S$6m awarded to four research programmes on energy efficiency

The projects focus on air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems and will take around two to three years to complete.
Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 9 Jul 15;

SINGAPORE: The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will be awarding S$6 million to four research projects on improving the energy efficiency of buildings, announced Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee at the Urban Sustainability R&D Congress on Thursday (Jul 9).

The projects focus on air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems, which account for a major part of a building's energy consumption, and will take around two to three years to complete.

The amount was awarded under the authority's second grant call for the Energy Innovation Research Programme for Building Energy Efficiency.

BCA will also be launching the inaugural smart building technology research and development call, which aims to develop solutions for smart, green and healthy buildings. The call for proposals is open to the research community, including researchers in universities and Singapore-based companies.

It comes under the authority's Green Buildings Innovation Cluster programme, launched in September 2014, which has up to S$18 million allocated for research and development grant calls and collaboration projects.

The research community can also apply for the second call for proposals under the Land and Liveability National Innovation Challenge, which offers up to S$10 million for each project.

The challenge was launched by the Ministry of National Development and National Research Foundation in 2013. It seeks innovative solutions to improve the cost-effectiveness of underground developments, and the comfort and well-being of residents, such as those to reduce ambient temperature and noise levels of housing estates.

"Research and development has helped us overcome many challenges of the past, but more can and needs to be done, as we continue to face new challenges as we develop and grow," said Mr Lee. "For a small city-state like ours, this is especially key as no other country will face the pressures of urbanisation and scarcity of resources as keenly as we do."

"Smart building systems, according to some studies, can save as much as 20 per cent of the energy that is consumed in our buildings, and of course smart building systems can also help to make our buildings healthier and occupants more productive," added Mr Tan Tian Chong, group director for research at Building and Construction Authority.

REDUCING ENERGY NEEDED BY AIRCONDITIONERS

One of the four winning projects of the Minister for National Development's Research and Development Award was a system that could reduce energy needed by airconditioners by up to 35 per cent.

In the prototype, air is passed through membranes, where moisture is removed. The device also passes the air through a water-based cooling system that does not contain chemicals harmful to the environment.

Assistant Professor Ernest Chua, from National University of Singapore's Faculty of Engineering, explained: "If the indoor air is really humid, then the chilling system, the air-con system so to speak, has to take up a lot of energy to remove that moisture.

"But with this system, it basically de-couples the moisture-removal process and the cooling process, so the cooling system now is much more efficient because it does not have to remove the moisture from the air."

Asst Prof Chua also said care was taken to ensure the materials used are cost-efficient.

"This is a very low-cost manufactured membrane, so if you want to manufacture in terms of a couple of thousand pieces, we do not anticipate that the costs are going to be heavy," he said.

He added that large-scale testing is being carried out now and the system is expected to be available in the market in one to two years' time.

More than 700 people are expected to attend the two-day congress, including researchers, industry professionals and public agencies.

- CNA/ek/xq