With last year’s announcement that Punggol would become Singapore’s first eco-town, measures have been underway to turn this into a reality. Serving as a “living laboratory” for ideas and technology that promote sustainable living, it will see green projects being carried out in the areas of energy, waste and water management with the goal of replicating them in other parts of the island if they prove successful. Among its key features is a 4.2-kilometre waterway that runs through the town. Last year, HDB launched its first eco-precinct, Treelodge@Punggol, which also has the distinction of being the country’s first Green Mark platinum award public housing project.
(New HDB focusing on Eco-sustainability. Image courtesy of Sengkang)
The latest project to be announced is a collaboration between Japanese electronics giant Panasonic and three government agencies – Singapore's Energy Market Authority, Economic Development Board and HDB. The pilot project, which will be carried out in Punggol Eco-town, will involve 10 households from a chosen block of flats, with the goal of reducing energy consumption in public housing by at least 75 percent. It will start next January and run till 2013.
Commenting on why Panasonic decided to team up with the Singapore authorities, Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo said, “Singapore, with its excellent infrastructure and talent base, is an ideal living-lab to test-bed our energy solutions. I expect this collaboration to be a pioneer endeavour to contribute towards a greener lifestyle in Singapore and the region with our technology.”
Once the households for this project have been selected, their homes will be installed with various energy-saving features such as Panasonic inverter air-conditioners, which can reduce power consumption by up to 50 percent. According to the Energy Studies Institute, air-conditioners are currently the largest guzzlers of electricity, making up around 50 percent of a building’s electricity consumption. As a result, finding a more sustainable alternative has become all the more pertinent. Also to be installed is an energy management system that lets household members track their usage of gas, water and electricity. All these features will be installed free of charge.
However, these families will not be the only ones to benefit from the project. Solar panels will also be installed on the roof of the block to power common areas such as its lifts, lighting and water pumps. Excess electricity will be stored in a lithium-ion battery unit, which can double up as a back-up generator, so it can be used at night.
Apart from reducing households’ carbon footprint and utilities bills, the project is also being used by the authorities to study how it can help enhance the country’s power network and future smart grid. Speaking to reporters, Chee Hong Tat, chief executive of Energy Market Authority said, “Unlike a traditional grid which relies on the passive transmission of electricity from generators to consumers, a smart grid can integrate the actions and responses of connected parties such as the grid operator, utility retailers, businesses and consumers to reap efficiency-savings and other system benefits.”
Though this project will start with only 10 families, the authorities have not ruled out expanding it to include more participants in the future.
This project marks the first time that such initiatives are being introduced to an existing public residential building in Asia.
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Related Categories: General, HDB
Tags: Panasonic, 1st eco-precinct, 1st eco-town, Eco Friendly HDB Flats, eco-friendly hdb, Economic Development Board, EDB, Energy Market Authority, first eco-precinct, first eco-town, green, Green Mark, Green Mark platinum award, HDB, HDB Singapore, Panasonic Singapore, Punggol, Punggol Eco Town, Punggol Eco-town, treelodge, Treelodge@Punggol
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