HDB to explore building cooler homes, 3D printing for future flats

Cindy Co and Ang Hwee Min Channel NewsAsia 23 Jul 19;

SINGAPORE: Cooler Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats could soon be a reality for Singaporeans.

At the Urban Sustainability R&D Congress 2019 on Tuesday (Jul 23), HDB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Evonik (SEA) to incorporate the firm's new silicon-based material into the roofing of HDB flats, offering better protection against Singapore’s heat.

Called Calostat, the insulation could reduce the ambient temperature in HDB flats by up to 2 degrees Celsius.

Initial trials are expected to start in the first quarter of 2020, and Calostat could also potentially be used for other parts of the building if they are successful, said HDB in a press release.

"The silicon-based material, which is sustainable, non-combustible, hydrophobic (able to repel water) and pressure resistant, has been tested and proven to have good thermal insulation properties, and adopted in developments in Germany, Switzerland and London," HDB added.

HDB and Evonik are also working on improving concrete pre-mix, to allow for 3D printing of HDB building components.

In contrast to the conventional pre-cast production process, 3D printing will reduce the time needed to build flats and will offer buyers more design options for their homes.

It will also tackle the issue of labour shortages in the construction industry, and improve workers’ productivity.

HDB also signed a Research Collaboration Agreement with V-Key to study potential enhancements to HDB’s existing smart living systems, already in place at the new Punggol Northshore flats.

The study hopes to integrate smart appliances across different brands to create a seamless experience for HDB home users. This will include features such as smart lighting, smart curtains and motion sensors.

Addressing researchers at the congress, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong urged greater collaboration between the public and private sectors.

"I am very mindful that the journey from R&D to commercial solutions is not easy. And that's why (the Government has) been looking at ways to strengthen partnerships with the private sector to support all of you in your R&D journey," he said.

CITIES OF TOMORROW

At the congress, Mr Wong also announced that S$70 million of the previously allocated S$150 million under the Cities of Tomorrow programme will be invested over the next two years.

This money will be used to address challenges that Singapore might face in the future, including climate change, and to maintain the city’s liveability.

He also announced a new initiative, called the Built Environment Technology Alliance (BETA), which will facilitate the access of firms in the built environment sector to new technology and reduce costs.

Five R&D awards were also given out by Mr Wong to “recognise and encourage outstanding R&D efforts from the MND Family and partners".

Both HDB and the National Environment Agency (NEA) were given distinguished awards for the Smart Hub project and Project Wolbachia respectively.

HDB’s Smart Hub project is a centralised data platform for 10,000 HDB flats across 24 towns, which collects data from smart estate services and develops business intelligence tools for performance monitoring and data analytics.

Project Wolbachia by NEA aims to reduce the number of dengue mosquitoes in Singapore by removing the male mosquito’s ability to breed.

Three other projects by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), A*STAR and HDB also won merit awards.

Source: CNA/nc(mn)


HDB aims for smarter, cooler flats with research collaborations
KIMBERLY LIM Today Online 24 Jul 19;

SINGAPORE — The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has signed two research collaborations with companies to make flats more resilient to climate change and better suited to smart technologies.

One, with material science firm Evonik, will study ways to improve the thermal insulation of flats so that they can better deal with rising temperatures and enhance the performance of concrete for 3D printing.

The other, with technology company V-Key, will look into developing an open and secure ecosystem in HDB’s smart-enabled flats that enables the use of a variety of smart appliances across brands.

BETTER HEAT INSULATION

Rising temperatures have made it more challenging to reduce heat gain in daylight and cool buildings in an energy-efficient manner, HDB said in a statement on Tuesday (July 23).

One possible solution: Evonik’s Calostat, a silicon-based material which is sustainable, non-combustible, pressure-resistant and able to repel water.

It is already adopted in developments in Germany, Switzerland and London, and HDB will study the incorporation of the material into the secondary roof panel of HDB buildings to improve its thermal insulation.

Trials will assess how the material will affect other properties of the secondary roof panel, such as its structural strength and water-repelling capabilities, before it could potentially be applied to other parts beyond the roof.

