start of Singapore Green Building Week.

Touch of greenery: The ZEB is estimated to be about 40-50% more efficient than a normal office building of a similar layout, and all things being equal, is expected to save $84,000 in electricity costs

The ZEB, within the Building and Construction Authority’s BCA Academy, costs $11 million to retrofit and is the first building of its kind in South-east Asia.

It does not need any external energy supply. The roof is fitted with about 1,540 square metres of solar panels that generate about 207,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year – enough to power 45 four-room HDB apartments.

The ZEB is estimated to be about 40-50 per cent more efficient than a normal office building of a similar layout, and all things being equal, is expected to save $84,000 in electricity costs.

BCA chief executive John Keung estimates that retrofitting a building to qualify for the Platinum Green Mark award would cost a 5 per cent premium on average.

BCA is using the ZEB as a testing ground for various kinds of efficient devices such as single coil twin-fan ventilation systems and mirror ducts.

The refinement of these technologies is geared towards meeting the target set out in the Singapore Sustainable Blueprint, which aims to have 80 per cent of all buildings in Singapore achieve at least the basic Green Mark Certification by 2030.

‘The greening of buildings provides a new growth opportunity for our construction industry,’ Mr Mah said.

‘We have an existing stock of over 210 million sq m of building floor area. The retrofitting of existing buildings for greater energy efficiency will involve several steps: First, auditing the buildings to identify the key inefficient areas; second, upgrading to newer and more energy-efficient equipment; and third, ensuring that building operations are run in an energy-efficient manner.’

Besides investment in new technologies, the move to green buildings also presents an opportunity to invest in new manpower capabilities, Mr Mah said. Singapore needs to build up a ‘green collar’ work force of 18,000-20,000 specialists within the next decade to develop, design, construct, operate and maintain the green buildings, he said.

The inaugural Singapore Green Building Week is part of BCA’s roadmap to expand and share Singapore’s green building initiatives with overseas specialists and industry leaders.

The event will be anchored by the three-day International Green Building Conference, which kicks off tomorrow. The conference is expected to draw around 1,000 delegates from more than 20 countries.

Source : Business Times – 27 Oct 2009