1. Background
This report is to propose a solution to tackle a specific problem in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. The team decided to work on energy usage in Block 51 of Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Global warming has always been the topic around the world, due to its impacts on earth. Scientists around the world have confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which consists of more than 1,300 scientists from the United States and other countries, predicted a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century (Jackson, 2019).
The IPCC predicts that the increase in global mean temperature of less than 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 3 degrees Celsius) above 1990 levels will produce beneficial impacts in some regions and harmful ones in others. Net annual costs will increase over time as global temperatures increase (Jackson, 2019). Therefore, global warming is slowly affecting the whole world with the temperature and climate changes causing many environmental systems to change.
The ASEAN Member States approved during the 36th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting in Singapore that the regional goal to minimise energy intensity by 20% in 2020 was attained in 2018. Their next objective is to hit 30% in 2025. This urged ASEAN to enhance energy efficiency and conservation (EE&C) measures which is responsible for the coordination of ASEAN’s collective efforts on energy efficiency towards its objective of decrease in energy intensity. The policy is so effective that some ASEAN Member States are transforming the EE&C regulations into legislation to further enhance on the policy. EE&C also help to save cost and assets, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and drive green economy (ASEANEnergy, 2019).
Air-conditioning alone contributes to 50% of a building’s energy usage. Hence, this is one of the areas that should be looked out for energy saving. ASEAN are adapting green buildings to tackle such problem. Some examples of energy-saving features are a double-skin façade to reduce heat, the wind scoop to get cooler and cleaner air, painting white paint on the exterior to reflect radiation from the sun, and etc can help to reduce energy usage in a building. Such green buildings are expected to emerge in ASEAN, with the help of the guideline of EE&C to help transit to clean energy (ASEANEnergy , 2019).
With the commercial sector being the largest energy consumer in Singapore as reported by the National Environment Agency (NEA), there is significant potential for energy savings through improved and sustained energy management (NEA, 2019). According to Energy Market Authority (EMA), statistics in 2017 depicts 55.1% of total energy consumption in Singapore was used by commercial buildings, taking up more than half of Singapore’s energy consumption that year (EMA, 2017). Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) efforts in reducing energy waste in Singapore led to the ‘Green Mark Scheme’, which promotes sustainability in the built environment and raise environmental awareness among developers. Its primary goal is to facilitate a reduction in energy, water and material resource usage (BCA, 2019).
In addition, the Energy Conservation Act (ECA) was enacted on June 2012, along with the Energy Conservation (Energy Management Practices) Regulations that came into force in April 2013. The ECA aims to focus attention on proper energy management, as well as to level up slow-paced companies that manage energy inefficiently (NEA, 2019).
1.1 Current Observations at Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Ngee Ann Polytechnic has undergone major changes over the past few years, new buildings have been constructed to facilitate study areas, classrooms, and recreational activities within the campus. The newer buildings such as Block 51 Makan Place (BCA 2013), Block 58 (BCA 2013) and Block 22 (BCA 2015), have all been Greenmark certified due to their building design for energy efficiency. This shows that Ngee Ann Polytechnic is actively improving its campus towards sustainability.
However, the same cannot be said for existing buildings, such as Block 51 which is commonly used as classrooms for full-time students in the day and part-time students at night. The team has observed that the hallway lights are always on from 7 am till 12 midnight, while classroom lights can be controlled but students may forget to turn off the lights after using the classrooms. Motion sensors can be found in toilets, which helps to conserve electricity when the toilets are not in use.
Furthermore, the team noticed that the Air-Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation (ACMV) system in Block 51 is a centralized system, which meant that the room temperature cannot be manually adjusted. The ACMV would only turn on according to the booking timing of the classrooms. However since the room temperature not adjustable, during monsoon seasons temperature would be too cold even though the temperature could be reduced.
Ideally, lights could be dimmed or turned off when not in use to reduce energy wastage and ACMV temperatures could be adjusted according to the outside temperature. These improvements are possible with the use of sensors and ‘Smart’ technology, to retrofit existing buildings to be more sustainable and cost-efficient.
1.2 Problem Statement
Block 51 of Ngee Ann Polytechnic is not energy efficient in areas such as its lighting and Air-Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation (ACMV) systems in the hallways and classrooms when not in use. By retrofitting the lighting control system and ACMV systems, the Facilities Department of Ngee Ann Polytechnic could achieve IMCSD’s target of 80% Green Mark Certification (MND 2011) for Block 51 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic to attain zero energy wastage.
The Facilities Department should implement building automation in Block 51 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic which would cut electricity and air-conditioning when not in use, thus, reducing energy consumption.
1.3 Purpose Statement
The aim of this report is to propose to the Facility Department of Ngee Ann Polytechnic to improve on the energy wastage in Block 51 using sensors and automation control of lighting and Air-Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation (ACMV) through a building automation system (BAS)
References
ASEAN Centre for Energy. (2019). How do ASEAN Energy Efficiency and Conservation efforts progress in the first quarter of 2019? Retrieved October 28, 2019, from http://www.aseanenergy.org/blog/energy-insight/how-do-asean-energy-efficiency-and-conservation-efforts-progress-in-the-first-quarter-of-2019/
BCA. (2010). What is zero energy building? Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://www.bca.gov.sg/zeb/whatiszeb.html
BCA. (2013). Green Mark 2013-BCA. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://www.bca.gov.sg/greenMark/others/gm2013.pdf
BCA. (2015). BCA Green Mark Awards 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://www.bca.gov.sg/greenmark/others/gm2015.pdf
NEA. (2019). Energy Efficient Singapore. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/climate-change-energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency/industrial-sector
Jackson, R. (2019). The effects of climate change. Climate Change:Vital Signs of the Planet. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
This report is to propose a solution to tackle a specific problem in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. The team decided to work on energy usage in Block 51 of Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Global warming has always been the topic around the world, due to its impacts on earth. Scientists around the world have confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which consists of more than 1,300 scientists from the United States and other countries, predicted a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century (Jackson, 2019).
