LED market share in Thailand to reach 70% by 2020

LED lighting technology has improved so much that the initial worry of low power factor and that brands incompatibility issues 'would' have been taken cared of by now.

The fact that many countries have adopted the use of LED lightings for illuminating public places as well as privately owned properties, means that this type of lighting has good acceptance from the masses. This should be good enough reason for LED-base lighting  prices to have gone down drastically sooner than later.

Malaysian companies took part at the LED Expo Thailand in Bangkok -Photo: Facebook/LED Expo Thailand.

Malaysia's MATRADE said that the LED lighting penetration rate in the Thailand market has reached an estimated 10 % to 15%, whereas in Malaysia very little can be said about adoption of this energy efficient lighting.

I am now wondering if Malaysia's LED streetlights by 2014 pledge was a genuine goal or just a statement of intent. Has any action been taken on the plan 'to roll out the budget on the installation of LED lights nationwide?' 

As reported by Bernama here, it seems that we have to venture abroad to market our LED products.

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Malaysian firms rake in RM37.1mil sales at Bangkok LED Expo

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian light-emitting diode (LED) products and solutions raked in sales of RM37.1 million from Thai buyers at the LED Expo Thailand 2015.

A Specialised Marketing Mission (SMM) spearheaded by MATRADE was in Bangkok for three days from May 20 in conjunction with the expo.

Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) Bangkok Trade Commissioner Niqman Rafaee Mohd Sahar said the LED lighting penetration rate in the Thailand market has reached an estimated 10 to 15 percent.

"The LED market share for Thailand is expected to reach 70 per cent by 2020," he said in a statement issued here today.

Thirteen Malaysian companies participated in the SMM, while seven other Malaysian firms took part as individual exhibitors at the expo, where 208 business meetings arranged for Malaysian companies with Thai government officials, traders, distributors, manufacturers and top retailers.

- Source: Bernama | June 6, 2015

SAVE programme achieved energy-saving targets

What is SAVE Programme

SAVE or Sustainability Achieved via Energy Efficiency, is a program spearheaded by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), to improve energy efficiency in Malaysia through several initiatives.

I posted an article two years ago here pertaining to the SAVE Programme and it's benefit. SOGO, a departmental store in Kuala Lumpur saved about RM80,000 monthly in energy bill by replacing the chillers with energy-efficient type.

What is SAVE objectives

• To create a culture of efficient use of energy among general public and business entities.
• To save daily energy costs by consumers from reduced energy consumption and manage growth energy demand.
• To accelerate the transformation of consumer electrical appliances market and increase the share of Energy Efficient models in the market.
• As one of the initiatives to mitigate GHG emissions reduction.

Programme appraisal

Energy, Green Technology and Water ministry said that the programme has succeeded in achieving energy-saving targets. The ministry listed the followings as its achievement:-

• Cutting RM64.1 million of the overall cost for three electrical equipment – refrigerator , air conditioner and chiller.

• Since its commencement in 2011, efforts to encourage the use of the five-star rating energy-efficient equipment, had also saved 246.4 GigaWatt hours (GWh) of electricity.

• Emission of carbon dioxide has also been reduced by 167.6 million kg.

• Energy-efficient equipment market share as at Dec 31, 2012 (after  2-year implementation): 
40.8% for refrigerator,
21.6% air-conditioner, and
39.2% chiller

Original targets we're 25% for refrigerator, 20% for air-conditioner and 39% for chiller.

17 brands of air-conditioner and 16 brands of five-star refrigerator have entered the market after the programme was launched, compared to only 6 brands previously.


TheGreenMechanics: In this perspective, the Programme clearly achieve its objectives. Cool!

Are you one of the lucky buyers of the qualifying energy-efficient air-conditioners or refrigerators, and enjoyed RM200 rebates?



Source: BERNAMA 

With tariff revision looming, here are some tips to save electricity in your home

The government is planning another electricity tariff revision real soon. And for Malaysians living in Sabah, this will come as another quick slap on the face as we have just had our revision in July 2011.

When the happen, you can choose to get angry and complain, do nothing, or do something to conserve energy and save money.

Monitor and plan your energy usage

The biggest electricity users in the home tend to be heating (mainly for temperate countries) and/or air conditioning, water heating, washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, lighting, and the refrigerator. When looking to save electricity, spend the most time focussing on these big energy hogs to get the biggest effect for your efforts.

Here are a selection of tips to help you to reduce your electricity consumption:

1. Turn off your television, video, hifi, playstation, and other entertainment devices when they are not being used.


2. Do not leave your television etc in standby mode. Devices can use up to 90% as much power in standby mode as when they are on, so it is a serious waste of energy when a device is left constantly on standby. 


3. Replace all of your inefficient incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient CFL bulbs. Replace halogen spotlights with much more efficient and longer lasting LED Spotlights.


4. Hang your clothes out to dry rather than using an electric tumble dryer. Ideally use a spin dryer before using the tumble dryer.


5. Cook many items at the same time when your electric oven is hot.


6. Use a microwave to reheat food or to cook small portions. Although a microwave uses a lot of power, it does so over a very short time and so saves energy overall.


7. Purchase energy efficient appliances - washing machines, tumble driers, fridges etc. Although they usually cost a little more initially, the cost savings in electricity will cover that many times over. As an added benefit, efficient items are usually better made and last longer than inefficient models.


8. Vacuum clean the condenser coils at the back or underneath your fridge freezer. Accumulated dust reduces their efficiency by up to 25% adding that cost to your electricity bill.


9. Keep your fridge full, but not so full that air cannot circulate properly.


10. Cool cooked food before you put it into the fridge.


11. Do not put uncovered liquids into the fridge. Their evaporation will make the fridge have to work harder. 


12. Heat only as much water as you require for drinks and cooking. If you keep forgetting, purchase an energy efficient eco kettle.


13. Use a convection oven. A small fan inside circulates hot air throughout the oven, cutting cooking times by up to 30%.


