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Promoting Energy Efficiency

There is a strong need to conserve the earth's resources, ensuring that we use them with care. The efficient use of energy makes a significant contribution in this direction, while also generating substantial cost savings for users. Building on the activities of our Energy Efficiency Office, we are therefore, now offering our customers a comprehensive and integrated service to help save energy.

As the first step in the process, Energy Audits are carried out to understand where and how the energy is used and to identify Energy Management Opportunities or EMOs, to determine where electricity can be saved. Based on the EMOs identified, a recommendation for implementation together with the suitable technology is made. EMOs can range from activities with no capital outlay or relatively low costs for implementation to substantial capital investment. The payback period therefore becomes a critical factor when determining the way forward. Typical payback periods tend to run between 3 - 8 years, though with rapidly advancing technology, equipment costs are decreasing, in turn reducing payback periods.

With lighting and air-conditioning accounting for approximately 70% of total energy usage in commercial buildings, these areas provide the most obvious scope for savings. The use of slimmer and more energy efficient fluorescent tubes to replace more traditional fluorescent lighting can save energy consumption by 10% while the use of electronic ballast against the conventional magnetic version can save an additional 20 - 30%. Savings in air-conditioning are even more impressive. The use of variable speed drives which reduce air-flow when the air-conditioning load is lower, can save up to 50% of the energy bill when there is a reduction of 20% of air flow.

For further details of our Energy Efficiency services, please call our Customer Support Hotline - 2915 6955 or e-mail us at emsdcsu@emsd.gov.hk.


Conserving Energy in Hong Kong's Hospitals

Working closely with the Hospital Authority, we conducted a series of in-depth energy audits, identifying EMOs with anticipated energy savings of around HK$12 million annually. As a result we are now carrying out energy retrofit work at 13 venues including hospitals, clinics and the Red Cross Transfusion Centre. Using state-of-the-art lighting technology, "T5" fluorescent tubes and electronic ballast, will replace the "T8" tubes and magnetic ballast currently in use at the Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and Tuen Mun Hospitals. Apart from being more energy efficient, the slimmer "T5" lighting also directs light more exactly where it is needed and has a longer service life. In the other venues, work is taking place to replace existing magnetic ballast with electronic ballast.


Discussing EMSD's many activities in this area, Mr. Lam Poon-wah of our Energy Efficiency Office said:

A model of a district cooling centre"Apart from our work on Energy Audits and EMOs, the Energy Efficiency Office also carries out a number of other activities to benefit the community. Theseinclude the setting up of Guidelines and Codes of Practice for energy efficiency on buildings, promoting an energy efficiency labeling scheme for electric household appliances as well as the compilation of an Energy End-use Database. We also work closely with the power utilities, both monitoring and coordinating activities such as the implementation of Demand Side Management programmes, which help to manage and anticipate public demand for electricity."

"We also conduct regular studies and pilot trials in the conservation of electricity - for example the recent introduction of the pilot scheme for the wider user of fresh water supplies in water-cooled air-conditioning systems will take Hong Kong a major step forward in energy conservation. We are also actively involved in energy benchmarking studies and in establishing a database in this area, providing valuable data both in the use and projected use of energy in varying conditions. Additionally, feasibility studies into renewable energy - solar and wind energy, tidal power as well as waste incineration energy plants, will help point the way for Hong Kong's energy direction in the future."

 

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