The IPCC predicts that the increase in global mean temperature of less than 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 3 degrees Celsius) above 1990 levels will produce beneficial impacts in some regions and harmful ones in others. Net annual costs will increase over time as global temperatures increase (Jackson, 2019). Therefore, global warming is slowly affecting the whole world with the temperature and climate changes causing many environmental systems to change.
The ASEAN Member States approved during the 36th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting in Singapore that the regional goal to minimise energy intensity by 20% in 2020 was attained in 2018. Their next objective is to hit 30% in 2025. This urged ASEAN to enhance energy efficiency and conservation (EE&C) measures which is responsible for the coordination of ASEAN’s collective efforts on energy efficiency towards its objective of decrease in energy intensity. The policy is so effective that some ASEAN Member States are transforming the EE&C regulations into legislation to further enhance on the policy. EE&C also help to save cost and assets, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and drive green economy (ASEANEnergy, 2019).
Air-conditioning alone contributes to 50% of a building’s energy usage. Hence, this is one of the areas that should be looked out for energy saving. ASEAN are adapting green buildings to tackle such problem. Some examples of energy-saving features are a double-skin façade to reduce heat, the wind scoop to get cooler and cleaner air, painting white paint on the exterior to reflect radiation from the sun, and etc can help to reduce energy usage in a building. Such green buildings are expected to emerge in ASEAN, with the help of the guideline of EE&C to help transit to clean energy (ASEANEnergy , 2019).
With the commercial sector being the largest energy consumer in Singapore as reported by the National Environment Agency (NEA), there is significant potential for energy savings through improved and sustained energy management (NEA, 2019). According to Energy Market Authority (EMA), statistics in 2017 depicts 55.1% of total energy consumption in Singapore was used by commercial buildings, taking up more than half of Singapore’s energy consumption that year (EMA, 2017). Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) efforts in reducing energy waste in Singapore led to the ‘Green Mark Scheme’, which promotes sustainability in the built environment and raise environmental awareness among developers. Its primary goal is to facilitate a reduction in energy, water and material resource usage (BCA, 2019).
In addition, the Energy Conservation Act (ECA) was enacted on June 2012, along with the Energy Conservation (Energy Management Practices) Regulations that came into force in April 2013. The ECA aims to focus attention on proper energy management, as well as to level up slow-paced companies that manage energy inefficiently (NEA, 2019).
1.1 Current Observations at Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Ngee Ann Polytechnic has undergone major changes over the past few years, new buildings have been constructed to facilitate study areas, classrooms, and recreational activities within the campus. The newer buildings such as Block 51 Makan Place (BCA 2013), Block 58 (BCA 2013) and Block 22 (BCA 2015), have all been Greenmark certified due to their building design for energy efficiency. This shows that Ngee Ann Polytechnic is actively improving its campus towards sustainability.
However, the same cannot be said for existing buildings, such as Block 51 which is commonly used as classrooms for full-time students in the day and part-time students at night. The team has observed that the hallway lights are always on from 7 am till 12 midnight, while classroom lights can be controlled but students may forget to turn off the lights after using the classrooms. Motion sensors can be found in toilets, which helps to conserve electricity when the toilets are not in use.
Furthermore, the team noticed that the Air-Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation (ACMV) system in Block 51 is a centralized system, which meant that the room temperature cannot be manually adjusted. The ACMV would only turn on according to the booking timing of the classrooms. However since the room temperature not adjustable, during monsoon seasons temperature would be too cold even though the temperature could be reduced.
Ideally, lights could be dimmed or turned off when not in use to reduce energy wastage and ACMV temperatures could be adjusted according to the outside temperature. These improvements are possible with the use of sensors and ‘Smart’ technology, to retrofit existing buildings to be more sustainable and cost-efficient.
1.2 Problem Statement
Block 51 of Ngee Ann Polytechnic is not energy efficient in areas such as its lighting and Air-Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation (ACMV) systems in the hallways and classrooms when not in use. By retrofitting the lighting control system and ACMV systems, the Facilities Department of Ngee Ann Polytechnic could achieve IMCSD’s target of 80% Green Mark Certification (MND 2011) for Block 51 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic to attain zero energy wastage.
The Facilities Department should implement building automation in Block 51 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic which would cut electricity and air-conditioning when not in use, thus, reducing energy consumption.
1.3 Purpose Statement
The aim of this report is to propose to the Facility Department of Ngee Ann Polytechnic to improve on the energy wastage in Block 51 using sensors and automation control of lighting and Air-Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation (ACMV) through a building automation system (BAS)
References
ASEAN Centre for Energy. (2019). How do ASEAN Energy Efficiency and Conservation efforts progress in the first quarter of 2019? Retrieved October 28, 2019, from http://www.aseanenergy.org/blog/energy-insight/how-do-asean-energy-efficiency-and-conservation-efforts-progress-in-the-first-quarter-of-2019/
BCA. (2010). What is zero energy building? Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://www.bca.gov.sg/zeb/whatiszeb.html
BCA. (2013). Green Mark 2013-BCA. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://www.bca.gov.sg/greenMark/others/gm2013.pdf
BCA. (2015). BCA Green Mark Awards 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://www.bca.gov.sg/greenmark/others/gm2015.pdf
NEA. (2019). Energy Efficient Singapore. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/climate-change-energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency/industrial-sector
Jackson, R. (2019). The effects of climate change. Climate Change:Vital Signs of the Planet. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
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