14. Don't keep opening the oven door. Every time you do so, your oven loses 20°C of heat.


15. Put lamps in the corner of a room so that the light is reflected off two walls.


16. Turn down the temperature on your washing machine. Heating the water uses the majority of the electricity, so by doing a warm wash instead of a hot wash, big savings are possible.


17. Defrost frozen food in the fridge since this helps to cool the fridge.


18. Running a full load in an efficient dishwasher will use less hot water than washing up by hand in the sink! Save money, save time, and save electricity.


19. Boil water in a kettle rather than on a hob (flat metal shelf) to save 50-70% of the energy and to get your water boiled faster.

For those living in temperate countries, these are more pertinent, but it certainly is good for reading and for general knowledge:

1. In the summer use ceiling fans on a fast setting instead of air conditioning to keep cool. In the winter, running the fans slowly will push warm air collected at ceiling height down to where you want it. (If the slowest setting on your fan is too strong, reverse the direction of the fan in the winter so that the accumulated warm air is blown up against the ceiling and bounces more gently down around the walls and into the living space.


2. Turn down your heating system thermostat. For every degree you lower your heat between 60° and 70° F you can reduce your heating bill by up to 5%. Wear an extra layer of clothing in the house so that you stay warm. Turn down individual radiators - for example, 16°-18° is warm enough for bedrooms whereas 20°-22°C is more comfortable in bathrooms. Rooms that are rarely used can have their heating turned all the way down or off.

Source: SESB archive

Prime Minister’s office on track to be certified green

A RM110 million transformation of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), into a certified green building is on track to be completed by mid-2014.

This is a private finance initiative (PFI), by KFM Holdings and its energy management solutions partner Schneider Electric, aiming at achieving up to 40% energy saving.

I have attended numerous roadshows by Schneider Electric and they are actually very aggressive in promoting energy management solutions for commercial buildings and other industrial applications.


Front view of the Prime Minister's Office (Perdana Putra). Image source, with public permission.


The good thing about such initiative is that the government has no obligation to pay the private party until the private party proves and delivers its products or services. So until the initiative is proven to have achieved GBI platinum rating certificate, there will no payment from the government. I like that!

The RM110 million will be utilised in six key areas, namely:

• energy efficiency,
• indoor environmental quality,
• sustainable site planning and management,
• material and resources,
• water efficiency,
• innovation,

which are components in the GBI framework. According to the companies involved in this project, the bulk of the fund will be spent on energy efficiency.

The retrofitting project is estimated to save RM2 million in energy usage per year as compared to the current RM6 million annual bill of the PMO and is the largest retrofitting project for government buildings in Asia so far.

Further reading: Schneider Electric, KFM Holdings To Transform PMO Into Certified Green Building


TheGreenMechanics: It is actually a very interesting venture when you set No-saving-no-payment condition in the initiative. We have been approached previously by a West Malaysia-based company specialising in energy saving and the presentation actually looks attractive.

But many bosses are still unwilling to invest in saving.

Discard used energy-saving bulbs and tubes with care

Global lighting giant Philips predicts that by 2015, 50% of the global lighting market will be LED, and if that comes true, then the disposal of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) could be less as a problem on a macro scale.

However, the high price barrier for LEDs means that most households will continue to use CFLs as they wait for the former to be more affordable, and this means that proper CFL disposal will remain a challenge in the short to medium term.

 
(Left) A 11W CFL bulb contains 2mg of mercury, and will go up according to the bulb size. 
(Right) The collection box at Ikea store in Petaling Jaya. 


Saving energy through the use of efficient lighting has been touted as a green act, but this is an incomplete picture as no focus has been given on end-of-life handling. Using CFLs is green only if the mercury inside is properly locked, if not recovered for reuse.


Problem with indiscriminate disposal

Added in vapour form, mercury is an essential part of the CFL technology, as it allows the bulbs to be an efficient light source. The downside of CFLs is that each bulb contains a small amount of mercury, typically around 4mg, that remain sealed within the glass tubing.

To compare, the old mercury-based thermometers can contain up to 500mg of mercury, which is more than what is found in 100 CFLs.

If mercury is swallowed, less than 1/1000 is absorbed by the body and most of it is eliminated, mainly through the urine and faeces. But the problem with mercury is that it is a persistent, bio-accumulative toxin. When the cumulative amount is huge, such as through the widespread use of fluorescent lamps, then there might be a real possibility of mercury contaminating landfills.


Discard with care

In some developed countries, like the United States, there are systematic efforts to salvage usable parts and materials from used CFL bulbs. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the recycling of CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs allows the reuse of the glass, metals and other materials that make up the bulbs.

It says virtually all components of a fluorescent bulb can be recycled. It is possible to separate the glass, phosphor powder and metal bits from crushed lights for reuse, but in Malaysia, this entire load is buried in a secured landfill.

For that to happen anywhere, there needs to be a proper disposal and collection system, whether mandated or otherwise. Malaysian regulations do not state that households need to properly dispose their CFLs. It is the same for Singapore, which allows households to throw away used bulbs along with their household waste.


IKEA the only one making an effort so far?

According to recent The Star report, Ikea in Malaysia is the only volunteer in doing its part to help reduce the problem of mercury emissions. It has placed a bulb collection box at its Mutiara Damansara store in Petaling Jaya, Selangor since 2010. No purchase is necessary for people to use the facility.

At its store, Ikea crushes the bulbs (along with fluorescent tubes) by using a specialised machine called the Bulb Eater, manufactured by US-based Air Cycle which cost the store RM20,000, before sending the waste to a secured landfill managed by Kualiti Alam at Bukit Nanas, Negri Sembilan. Thus far, the store has collected 11 drums of crushed lights weighing about three tonnes.

Kualiti Alam bills Ikea up to RM3,750 (not including transportation) for each tonne of crushed bulbs it receives.

Image credit: The Star. Full article can be found at The Star here.

