Knowledge Center: Energy Efficiency

It has to be said that Asia has never exactly been on the cutting edge of all things green, as the urgent needs of economic growth have necessarily taken precedence over “saving the planet” – something surely left best to muesli-munching Californians and bicycling Swedes? And with many of parts of the region – notably India – still striving for a solid electrical supply infrastructure, it is Asia which will be seeing the bulk of deliveries of very un-green coal-fired power stations in the next few years.

So on the evening of March 28, 2009, when 88 countries around the world participated in this year’s Earth Hour, and households and businesses were encouraged to turn off lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness of climate change, it was pleasing to see the Philippines topping global Earth Hour participation with an estimated 15 million citizens joining in the great switch-off and saving some 611 MWh of electricity in the process (equivalent to halting 12 coal-fired power plants). Even Vietnam, where the average wage is around $100 a month, saw electricity demand falling by a respectable 140 MWh.

Efficiency initiatives

Elsewhere, government initiatives point to a new realization that with energy consumption only set to increase over the coming years, a resolute focus on “energy efficiency” – i.e. using less energy to provide the same amount of heat, light, motion, etc – is needed to mitigate spiraling costs and environmental impact.

For instance, South Korea, which is almost exclusively dependent on expensive imported fuel, recently announced that it will be switching every bulb in every public building to LED by the end of this year. It also aims to be the first country in the world to have a "smart grid" to maximize the efficiency of electricity transmission.

In Malaysia, where the overall energy demand is expected to increase at an average rate of 6.3 percent per annum during the period of the government’s Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006-2010), the Malaysian Industrial Energy Efficiency Improvement Project (MIEEIP) has been developed to improve energy efficiency in Malaysia's industrial sector by removing barriers to the efficient use of energy.

And in Singapore, in March, the National Environment Agency (NEA) recognized the first two “Energy Smart Retail Malls” which had successfully implemented energy savings measures to achieve better energy efficiency and lower operating costs. One suburban mall managed to reduce its annual electricity consumption by some 1,200 MWh to realize an annual saving of US$167,000 in expenditure and 610 metric tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions. In April, the NEA also extended mandatory energy efficiency labeling to all refrigerators, air conditioners and tumble dryers sold in the country.

The 350+ attendance at this "Energy Savings Made Easy" seminar in Singapore is indicative of an increasing Asian interest in the going green.

Attracting attention

Against this backdrop, it was certainly pleasing to see the unexpectedly large turnout (350+) at a recent “Energy Savings Made Easy” seminar in Singapore. Organized by regional automation distributor TDS Technology, which represents global brands such as Mitsubishi Electric and GE Fanuc, as well as many homegrown Southeast Asian companies, the event showcased solutions such as variable speed drives, energy-efficient motors, and LED lighting systems.

Attracting especially keen interest was a young Singapore company, 3T Hypermizer. Its product, Hypermizer, is an automatic power controller that supplies just the right amount of voltage and current to the driven loads to function optimally. Hypermizer installation has significantly reduced the energy bill for implementers such as Fuji Xerox, said CEO Ravinder Singh.

“We are confident that clients can achieve up to 35 percent energy cost savings,” Singh told Control Engineering Asia later. While Hypermizer is currently only available in Asia Pacific, Singh says he is “eyeing the US and Europe, where energy-saving devices are likely to have a good market.”

According to TDS Technology director Paul Yeo, the healthy attendance at its Energy Savings seminar is indicative of an increasing interest in how energy efficiency technologies can deliver a boost to the bottom line through reductions in metered consumption, which can only be welcome in these times of falling orders and shuttered manufacturing lines. Save money, save the planet. It’s quite an incentive – and Asia is starting to change its color.

 

 

 

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