Power to the greenies
Some home owners enjoy free energy, thanks to their green efforts
Tay Suan Chiang, Straits Times 22 Nov 08;
Home owner Christophe Inglin's utilities bill is the envy of most people. For at least the past two months, he has not had to pay a single cent.
In fact, SP Services, which provides electricity, water and piped gas supplies, had to credit him about $30 each month.
It is all thanks to the solar panels that he has installed on the roof of his semidetached home in Siglap. They use the sun's heat to generate energy to power all the appliances in the house, including air-conditioners and water heaters.
These panels are plugged into the national electricity grid and contribute power to it, hence saving him the need to pay for electricity.
Mr Inglin, 46, is managing director of solar systems integrator Phoenix Solar and has been running the Singapore office for the last two years. He has 90 panels from the 10-year-old German company on his 2 1/2-storey house, harnessing sunlight to give him this free power.
On average, the utilities bill for a conventional home of the same size can be as much as $600 a month.
The panels cost $105,000 to install, with a 30-year payback at today's tariff rates. But before you rush out to buy them, he says the goal of using solar panels is to keep energy usage levels low. 'They are definitely not for saving money,' he cautions, because of the high cost.
The electricity generated by the solar panels can power his home's 20 fans, eight air-conditioners and other appliances such as the refrigerator and TV.
During the monsoon season when there is less sun, the family taps on electricity from the power grid.
The Swiss-born Singapore permanent resident lives with his Singaporean wife, Patricia, a management consultant, their twin boys Sean and Martin, and daughter, Yvonne.
Tapping on solar power
They moved in seven months ago from a terrace house in Joo Chiat.
Mr Inglin, who also chairs the clean energy committee of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, made the conscious effort to make his home green.
He has a rainwater collection system at the back of his home where water is collected and stored in a 6,000-litre underground tank. It is used to water the garden and wash his car. He says that with the rainy season now, the tank rarely runs dry.
He declined to reveal how much he paid for the house but says he spent about $800,000 on renovations. It includes the installation of the solar panels.
Part of the renovations included creating a 20m lap pool, which can be expensive to maintain as its pump requires lots of energy to run.
To keep costs low, Mr Inglin sets the pump to run only twice a day. It is powered by energy generated from the solar panels.
When it came to choosing appliances for the home, the family went for those that were energy-efficient, such as their washing machine and air-con.
They did away with air-con entirely on the ground floor as they wanted the indoors and outdoors to blend seamlessly.
While sliding doors by the dining area allow direct access to the pool, architect Cheng Liang Gek of Art & Architecture Collaborative installed aluminium louvres below the glass roof to prevent too much sunlight from entering the home.
Lawyer Lee Boon Siong, 70, is another home owner who is going green. He installed solar panels in his two-storey-plus-attic conservation shophouse in Neil Road to help power appliances in his home and heat water up for his use.
He also has a special lighting system in his attic which captures light through a roof dome and channels it down an internal reflective system.
'I don't need to use lights powered by electricity anymore,' says Mr Lee, who is also honorary president of the Poh Ern Shih temple at Pasir Panjang. He spent about $23,000 on the solar panels and he estimates that he saves $755 a year on his energy bills.
He was inspired to turn his home into an eco-friendly one after putting in green features at the temple such as solar panels.
'Solar power is free, so why not tap it?' he asks.
10 tips on saving energy at home
Straits Times 22 Nov 08;
1 The air-conditioner may do a good job at keeping your home cool but it also uses the most electricity. Use a fan instead, especially during this rainy season. Switching to a fan can save about $70 a month on your electricity bill.
2 If you must use the air-con, set the temperature to 25 deg C or higher. The colder you set it, the more energy the air-con needs to run. Every degree raised saves you about $25 in electric bills annually.
3 Switch off all home appliances at the socket instead of leaving them on standby, which still consumes power. Doing this saves about $70 a year.
4 Choose energy-efficient light bulbs which use up to 80 per cent less electricity than incandescent ones to produce the same amount of light.
Switching to energy-efficient bulbs can save about $20 a bulb annually.
Look for labels on the packaging which indicate they are energy-efficient.
5 When buying a new air-con or refrigerator, check the energy labels. Pick an appliance that has a four-tick mark over a one-tick model. The more ticks, the more energy efficient it is. An air-con with four ticks saves about $460 in power bills a year compared to a one-tick model, and a four-tick fridge saves about $130 a year over a model that has only one tick.
6 Clean your air-con filter regularly. A dirty filter means it has to work harder and so consumes more energy.
7 Do not fill your fridge to the brim. Overloading hinders air circulation and reduces the machine's cooling capabilities. Also, allow hot food to cool before putting it in the fridge so that the fridge does not have to work harder to keep its items cool.
8 Switch off the computer completely when not in use for long periods. Leaving a desktop switched on for eight hours daily will cost about $20 monthly. Alternatively, consider buying a laptop as it uses less energy than a desktop one.
9 Keep your curtains drawn during the day, and especially on warm afternoons. The home will feel cooler and this lessens the need for air-conditioning.
10 Air-dry your clothes instead of using a dryer. When ironing, start with items that need lower temperatures; avoid heating and re-heating the iron.
# Tips from the National Environment Agency
Other green buildings
Straits Times 22 Nov 08;
# Fusionopolis@one-north
This science and technology centre was opened last month and is not just a hub for research and innovation, but a green one to boot.
Not only are there lots of greenery on the ground floor but there are also 13 sky gardens which provide green 'lungs' to the development.
The centre uses special glass for its facade that reduces heat gain. It also has motion light sensors in its meeting rooms and toilets, which result in energy savings of 50 per cent compared with conventional lighting.
# Cliveden at Grange
Talk about clean and green. The restrooms at the condo's clubhouse will have waterless urinals. These use an eco-friendly biotechnology cleansing system that requires no flushing. Instead, cultured bacteria eradicates the stench from waste liquids, doing away with the need to use water.
The 110-unit condo in Grange Road, due to be completed in 2011, will have a rainwater 'harvest' system to irrigate its landscaped grounds. Also, the carpark has sensors that activate ventilation fans when carbon monoxide levels hit a preset level, helping to reduce maintenance costs.
# Treelodge@Punggol
This is the first public housing project to win a government award for being environment-friendly.
The 712-unit project, due to be completed in four years, won a platinum award under the Green Mark scheme, an annual award introduced three years ago by the Building and Construction Authority which evaluates buildings for their environmental impact and performance.
Developed by the HDB, the project at the junction of Punggol Road, Punggol Drive and Punggol Place has been dubbed an 'eco-precinct'.
Green features include solar-powered corridor lighting, the use of recycled rainwater to wash common areas and plenty of greenery on its rooftop to help lessen the effects of heat.
# Ocean Financial Centre
It may be providing prime office space in bustling Raffles Place but this commercial building has much to offer the global, not just corporate, environment.
The centre, due to be completed by 2011, will use glass on its exterior that is said to have a 'low emissive coating' to allow more light to enter while minimising heat gain.
Among other green features is the use of an Eco Switch Control Programme to control temperature and light fittings to minimise power consumption during off-peak and lunch hours.
Like the residential Punggol HDB project, this building, too, has already won a Green Mark platinum award.