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TheGreenMechanics: Participation by other private entities and NGOs is crucial. The government must play a role in easing the way for anyone wanting to promote the proper disposal of used bulbs/tubes. Ikea is definitely alone here.

Set up one center for each state for a start, then we can move on from there.

Can we replace all fluorescent bulbs with LED, soon?

Presently, there is already LED version of the long soft glowing tubes found in most offices and homes. But these LED tubes are very expensive and are not widely used.

What Phillips is doing is to develop an LED light that will be "far more efficient than the best fluorescents on the market. Greener and cheaper."

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Prototype of a new tube LED light developed by the Phillips that is capable of generating 200 lumens of white light per watt. AP Photo/Phillips


Goodbye fluorescent bulb? Philips says yes

Top executive at Dutch company Phillips said the prototype LED is headed to mass production and will hit the market in 2015. He claimed that in 10 years, LEDs will replace at least half of the world's fluorescent bulbs, which have been the main source of workplace lighting since shortly after World War II.

"This is a major step forward for the lighting world. It will bring an enormous savings in energy."- Rene van Schooten, CEO of Philips' light sources division.

Experts outside the Dutch company say they have long expected LEDs to eclipse fluorescents. If Philips' predictions are correct, however, the arrival of the LED in office spaces will come faster than expected.


Huge potential of LED tubes

Lights suck up more than 15% of all energy produced globally, and fluorescent lights currently make up more than half of the total lighting market.

In the United States alone, fluorescents consume about 200 terawatts annually, according to Philips' estimates. Cutting that in half would save $12 billion in electricity costs and lessen carbon dioxide emissions by 60 million metric tons per year, the company said.

The technical milestone the company claims to have achieved is the ability to produce 200 lumens of light per watt. That's about twice the output per watt of the best fluorescent tubes currently on the market.

A lumen is the standard measure of the amount of light a lamp casts in a given area.

"LEDs will take over, definitely within 10 years, certainly within 5 years, maybe within three." - Rene van Schooten.


Source: Yahoo News

Kota Kinabalu to have Malaysia's first green taxi stand

Great initiative by great people for the people! More corporations and private firms need to come forward  and contribute to life-enhancing ideas such as this one.

You can read further in the following article but to summarise it, the first ever green taxi stand in Malaysia - expected to be completed in KK in three months' time, probably in June 2013 - will feature among others:-

• use of green building materials,
• powered 100% by solar,
• energy saving LED lightings, 
• energy saving ceiling fans,
• free power socket for phone charging

An artist's impression of the green taxi stand at Kg. Air. D.Express photo

Let's hope that more such stands (taxi and bus stands) would be built in and around the city centre, courtesy of generous firms, individuals and corporations.


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Kota Kinabalu's first green taxi stand in the making
D.Express, Feb 23
A proposal to upgrade and renovate the existing taxi stand at Jalan Pantai in Kampung Air, here, would see the first "green" taxi stand in the country.

The project, designed by local architect Sim Sie Hong of Innotech Design Architects Sdn Bhd, would convert the existing taxi stand into a new taxi stand using renewable and green building materials.

This was disclosed to Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir by Teo Chew Association President, Chua Soon Ping, during a courtesy call in City Hall. Chua said the project is initiated and partly sponsored by the Association  together with several other companies.

Explaining the project as part of their corporate  social responsibility for the city, Chua said the new taxi stand will be 100% powered by solar power, using the latest thin film technology to power up the basic essentials lighting and ceiling fans, with some power socket for phone charging to be used by the taxi operators.

On the design, he said the new seating area will also be specially design to prevent people to sleep on it, and will have an extended roof cover to prevent taxi passengers getting wet during rainy days.

Other features will also include new LED lighting to lit the area at night and ceiling fans to keep the taxi stand cool and ventilated during hot sunny days.

According to Chua, the project would take three months to complete and once in place it would serve as a prototype of a small green building in the city, which is energy saving.

Abidin thanked the Association and the sponsors for their contribution and regarded their effort as very good example of 'smart partnership' between the Association and the corporate sector, to assist Kota Kinabalu City Hall to make the City a more liveable place.

The Mayor said the City Hall would also conduct study to look into possibility of using the same technology for all the bus stands in the city in the future.


TheGreenMechanics: How about having a fleet of "green taxi" in the city? A far-fetched ambition, or dream?

MyLED Opto eyes 70% local market share in 5 years

This is another testimony that we are capable of producing products with cutting edge technology but end up shipping them out of the country for others to use.

Homegrown MyLED produces among others:

• LED fluorescent lamps
• Yellow LED lamps
• LED street lamps
• LED floodlights

The reason for the 70% shipping out to foreign markets could be a combination of small market in Malaysia and our slow adoption of LED lighting applications. I hope it is not the latter.

LED tube similar to the conventional fluorescent tube, but uses 50% less energy, is one of MyLED's products. Power factor ranges from 0.8 to 0.9


MyLED Opto Technology Sdn Bhd to capture local market

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's first light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and solid-state lighting (SSL) producer, MyLED Opto Technology Sdn Bhd (MyLED Opto), targets 70 per cent local market share in five years from 30 to 40 per cent currently.

Chief Executive Officer Jetson Lai said the company is optimistic of capturing a bigger share of the local market with its prices 10 to 15 per cent lower than international brands.

"About 70 per cent of sales is from foreign markets, which are our current focus, with high demand from Japan, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and Indonesia," he said in a statement here.

Lai said MyLed Opto will more aggressively market its products locally.

"The plan is to raise production capacity to 200,000 units of fluorescent lamp tubes a month from 50,000 units now," he said.

MyLed Group, which is 75 per cent Bumiputera-owned, offers various LED lamps including street lamps, floodlights, fluorescent lamps as well as yellow LED lamps for the local and overseas markets.

The company expects to rake in about RM2 billion in revenue over the next five years, he said.

"We have signed an agreement with the marketing arm of a Japanese company to supply LED lamps for self-service machines, which number 10 million units nationwide," he said.

