(Conclusion)

MANILA, Philippines?The buildings sector is a major culprit for high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It also presents three times more cost-effective savings opportunity than the transportation sector in reducing carbon emissions.

It is more cost-effective to make a building energy efficient from the beginning. But we know that unless a facility is continuously fine-tuned and managed for energy savings, short-term problems will lead to longer-term drop in efficiency. This leads us to the importance of retrofitting existing buildings for energy savings.

This in essence is the message that the Asean Energy Awards has been conveying since its inception nine years ago.

The Asean Energy Awards is Southeast Asia?s most prestigious annual awards program that recognizes outstanding works in the field of energy. It provides international prominence and recognition to outstanding companies and individuals who consciously apply the concepts, systems and technologies of energy efficiency and conservation.

Entries are prequalified by the Department of Energy in each country. Awardees are chosen through a competition by a board of judges made up of one representative from each country of Asean.

For this category the minimum prequalification requirement is an energy savings of 20 percent of the total energy consumption.

Category awardees

This year?s awardees are Singapore Post Limited (winner), the Philippines? Enterprise Center (first runner-up) and Vietnam?s Majestic Hotel (second runner-up)

THE WINNER

The Singapore Post Centre (Singapore)

The building, which is a mixed development of a retail podium, office block and industrial complex, occupies a site area of 32,700 square meters and was completed in 1999. It has 3 basements, 14 stories and a gross floor area of 137,300 square meters.

The mail processing center is designed as a 24-hour mail and parcel processing hub to serve the entire city. It is equipped with one of the most modern and efficient mail sorting systems in the region.

Its active system consists of a central chilled water plant room, high accuracy sensors, variable speed drives for pumps, flow metering devices and high efficiency chillers with efficient refrigerants.

Its passive design includes double glazed windows and skylights to reduce heat penetration, metal cladding to reflect sunlight, and water features to reduce the temperature around the building.

The Building Management system (BMS) provides a smooth integration of the air-conditioning, mechanical, lighting, car park system, etc.

The total energy savings is 23.17 percent of total energy consumption.

FIRST RUNNER-UP

The Enterprise Center Building (Philippines)

The building occupies a site area of 7,400 square meters on Ayala Avenue, Makati City. It was completed in 1998. It has 7 basements with 2 multistory towers on top of a 5-story podium block. Total gross floor area is 146,800 square meters.

The Enterprise Center is a premier high-rise twin tower office development equipped with state-of-the-art office support utility systems.

Its active system includes variable air volume boxes that control the air movement of each office per desire temperature setting, basement exhaust fans that automatically bring in fresh air when the carbon monoxide level increases, motorized sunshades to reduce heat emitted through curtain walls, lighting retrofits, light sensors and recovery of condense drain water for toilet flushing and irrigation.

Passive design includes proper orientation and exterior finishes such as granite and aluminum curtain wall with galvanized steel sheet cladding and rigid thermal insulation. The lobby has huge glass panels that bring in natural light and a skylight provides natural light for the food court.

The BMS monitors and controls mechanical and electrical services to achieve total energy savings of 27.15 percent of total energy consumption.

SECOND RUNNER-UP

Majestic Hotel (Vietnam)

Majestic Hotel is a well-known five-star hotel built by French architects in 1925. It occupies a site area of about 2,280 square meters. It has 175 luxuriously furnished rooms located within 2 rectangular blocks, one with 9 stories and the other 6 stories. Total gross floor area is 12,800 square meters.

Some of its energy-saving strategies are complete replacement of over 4,400 filament lamps with CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps), replacement of old air-conditioning units with highly-efficient ones; replacing electric water heaters with solar heaters and using energy-efficient LCD TV for all the guest rooms instead of conventional TV.

The lower floor has wide roof overhangs which are covered with gravel to reduce the effect of solar radiation. Special heat radiating glass covers all windows and doors at the façade for protection from the East and Northeast side of the building. A courtyard with a swimming pool and extensive vegetation helps provide natural light and air for the guest rooms.

The total energy savings is 20.15 percent of total energy consumption.

As a member of the Asean Energy Awards board of judges, I am encouraged by the result of this year?s competition. I hope that we get more Philippine entries for next year?s competition. For details please call Marlon Domingo of the Department of Energy at 840-2243 or 840-1401 to 40.

For comments or inquiries, e-mail amadodejesus@gmail.com.