Solar shades, natural ventilation and renewable energy panels are some of the prospective energy-saving features the national regulator wants to see in more Singapore buildings.
To intensify the move to a greener future, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has launched a new energy rating for buildings that are at least 60 per cent more energy efficient compared with 2005 building codes. Under the new rating, called Green Mark for Super Low Energy, office buildings cannot use more than 100-kilowatt hour (kwh) per square metre a year.
To help more buildings qualify for the voluntary rating, the BCA is working with industry professionals, including property developers, to build such super low energy buildings, said its chief executive, Hugh Lim. “By setting such new performance benchmarks, Singapore can play an important role in mitigating climate change,” Lim said. Previously, the highest class under the Green Mark – the BCA’s benchmarking scheme – was the Green Mark Platinum, awarded to buildings that save at least half of the energy listed in the 2005 building codes. More than 10 organisations including Defence Science and Technology Agency, Singapore Management University and City Developments, have pledged to achieve at least one super low energy project in the next five years, a BCA spokesman said.