Lai said to meet rising demand, MyLED Opto plans to venture into upstream industries and start production of LED components in the second half of this year.

"To meet this target, MyLed Opto plans to invest RM120 million to RM150 million to expand operations and buy high-technology production machinery, the plan is expected to start in June.

"We are working to obtain financing from financial institutions and the government, and we hope banks see the LED industry as an industry of the future after IT due to the technology's energy saving potential," he said.

MyLed Opto's RM5.2 million manufacturing plant in Batu Berendam, Melaka has been operating since last year. - Bernama

LED lighting market expected to double in 2014

The government's decision to ban incandescent bulbs by 2014 does seem to be timely. The pace at  how the development and improvement of the existing LED technology is moving forward makes it very likely that this type of lighting is becoming viable.

In my previous post, I was a bit critical and skeptical about the timing and of our government's capability to  ban them altogether.

According to industry research (part of which is appended below), sales of LED-related lightings will double in slightly a year's time. Malaysia is also targeting 2014 to start using LED street lightings.

The following table by thecleanrevolution  shows device efficacy and price trends until 2020. Prices are expected to continue to decline over the next 5 years as demand and production ramp up.

Note: KLM = 1000 lumens

Sales to double and performance to improve rapidly

While estimates vary widely throughout the lighting industry, a new report by Strategies Unlimited predicts that LED lighting sales should double by 2014. The independent report stated that LED lighting should be an $8.3 billion dollar industry by that time, according to rapidonline.com

"LEDs are getting so much better, and the market is flooded with them so there are so many to choose from," Victoria Lee, lighting designer, told the news source.

Strategies Unlimited accounts for the spike in growth due to increased consumer awareness of the energy-saving qualities of the lighting source, improvements in performance and the influx of readily available commercial products for home use, businesses and industrial capacities.

In addition, with the onset of the global economic recession, more and more countries have instituted fiscal stimulus measures that include energy-efficient lighting such as LEDs. The wide-scale phasing out of incandescent lighting has also attributed to the industry's surging growth. The economic downturn has consumers spending more wisely, so they will try anything to reduce the prices of their utility bills.

Ref: Birddog Diostributing


So, yeah, let's light up the streets and malls with LED and save energy.

Kota Kinabalu city to use energy-saving bulbs soon

It's a good initiative by City Hall, taking cue of government's intention to use LED for street lighting in 2014. For building illumination, a pilot project by the federal government helped save it around RM3.5 million or 10.3% in power usage, between January and October last year.

Energy saving light powered by solar at Petronas building compound in Kota Kinabalu

Citing what was reported in the Daily Express on Jan 10, 2013 "the use of LED is much cheaper from the existing lamps", I hope the tabloid merely misquoted the Mayor as this is definitely not the case. Infact the use of LED lamps is 'very expensive' if you compare it with sodium vapour and or metal halide street light bulbs.

The major selling point of LED lamps is its extremely low energy usage, and that is why the City Hall will save a lot in its electricity bills when using it. However, initial installation cost is higher than the existing ones.

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Energy-saving bulbs for some KK areas
D.Express. 10-1-2013

Kota Kinabalu: City Hall has identified some areas in the city to be lit by energy saving bulbs to help save on utility bills this year. Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir on Wednesday said City Hall would begin the installation of such bulbs like Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs in a pilot project, to determine its viability, soon.

"Certainly the use of LED is much cheaper from the existing lamps, we will not replace them all at once, but the installation will be done gradually, in phases," he said.

Preliminary results of a pilot project in the peninsula, revealed LED bulbs used in 12 government buildings in Putrajaya showed average savings of 10.3 per cent or RM3.5million from January-October last year.

The move could help the Government save up to RM800 million from the RM2.7 billion it spends each year. However, the cost of implementing the plan is costly, revealed Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Seri Peter Chin.

Reference: Daily Express

12 Government buildings save RM3.5mil in electricity bills

Electrical Energy Manager requirement in Malaysia

Efficient Management of Electrical Energy Regulations 2008 (EMEER) that was gazetted on December 15, 2008 is aimed at getting big energy users to meet requirements in respect of the efficient use of electricity. This Regulation, among others require users with total consumption of 3,000,000 kWh or more over 6 consecutive months to appoint a Electrical Energy Manager (EEM) and implement efficient electrical energy management.

If your organisation is drawing 700 kW of power consistently, energy consumption would be 16,800 kWh per day or 3,057,600 kWh over 182 days (6 months). This will qualify you - or rather require you - to notify Energy Commission and appoint a EEM. It's a legal requirement!

As a guideline, if you have a 1,000 kVA transformer installed at your premise, you most likely fall under this Regulation. Example: hotels/resorts, universities, water treatment plans/pumping stations, big shopping complexes, government buildings, sky-scrappers, etc.


Government took the lead-by-example approach!

This was in the news, so, expect stricter implementation of the Regulation by Energy Commission, EC, in the near future. You might get a surprise visit from EC officials:-

Government Buildings Saved RM3.5m In Electricity Bills This Year
Putrajaya - Nov.30, 2012

Twelve government buildings identified as the biggest consumers of electricity, registered savings of RM3.5 million or 10.3 per cent in power usage, between January and October.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said, this was achieved after an energy manager was appointed for each building which used more than 3,000,000 kilowatts per hour in six consecutive months, and suggested steps for energy conservation for implementation.

Among the buildings are the Finance Ministry building which recorded savings of 20 per cent and the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry building with 9.8 per cent, he told reporters after meeting with ministry personnel here today.

Chin said, they could increase savings by using energy-saving bulbs such as light-emitting diode (LED) or compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), whereby RM800 million could be saved a year, should all buildings be fitted with such bulbs. He said the ministry was still discussing with the Finance Ministry on implementing the change to energy-saving bulbs as it would involve high costs.

"We are now looking at working with producers to come up with their proposal on how they can implement this for the government.

"If they can work with us on the implementation, for example, they are paid according to the savings (made from the usage of the bulbs). Then, the government will be able to implement this much faster," he said.

