$10m plan to create S'pore's first zero-energy building; BCA Academy to be retrofitted with solar panels and green innovations
BYLINE: Jessica Cheam
IT MIGHT not look too inspiring now, but a three-storey building in Braddell Road is about to open a new frontier in the campaign for greener energy.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Academy opposite ComfortDelGro will harness the sun's energy in an ambitious bid to create Singapore's first zero-energy building, or ZEB.
A massive array of solar panels covering about 1,300 sq m - almost half a football field and the biggest such installation here - will be integrated on the roof of one of the academy's buildings.
The $10 million retrofitting project, unveiled by the BCA yesterday, will create a highly efficient complex that produces as much energy as it consumes from renewable sources. Over a typical year, its net energy consumption is expected to be zero.
The building, the first of its kind in South-east Asia, will also be a test bed for green technology.
It will be linked to a normal power grid and draw electricity if needed. But it will feed back to the grid the same amount it uses from clean sources like solar energy.
Parliamentary Secretary (National Development) Mohamad Maliki Osman said at the academy's graduation ceremony yesterday that the ZEB will 'serve as a showcase of green building technologies' for education, training and research.
BCA's deputy director of research and innovation, Mr Ang Kian Seng, added that the ZEB was a 'milestone' for the academy: 'It shows we're not just talking about it, but we're taking action to take the lead.'
The ZEB, which has a gross floor area of 3,000 sq m, is due for completion in early 2009. It will boast a whole range of features and will be 60 per cent more efficient than a normal commercial building.
It will also test cutting-edge innovations, including an imported United States air-conditioning chiller system that can achieve up to 30 per cent higher efficiency than standard ones of the same capacity.
Technologies developed by the National University of Singapore (NUS), which is jointly creating the ZEB, will also be tested.
One is a personalised ventilation system that delivers fresh air directly to a user; another is a 'solar chimney' that improves a room's ventilation tenfold by using differences in air pressure.
All this plus innovative ideas like vertical greening, where shrubs are planted on a wall's facade to reduce heat gain, will help the building save $84,000 a year.
One special feature is a viewing platform - also with solar panels - where visitors can view the whole solar roof.
'This will help raise awareness; schools can organise educational trips,' said NUS Associate Professor Lee Siew Eang, who is spearheading the project.
The ZEB will also house an 'experimental school' to test new technologies for eco-friendly classrooms, and the BCA Academy's office.
'This ZEB is significant for Singapore, especially in developing our clean energy industry,' said Prof Lee.
'It shows the industry that 'greening' an existing building to make it sustainable is possible - without sacrificing comfort and air quality.'
The ZEB will be co-funded by the Ministry of National Development and the Economic Development Board.
BCA also announced a new engineering diploma programme, with an emphasis on green building technology, to start next July.