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Sustainable Building

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a) Use Pathway 1: EUI

The office is featured to have been built in 2012 and has not obtained any Green Market

certification before. It is notable that the building has a single entity or tenant. The "Energy

Utilization Index" (EUI) pathway of Green Mark 2021 is the one that takes into account the

building's energy use in terms of the annual energy consumption per area of gross floor area

(GFTA). We use the consumption pathway method to investigate the current Building's

performance (Suss, n.d.). In this process, electricity data is read from the monthly electricity

consumption graphs and the mentioned area of the building. By analyzing the electricity

consumption graph, in which a month is displayed, it is evident that this Building probably has

high energy consumption.

The figure for the whole annual energy consumption is not expressed directly. Still, from

the big-blowing monthly value, we can conclude that the EUI is over according to the regime of

Green Mark Gold Plus, which requires the EUI pathway to fulfil the requirements. It has been

clearly shown that there would be huge improvements to reduce the overall consumption, but

they must be made. The Energy Efficiency Section's requirements will be met with the aid of the

EUI pathway, which demands a complex approach towards various systems and components

geared at energy consumption reduction.

Potential areas for improvement include:

1. Air-conditioning system optimization: The energy consumption is usually determined

by the size and the type of air-conditioning system used in the building. Switching to better

chillers, establishing system monitoring for chilled water, and optimizing air distribution systems

will produce some promising energy savings.

2. Lighting system retrofit: As the schedule of existing lighting indicates a possible higher

level than the conditions for Green Mark 2021, it is essential to perform an energy audit (Suss,

n.d.). In addition, LED energy-saving lighting, occupancy sensors, and daylight harvesting

controls can lower electricity use for lighting to a greater extent.

3. Building envelope enhancements: Enhanced thermal performance of building

envelopes can be achieved through energy-efficient window glazing, insulation, and shading

devices. The consequent effect of this would be a reduction in cooling loads, which translates to

less energy demand for cooling, especially air-conditioning.

4. Energy monitoring and management system: Safety. Installing a complete energy

monitoring and management system should be a priority. It can be wondered which high energy

consumption regions it can help, and it can also help optimize improvement measures and

provide ongoing monitoring parameters for improvement.

5. Lift and escalator upgrades: Even though the building lifts are fitted with features that

help to reduce the amount of energy consumed, such as destination control and sleep mode, there

is still room for greening the system by replacing them with even more energy-efficient motors

and drives, examples being (Suss, n.d.).

6. Other energy-efficient measures: The additional energy-efficient design measures and

technologies comprising energy consumers, such as energy-efficient motors, pumps, and fans,

demand control ventilation, and heat recovery systems, can be discovered, which will help in

reducing the building's overall energy consumption and it will go well with the building ′s EUI

performance.

Significantly, several estimates were also not mentioned, such as very high monthly

electricity usage as well as the absence of energy-efficiency improvements, and till now – no
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single piece of information that the current Building could conform to zero-carbon Green Mark

Gold Plus rating without an integrated approach that involves not only multiple energy saving

strategies but also retrofits that could help it to improve overall the energy performance.

b) Using Pathway 2: Fixed Metrics

Green Mark 2021 uses Fixed Measures to evaluate the distinct building designs and

technologies contributing to energy efficiency. It is a pathway that is prescribed more

mechanically than the EUI path.

Based on Appendix A, we can assess the building's compliance with the Fixed Metrics

requirements for the Energy Efficiency Section, we can determine the building's compliance with

the Fixed Metrics requirements for the Energy Efficiency Section:

1. Air-conditioning system: While air conditioning efficiency, which is 0.96 kW/RT, is

indicated, it's unclear if the air conditioning system meets the minimum system efficiency

requirements specified in Green Mark 2021. Furthermore, the absence of water as a general

comfort measure for the chiller water in the system may not accord with the conditions.

2. Lifts and escalators: Efficiency of the elevators at the building have energy-saving

features like destination control, sleep mode, and variable frequency motor drives, making the

pathway for the Fixed Metrics possible.

3. Lighting system: The ongoing lighting schedule of the building does not fall within the

maximum lighting power density limits discussed in the concept of Green Mark 2021 (Suss,

n.d.). Conversion to lighting systems with less electric energy and intelligent systems is essential.

4. Building envelope: The specifications on the thermal panel's thermal performance are

not mentioned, for example, the overall thermal transfer value (OTTV) or the roof insulation.
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The effectiveness of these areas could become a concern when approaching the fixed metrics

criteria.

5. Renewable energy: There is no information on using renewable energy sources, which

forms a basis for the higher Green Mark ratings under the Static Nomination path.

6. Energy monitoring and management: The absence of permanent measurement

instruments for the chilled water system raises queries on whether the building has a

comprehensive energy monitoring and management system necessary to attain Green Mark

certification (Suss, n.d.).

Potential areas for improvement include:

1. Air-conditioning system: Installing highly efficient chillers, tracking/monitoring the

chilled water system, and designing an optimized air distribution system.

2. Lighting system: I suggest updating the lighting to more energy-saving LED bulbs,

using occupancy sensors and daylight harvesting controls, and ensuring the system meets the

maximum allowed lighting power density limits.

3. Building envelope: Reinforce the building envelope efficiency through more window

glazing, better insulation, and shading devices.

4. Renewable energy: Investigate the possibility of using renewable energy sources, such

as solar photo-voltaic systems, as alternative power sources to meet the needs of fixed metrics

(Suss, n.d.).

5. Energy monitoring and management: Include a complete energy tracking and

management system that compares energy expenditure among the individual building systems to

enhance energy management efficiency.

6. Other measures: As part of life-cycle assessment and certification, assess and install

other energy-efficient design measures like energy-efficient motors, pumps and fans, demand-

controlled ventilation, and heat recovery systems specified under the Building of the Future

pathway (Suss, n.d.).

In conclusion, given the content indicated above, the building in doubt is not allocated to

the Energy Efficiency area of the Green Mark 2021, irrespective of whether the EUI or Fixed

Metrics pathway is adopted as the option criterion. This can only be achieved through significant

advancements necessary in the following six areas: air-conditioning, lightning, building

envelope, renewable energy integration, energy monitoring, and management.

References

Suss. (n.d.). Sustainable buildings. SUSS. https://www.suss.edu.sg/courses/detail/fmt315