Government buildings currently spend more than RM2.7 billion on electricity a year. - Bernama

SOGO saves RM80,000 in energy by replacing old chillers

Attention hotels, shopping malls, universities. This has got to be a very interesting read, and action.

A departmental store in Kuala Lumpur, SOGO, will be saving about RM80,000 monthly in energy bill when the new chillers are fully operating. The store spent more than RM3 million to replace 4 chillers and qualified for a RM260,000 rebate. Going by the RM80,000 saving the simple payback should be 3 and a half to 4 years, excluding the rebate. Cool!

For more info, go to the website provided here.

Energy Efficiency, via SAVE Program

SAVE or Sustainability Achieved via Energy Efficiency, is a program spearheaded by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), to improve energy efficiency in Malaysia through several initiatives. One of them is the pilot initiative is to stimulate sales of energy-efficient chiller by providing rebates to qualified business owner to replace existing chillers with new energy efficient ones.


Objectives of the SAVE Program

1. To create a culture of efficient use of energy among general public and business entities.
2. To save daily energy costs by consumers from reduced energy consumption and manage growth energy demand.
3. To accelerate the transformation of consumer electrical appliances market and increase the share of Energy Efficient models in the market.
4. As one of the initiatives to mitigate GHG emissions reduction.

What's in store for those willing to take it up

The government of Malaysia has allocated the budget for the Chiller SAVE Program and funding will be awarded on a first come, first served basis to eligible business owners who replace existing chillers with new energy efficient chillers for their buildings during the rebate offer period.

The rebate amount will be RM200 per RT (Refrigeration Ton) which has been proposed and calculated based on total budget allocation and capacity to be applied throughout 2011 and 2012. This is not including the added bonus of saving through lesser energy consumption, and the lower maintenance for newer equipment.

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SOGO to save RM880,000 in electricity bills by replacing old chillers
Bernama, Nov 15, 2012

Kuala Lumpur. SOGO Department Store Sdn Bhd has managed to save up to RM80,000 monthly in electricity bills, by replacing its old chillers with new energy-efficient units. Sogo Building M&E Department Senior Manager Yong Yau Wah said the decision on the chillers was made at the right time as the government is providing a rebate to encourage the use of energy-efficient products.

"Our consultant informed us about this programme. At the same time, we are also in the green initiative programme," he told Bernama.

He said the company needed to undertake the replacement as the four chillers were already 20 years old.

When the government introduced the green building concept, SOGO also tried to obtain certification for its building, but could not, as the premises is considered old. "But we knew we can still support the green initiative. The first thing we took into consideration was the chillers, as over the years, technology wise, this is where we think we consume the most energy," Yong said.

For chillers, the government, through the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) and under the Sustainability Achieved Via Energy Efficient (SAVE) programme, is giving a rebate of RM200 per RT (Refrigeration Ton) for companies for replacement. Yong said SOGO invested more than RM3 million to replace the four aged chillers and was entitled to a rebate of RM260,000.

He said currently, it took seven chillers to cool the shopping complex, and the other three are expected to be replaced in early 2014.

"On average, we expect to save between RM75,000 to RM80,000 in electricity bills monthly, which translates to nine per cent savings, when compared to previously. "The initial cost is high. But looking at long term planning, we can reduce the operations and maintenance costs. We hope the rebate programme can be extended to other equipment.

"It should be promoted broadly so that more people want to participate," added Yong. Meanwhile, SEDA Deputy Director of Corporate Communications, Nurdiyana Mohd Jonis said the SAVE programme was introduced, as chillers were found to consume the most energy.

"With this rebate programme, we encourage companies to replace their old chiller to energy efficient ones," she added.

Under the SAVE programme, rebates will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the post-marked date of a complete application received by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry during the offer period through participating retailers.


TheGreenMechanics: It pays to go green!

What determines the brightness of an energy-saving bulb

Left     : Energy-saving bulb, CFL
Right  : Incandescent bulb (filament)

Energy-saving bulbs, also known as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) produce light more efficiently than their old incandescent counterparts. CFLs have done away with glowing filaments and instead contain a mixture of argon and mercury vapour.


A small electronic circuit called a ballast produces a rapidly oscillating current passing through the gas. The excited vapour molecules give off ultraviolet light that is converted into visible light by the coating on the inside of the bulb.


What determines it?

Like a conventional lamp, a CFL’s brightness depends on how much power it uses. Manufacturers vary properties like the volume and mix of the gas inside to increase or decrease consumption. For a given light output, CFLs use about a fifth as much power as their incandescent ancestors. As such, the lifetime cost of a CFL is so much lower.

The following table shows the comparison between LED, incandescent and CFLs. The figures are a year old and performance and cost may have since improved.

LED vs. Incandescent vs. CFLs. Source: iconnectdots

Reference: Sciencefocus

Government to ban incandescent bulbs by 2014

Really? Can we do it? Or shall we do it? Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against green technology; in fact I'm all for energy saving. I advocate renewable energy.

Also widely known as filament lamp

Incandescent light bulbs are electric lamps that produce light with a filament wire heated to a high temperature by electric current passing through it. The heated filament glows at high temperature and gives out light. There is a lot of energy dissipated during the heating process making incandescent light very inefficient.

The following report from The Sun suggest that banning the product is the best option to reduce CO₂ emission. But the 2-year timeframe is too short if you ask me. Cost of the more energy-efficient CFL and T5 lamps are more than 10 times of incandescent. You can buy CFL for as low as RM16.00 to as high as RM50.00 a piece depending on brand while incandescent lamp can be bought at RM1.50 to RM2.00. LED lamps would be even more expensive. The majority of us will not be able to afford it to be honest.

CFL and LED have very low power factor (pf). In contrast filament bulb has unity pf. When the ban is fully enforced and millions of people are forced to use LED lamps, you can imagine the power utilities headache with severe pf issues.

Furthermore, the energy saving lamp tubes are filled with mercury.