ENHANCING CONCRETE FOR 3D PRINTING

The use of 3D printing could offer more design options for HDB developments, raise construction productivity and reduce the dependency on conventional precast fabrication workers, the housing authority said.

The study with Evonik seeks to improve the strength and workability of such concrete through the use of special additives, which are known to increase the early strength, homogeneity and flowability of the concrete.

This will allow for the smooth laying of concrete and ensure that printed layers are well-bonded.

If successful, this could pave the way for new standards in the concrete pre-mix for 3D-printed components.

SMART-ENABLED FLATS

HDB is also testing the use of digital infrastructure such as smart distribution boards and smart sockets.

HDB’s collaboration with V-Key will study ways to enhance the smart distribution boards in smart-enabled flats, which would be useful for smart home appliances that do not have a built-in gateway.

Such appliances would include smart lighting, motion sensors and smart curtains, so that residents could, for example, have lights switched on and curtains drawn automatically when they step into a room.

Residents could also install a monitoring system for elders at home. This is a system of motion sensors that can detect and learn the movements of these persons and alert caregivers if their regular movements are not detected.


HDB working on building cooler flats with more smart solutions
Grace Ho Straits Times 24 Jul 19;

As temperatures rise, the Housing Board is seeking to turn out cooler homes with integrated smart systems that reduce the need for residents to turn on the air-conditioner.

It has teamed up with German industrial giant Evonik to study incorporating a high-performance insulation material into the roof panels of blocks of flats to reduce heat gain and transmission. The aim is to cut indoor temperatures by 2 deg C.

It involves using the company's new silicon-based material, called Calostat, which has already been adopted in buildings in Germany, Switzerland and England.

The study on its use for HDB roofs is expected to start early next year. If the tests are successful, the material could be used in other parts of HDB buildings, such as the facade and intersections of roof parts, to enhance residents' comfort, HDB said in a statement.

The agreement for the joint effort was inked between the board and Evonik (SEA) at the Government's 5th Urban Sustainability R&D Congress yesterday.

Evonik's regional president Peter Meinhausen said: "We look forward to advancing the quality of Singapore's living environment in the long term."

HDB and Evonik will research the use of 3D concrete printing in construction, which will reduce the time needed to build flats and offer buyers more design options. Unlike the present fabricating process, which takes up to two months to complete, 3D printing does not require the creation of customised mould sets.

Punggol Northshore, Tengah housing estates to trial turning rainwater into water for cleaning
It will also address the issue of labour shortages by reducing the dependency on conventional fabrication workers.

Studies to improve the strength and flow of 3D-fabricated concrete will begin in the last three months of this year.

Yesterday, HDB also signed a research collaboration agreement with local digital security solutions provider V-Key to enhance its smart infrastructure for smart-enabled flats.

Each flat may be fitted with a smart distribution board and sockets that can seamlessly integrate devices and solutions of different providers. This extends to smart lighting, motion sensors and even smart curtains that automatically open when a person enters a room.

Flat owners can also choose to install a monitoring system for the elderly, in which motion sensors detect and "learn" the movements of the elderly, like the time they get out of bed or leave the home. If the sensors fail to detect these regular movements, their next-of-kin or caregiver will receive an alert.

Experts interviewed welcomed the move, noting the urgent need for sustainable urban solutions amid global warming.

"Even a 2 deg C reduction in temperature can reduce air-conditioning consumption by a large amount, especially in top-floor units," said Dr Lee Nai Jia, senior director and head of research at property consultancy Knight Frank.

"It is good the Government is taking the lead as such research can be very expensive. When the technology is more widely adopted and the price drops, more private sector players can then come in."

Dr Lee noted that while smart living systems are common in private housing, HDB's tie-up with V-Key is different as it allows devices by various brands to be plugged in. "But what needs to be sorted out are privacy and cyber-security issues with the monitoring systems."

Nanyang Technological University civil and environmental engineering associate chair, Professor Chu Jian, said the HDB-Evonik collaboration "is a good step towards developing more cost-effective solutions for heat insulation and energy conservation".

"There will be widespread applications as all our buildings are exposed to the hot sun."