Eileen Poh Channel NewsAsia 11 Mar 15;
SINGAPORE: The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will roll out a S$20 million scheme to spearhead the test-bedding of energy-efficient technologies in buildings.
The move - called the GBIC-Building Energy Efficient Demonstrations Scheme (GBIC-Demo) - is the latest in encouraging the development of green building technologies.
In a statement released on Wednesday (Mar 11), the BCA said the technologies that will be test-bedded under the scheme should achieve 20 to 40 per cent improvement over the current best-in-class technologies.
These technologies could come from successfully completed research and development (R&D) projects or proven technology, either local or overseas, that have not been implemented widely in Singapore yet, the BCA added.
Examples include innovative air-conditioning technologies, such as chilled ceilings and under-floor cooling systems.
The BCA said the scheme will also cover the cost of removing the technology, should the trial be deemed unsuccessful.
“The scheme will help mitigate the risks involved in trialling new technologies by co-funding incurred costs such as equipment, installation, and commissioning. In doing so, we hope to spur wider replication and eventual commercialisation of novel energy-efficient solutions for buildings in the longer term,” said BCA’s Group Director of Research Tan Tian Chong.
The GBIC-Demo scheme is one of the three key measures under the S$52 million Green Buildings Innovation Cluster programme, first launched by BCA in September last year.
The other two are the GBIC-National Building EE Repository - a central database that collects information from the GBIC-Demo projects, existing buildings, and reports from successfully completed R&D projects - and the GBIC-Energy Efficient Research and Development, which consist of tailored R&D programmes intended to build core capabilities in green buildings.
- CNA/ek