Technology will improve over time where pf and mercury issues would have been taken cared of. But the banning should also be timed in tandem with technological advancement. I'd say, 4 to 6 years is more appropriate instead of 2014 as cut off date. Don't commit ourself hastily to manufacturers lobbying for early adoption. There could be something up their sleeves.


The appended article:

Govt to ban incandescent bulbs by 2014
TheSun daily

PETALING JAYA (Oct 16, 2012): The Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry has announced phasing out traditional light bulbs – also known as incandescent bulbs, that will eventually lead to a complete ban in 2014.

The policy is part of the government's initiative to reduce carbon intensity by 40% by 2020, and to enable consumers to use energy efficiently by using energy-saving lights such as the compact fluorescent lights (CFL), T5 tube lights and light emitting diode (LED) lights.

The implementation of the policy is being done in two phases, with the first phase in 2011, seeing a ban on the sale and import of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs. The second phase is currently being carried out from Jan 1 this year until Dec 31 next year where the government will ban the manufacture, import and sale of the 100-watt lights.

This will save consumers about RM336 million a year if they buy energy-saving lights as incandescent bulbs are less energy efficient and are not as environmentally friendly. Other countries have also initiated similar policies, with China banning imports and sales of certain incandescent light bulbs starting this month, and gradually extending the ban to those over 15-watt in Oct 2016.

Anticipating huge global demand for LEDs, the Department of Standards Malaysia will help local companies adopt international standards and speed up the industry's adoption of Malaysian Standard (MS) to ensure production of high quality LEDs for export and domestic use.

A total of 12 MS have been published so far, covering safety, testing and performance of LEDs. These international standards were adopted from the International Electrotechnical Commission, where compliance to MS will increase local manufacturers' access to international markets.

International certification within Malaysia is also available, with the first LED-SSL certification centre outside of the US was set up in Penang in 2011 to perform testing in accordance with the standards of the American National Standards Institute.

Malaysia’s first green library

Not too long ago, I wrote about Sabah's first ever Green Building in the form of Sabah Art Gallery Conservation Centre in Luyang Kota Kinabalu. Of course there's another one, the IEM Centre at KKIP but I'm unsure if the engineers' building has been completed yet.

The new library in Tanjung Aru will be the first Green Library in Malaysia when completed and made available to the public in 3 year's time.

"Itu dia!" (That's it), says Deputy Chief Minister, Yahya Hussin as Wong Vui Ying, director of Sabah Library nodded in agreement. Together with him are Azizah Dun, Welfare Minister and Jainab Ayid, an Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Resource Development and IT. Photo by: Ille Tugimin


Green library gets support from private sector

It is Malaysia’s first green library. But half of the RM40million ($12.9mil) of the cost of the Kota Kinabalu regional library has come from a private company, the Lahad Datu Water Supply Sendirian Berhad. It is also the first such building funded by the private sector, according to Deputy Chief Minister Yahya Hussin who launched it at a groundbreaking ceremony in Tanjung Aru on Tuesday, September 4, 2012.

“This is a very good cooperation between the private sector and the government,” he said. The library is expected to be ready by 2015.

Like the Sabah art gallery, the library will turn to solar energy, harvest rain water and use materials that will not add to carbon dioxide emission to keep global warming in check.

Steven Tan, managing director of Lahad Datu Water Supply Sendirian Berhad, says the funding is part of his company’s corporate social responsibility. - via Insight Sabah


TheGreenMechanics' two cents:

It's really good that we are waking up to realise the need to conserve energy and save the environment. This is the common practice for many architects and building designers in West Malaysia. I should make the trip to Tanjung Aru and take a look at this building soon.

But the real deal is Singapore with its achievement of more than 1,000 green building as at the beginning of this year.

LED : Lighting the Future

It is very interesting to note that the country intends to use Light Emitting Diode, LED to light up its streets by 2014.

Light-emitting diodes (LED) are solid-state devices that convert electrical energy directly into light of a single color. LED do not waste energy in the form of non-light producing because they employ ‘cold’ light generation technology, in which most of the energy is delivered in the visible spectrum. It could offer long service life and high energy efficiency, although at this juncture, initial costs are higher than those of fluorescent and incandescent lights.

LED street-lighting: Image - Soltron Corp.

Although costlier, LED's offer a variety of advantages compared to conventional lighting; among the more commonly known are:

Long-lasting

LED light can last up to 50,000 hours or 10 times as long as compact fluorescents, and far longer than the conventional incandescent. Very little maintenance is required through out the life span of the lamp.

Durability

LED are filament-free, solid and robust. Thus, they are not easily damaged under the same circumstances where regular incandescent bulbs would.

Environmentally Friendly

No mercury. More environmental friendly. LED's are made of non-toxic materials, unlike fluorescent lights that contain huge amounts of mercury and other hazardous material.

Cold Temperature Operation

Cold temperature is one of the challenges of fluorescent lights. On the other hand, LED light output and efficiency increase as operating temperature drops, making LED a natural choice for refrigerators, freezer cases and cold storage facilities.

More efficient

LED light produces more light per watt compared to incandescent light, a feature that would be useful in battery powered devices. In addition, LED light can emit an intended color without the use of color filters employed by traditional lighting methods. The following Table shows the comparison of the equivalent wattage and light output of Incandescent, Compact fluorescent, and LED lights.

Table 1: Equivalent wattage and light output of Incandescent, fluorescent (CFL), and LED Lights


LED lights are fast becoming the light source of choice for many general lighting applications, such as architectural lighting, down lights, freezer case lighting and retail display lighting. Even street illumination using LED is quite a common sight nowadays. Due to the low power consumption of LED lights, they can be solar powered and installed off-grid at remote locations.


General Lighting Term used

• Illumination:  The distribution of light on a horizontal surface.
• Lumen:  A measurement of light emitted by a lamp
• Efficacy: The ratio of light produced to energy consumed. It is measured as the number of lumens produced divided by the rate of electricity consumption (lumens per watt)
• Color Rendering Index (CRI): The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a 1–100 scale that measures a light source’s ability to render colors the same way sunlight does.

