22
BUILDINGS
@green | July-August, 2020
Ir Dr Sanjayan Velautham, CEO of SEDA Malaysia,
delivered a welcoming remark during the opening
ceremony of the ZEB workshop.
Brainstorm
Zero Energy Building
(ZEB) experts share
thoughts on energyefficient
properties
Hajime Moroo, JASE-W/
Head of ZEB Dissemination
Working Group, presented on
the concept of ZEB Family and
Activity for Standardization as
ISO/TR during the workshop.
Zero Energy Building (ZEB) experts
from Japan were in Kuala Lumpur in
February 2020 to share their country’s
experience on making real estate
energy-efficient hence reducing further
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
These foreign experts were speakers
of a second training programme
co-organised by the Sustainable Energy Development
Authority (SEDA) Malaysia and Japanese Business Alliance
for Smart Energy Worldwide (JASE-W) on raising
the awareness and promoting the ZEB and ZEB family
concept.
The first of such
a programme was held in 2019
Among the experts were Japanese Business Alliance for
Smart Energy Worldwide (JASE-W) ZEB Dissemination
Working Group Head Hajime Moroo; Energy Conservation
Center, Japan (ECCJ) representative Dr Yoshitaka Ushio;
Nikken Sekkei representative Sheau-Chyng Wong; Sanken
Setsubi Kogyo official Keiichi Saeki; Tokyo Metropolitan
University Professor Dr Masayuki Ichinose; and AGC Asia
Pacific Pte Ltd Senior Director Mr Eugene Quek.
The topics, according to Sustainable Energy Malaysia,
that were discussed during the programme include
Concept of ZEB Family and Activity for Standardization
as ISO/TR (Maroo); Policy and Strategy in Japan towards
ZEB realisation including ZEB cooperation in ASEAN
(Ushio); Examples of ZEB New Buildings Projects (Wong);
Consideration of Local Factor of ZEB in the Tropics Asia
(Dr Masayuki); and Introduction of Technology for ZEB/
ZEB Family by Japanese Companies (Quek).
The training programme came about following the signing
of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between
SEDA Malaysia and JASE-W on Oct 17, 2018. The MoU
enables both parties to exchange information on energy
efficiency programme opportunities in Malaysia. Japan is
one of the leading countries emphasising on the development
of ZEB.
Through the MoU, information on energy efficiency
knowledge, services and technologies will drive dissemination
and promotion of ZEB, and ZEB concept
in Malaysia. The parties will also cooperate to facilitate
potential business opportunities and partnership-based
projects where the Japanese knowledge and services for
energy conservation and efficiency will benefit Malaysia’s
industries.
JASE-W is appointed by the Ministry of Economic, Trade
and Investment, Japan (METI) to provide dissemination
and promotion of ZEB, and ZEB series concept in Japan
and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The very first ZEB training in Malaysia was conducted in
February 2019 in Putrajaya, where 100 participants from
various backgrounds had attended the training.
The high commitment and interest shown by JASE-W
is also a catalyst for the proposed implementation of the
programme. ZEB development however was not new in
Malaysia. It had started since the integrated energy efficient
building design programme and the promotion of the use
of MS1525 – Code of Practice on Use of Energy Efficiency
& Renewable Energy for Non-residential Buildings, introduced
in 2002.
Some of the energy efficient public buildings in Malaysia
with energy saving of more than 50 per cent are the Low
Energy Office; GreenTech Malaysia’s Green Energy Office,
and the Energy Commission’s Diamond Building. The
private sector’s energy efficient buildings include Panasonic
Green Warehouse and the Putrajaya’s Zero Energy
Home P14. There is also likely to be a government office
building that has reached over 50 per cent energy reduction
resulting from retrofitting periodically.
The ZEB programme is a global programme involving
the development of super energy efficient buildings that
are integrated with renewable energy applications, which
are actively promoted by the European Union (EU), Japan,
Singapore and countries committed to energy and carbon
reduction. Most of these countries are targeting new public
buildings to achieve ZEB categories by 2020; and new
public and private buildings (on average) to achieve ZEB
categories by 2030.
According to United Nations Environment’s Global
Status Report 2019 for Buildings and Construction, the
buildings and construction sector accounted for the largest
share of both final energy use 36 per cent and energy and
process-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 39 per
cent in 2018. In 2018, global emissions from buildings
increased two per cent.
Growth was driven by strong floor space and population
expansions that led to a one per cent increase in energy
consumption. Based on this fact, some countries with the
Low Carbon City programme choose to implement energy
efficient low carbon building programmes to reduce their
carbon emissions.
The development of the ZEB building is the most
suitable for that purpose and to meet this requirement a
standard ISO / TC205, relating to ZEB buildings is being
developed internationally. The ZEB Programme is a global
race targeted to make buildings become super energy
efficient with the deployment of on-site renewable energy
Group photo: Training for Dissemination and Promotion of Zero Energy Building (ZEB) and ZEB Family Concept which took place on Feb 4-5, 2020.