Reference: Buletin ST, Issue No.1, 2012

What is your Household Electricity Use?

On average, Malaysia’s per household electricity consumption is 251 kWh per month. In terms of carbon dioxide emission, this is translated to release of 171.68 kg of CO2 per household per month.

Compare your annual electricity consumption with the world's biggest economy, the United States, and the renewable energy leader, Germany. Illustrated in the following histogram:

Original chart by ilsr.org. I modified it to include Malaysia in the comparison.

Note that there's little need for air conditioning in Germany compared to the United States, but air conditioning only accounts for about 20% of U.S. household electricity consumption. Leaving the air-con out of the equation makes it 9,200 kWh vs. 3,100 kWh.

Malaysia electricity consumption is averagely 3,012 kWh per household per year or 251kWh per month. The following following SESB electricity bill shows electricity consumption for that month is 472kWh or 5664 kWh annualised.

SESB electricity bill: 472 kWh/month is above the national average of 251 kWh

If you want to calculate how much carbon dioxide you release every month, take your monthly utility bill and look for the kWh figure as shown in the photo above. Multiply that with 0.684 and you get the amount of CO2 emission as a result of your energy consumption.

In this case about 322 kg of CO2 (472kWh x 0.684) is release to the environment by this household. Every one kilowatt hour (kWh) used releases 0.684 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, the gas that contributes to the green house effect, blamed for global warming.

You now know where you stand, and if everyone plays their role by taking steps to ensure that they are using the least amount of energy possible, it will make a big difference.

Further readings and references: 
1) Cooling appliances uncool for environment - http://www.thesundaily.my/news/420861
 2) Analysis of Residential Electricity Consumption: Is Reform Needed?

FIRST GREEN BUILDING: Art Gallery saves big on power

The Green Building Index (GBI) is Malaysia’s industry recognised green rating tool for buildings to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise awareness about environmental issues and our responsibility to the future generations.

Sabah Art Gallery Conservation Centre in Kota Kinabalu. Photo by Oliver Majaham/Insight Sabah

Sabah’s first Green Building is the Art Gallery Conservation Centre located in Jalan Penampang which can save as much as RM400,000 ($125,000) a year in energy. The followings are the brief details of the environmentally-friendly building:


Building and energy
Building                    : Sabah Art Gallery Conservation Centre
Build-type                 : 4-story
Cost to build             : RM16 million ($5million)
Location                   : Jalan Penampang, Kota Kinabalu
Power supply            : Solar + utility, SESB
Energy saved            : up to 1MWh
Energy consumption  : RM107,000 per year. Compared to RM480,000/year without the green setup
Accreditation            : GBI certificate in 2012


How is energy saved
It is designed to use natural light and solar panels for lighting and air-conditioning. Energy saving lights switch off by themself when there are no visitors at the art gallery. While the main power supply (SESB) is triggered on days when natural light is lacking or solar panels are unable to cope with the power requirement.

Water usage
Water saved               : 330,000 litre/year, or equivalent to 32% of the building water need
Saving                        : RM297.00 at RM0.90/m3 water tariff
Water consumption    : 226 litre/day average per person
Equivalent                  : water saved is enough for 1,460 people per day.

Currently, Malaysians use an average of 226 litres of water per person daily, which is way above the rest of our ASEAN neighbours. Singaporeans use 154 litres (and intend to lower it to 147 litres by 2020) while the Thais manage with 90 litres.


Carbon dioxide emission
Emission               : reduced by 780 tonnes/year
Equivalent to         : CO2 emitted by 390 people/year
Benchmark           : 1.8 trillion tonnes of CO2 release will raise the temperature by 1^oC



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The original article from the Government portal, Insight Sabah:
"First green building in Sabah helps fight global warming" - Nurhafizah Yusof & Oliver Majaham

Sabah’s first green building is helping to stop the world from getting warmer. The 16m-ringgit ($5m) Sabah Art Gallery Conservation Centre can save the government as much as 400,000 ringgit a year in electricity, 297 ringgit in water and cut carbon dioxide emission down by 780 tonnes that will help keep average global warming below 2oC to prevent an environmental disaster.

Natural lighting from the sky. Photo by Oliver Majaham/Insight Sabah

“This building can save up to one megawatt of electricity per year,” said Masidi Manjun, minister of tourism, culture and environment, as he received the Green Building Index certificate from Boon Che Wee, chairman of the GBI accreditation panel on June 29.

The four-storey building at Jalan Penampang is designed to reduce power consumption by using natural light and solar panels for lighting and air-conditioning. Energy saving lights switch off by themself when there are no visitors at the art gallery. And the main power supply is triggered on days when natural light is lacking or solar panels are unable to power lights and air-conditioners.

Thus electricity consumption will be greatly reduced to 900 kilowatt-hours a day, according to Jennifer Linggi, the curator of the gallery. Power cost will thus be a relatively low 107,000 ringgit a year against about 480,000 ringgit if the building were to run on supply solely from Sabah Electricity Sendirian Berhad, the state’s power company.

The art gallery will also save about 330,000 litres of water a year by harvesting rainwater to flush toilets, clean the building and water the garden. This represents a saving of 32% of the water need of the building. That is enough water for about 1,500 people. But 330,000 litres cost only 297 ringgit because water at 90 sen per 1,000 litres is comparatively cheap.

But making the building environmentally friendly will reduce carbon dioxide emission, blamed for global warming, by 780 tonnes a year. That is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by 390 people every year.

The figure may not seem significant considering that it takes 1.8 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide to raise atmospheric temperature by one degree Celsius. But then there are thousands of buildings, many of them many times bigger than the art gallery in Sabah. And taking all the millions of buildings in the world, carbon reduction of the Sabah art gallery is indeed a significant step in the fight against global warming.

Buildings use up 40% of energy, 12% of water and send 40% of waste to landfill. And they thus are responsible for much of global warming and pollution.

For more readings, go to Insight Sabah website http://insightsabah.gov.my/article/read/1852

LED streetlights by 2014

If the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment has its way, by 2014 Malaysia will be using Light Emitting Diode (LED) to light up its streets. By doing so, the government is expected to save RM300 million every year on energy expenses for streetlights.

    A typical LED streetlight, powered by solar. The ministry's initiative will be on grid power.

An example of a widely use of LED lamp application bright sighboards and traffic lights. Due to its directional light beam, when angled correctly, LED lamp is very bright and suitable for traffic lightings during daytime.


Initiative by KePKAS

According to Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister (KePKAS), Datuk Bolkiah Hj Ismail, the move to use LED for street-lighting is to achieve a sustainable development through the adoption of green technology. It is the government's desire to look into more development plans that are environmentally friendly.

Through the use of green technology via LED lights, there is an expected saving of up to 75% (I'm quoting Datuk Bolkiah) of energy compared to conventional lights. A pre-qualification registration and consulting service on the use of LED lights to contractors was held on Monday, organised by Realkey Solutions Sdn Bhd.

The Federal Government is expected to roll out the budget on the installation of LED lights nationwide soon. State governments, agencies and departments may also receive a huge allocation to phase out conventional lights.

To help the nation reduce carbon emission, the State Government would take the LED lights installation as one of the steps towards the adoption of green technology. At the federal level, LED lights will be installed at Ministry of Health premises and streets under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department.

Teluk Likas street showered with LED lights? Maybe, soon.

TheGreenMechanics' two cents: Massive funding, don't screw it!

Do up some rough mathematical calculations and using 5 to 6 years of ROI, the total investment in the LED street lighting could cost the government a whopping RM2 billion to RM2.5 billion. But with the large number of lights to be replaced the amount should be much lesser than this. The intention is noble, so, don't screw this by turning the exercise into a national scandal.

LED lighting technology is still evolving and lamp manufacturing code has not been standardised yet, unlike the conventional lights.

What this means is that each manufacturer (e.g. Philips, Osram, GE, Siemens, etc) will have their own standard on fittings, rating, lifespan, build and so on, making compatibility a big issue.

For instance, when you buy a Philips LED bulb c/w fitting, 6 to 7 years down the road you would want to replace a faulty 'bulb'. You can only do so using a Philips 'bulb' and not Osram's or Siemens'. If you insist on other brand, you would then need to replace the whole fitting which is a very expensive affair.

In short, plan properly at the beginning and don't blow the budget halfway.


Reference: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=81885

Earth Hour 2012

Environment-conscious citizens can take part in one of the various activities lined up for this year’s Earth Hour - a practice observed worldwide to raise awareness on climate change - this evening. If you are still wondering or unclear about it, you can read about what is earth hour here.

Consumers are encouraged to switch off their non-essential lightings or electrical appliances during Earth Hour, which falls today, March 31, 2012. As its name suggest the period is one hour, starting from 8.30pm. During this period, our local energy utility, SESB, expects a reduction of load of 50 MW. But it also anticipate up to 70MW of drop of power consumption throughout the state.

For the record, highest drop of power demand was recorded in March, 2007 totalling 30.28 MW. Consumers in both Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan took part in that practice.

Earth Hour Happenings: What and Where.

City Hall leads. City Hall collaborates with Sutera Harbour Resort to hold exciting programs at the tennis court (Sutera Harbour Resort), starting 6.00pm with food stalls, children’s recycled item contest, spa product show, and night photography. Night photography can be very rewarding and you would be surprised at how fascinating the results could be. Try it, compact point-and-shoot or DSLR camera would both give interesting perspectives.

Perhaps a good idea to take picture of the night/evening view of Sutera Harbour Resort itself.

Street-wise. Turning off of streetlights at 8.30pm along the main road from Tun Mustapha building (Yayasan Sabah) to the citi centre to Coastal Highway and down to Tanjung Aru. An entourage by the Mayor and other guests will cycle from the city to First Beach, Tanjung Aru later at 9.30pm.

Tun Mustapha Tower is on the far left. Can't imagine these street lights being switched-off.

Educating the youth. At St. Michael’s School, Miss Earth Sabah, Olivia Vun gave a talk on the Earth Hour and also conducted a quiz session with 500 secondary students on Friday. Organised by MNE (Mandy Nandu) Productions, such program is one of Miss Earth Sabah’s initiatives to practice the cause that they upheld. Also present was Sabah Environment Protection Director, Yabi Yangkat, and the program sponsor Gardenia’s GM David Yong.

What about petition? Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society (SWCS) will have a petition signing during Earth Hour (today, March 31 2012) against a proposed condominium project in the vicinity of the First Beach in Tanjung Aru.

Tg. Aru First Beach - maybe SWCS should highlight this indiscriminate felling of trees, too.

A challenge for a good cause

In support of the Earth Hour 2012, HSBC Bank Malaysia will switch off non-essential external lights and internal signboards in all of its branches starting 8.30pm nationwide.

HSBC also challenged you to a duel: “I will if you will”. In this challenge, the management pledges to plant 10 trees for every 1kg of used dry cells, rechargeable, mobile phone or laptop batteries collected. Special recycle bins will be placed at common and public areas within its headquarters in Leboh Ampang, Kuala Lumpur and selected branches nationwide. If you are HSBC’s customer and happen to read this, do ask the bank if they have the bins and take part of you have used batteries with you.

What about you?

If you prefer to stay at home and watch this weekend football matches, or enjoy some great movies, the least you can do is switch of one or two of your non-essential lightings, such as the 60W corridor bulb, the  2 x 36W garage fluorescent lamps, etc. For me, I will turn off one of the energy saving lamp at the backyard and the fluorescent tube at the entrance.

Happy Earth Hour, everyone. AND save few watts of energy today.


Note: All photographs in this article are taken by myself and are therefore copyrighted. Should you wish to paste them on your website, kindly give due credit and link them back to this page.