SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
BACHELOR OF QUANTITY SURVEYING (HONOURS)
BUILDING SERVICES 2 (QSB 2714/ BLD 60503)
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
Name: Goh Jia Jun
Student ID: 0323302
Word Counts: 1925 words
Lecturer: DR Kam Kenn Jhun
Date of Submission: 29th May 2017
Green technology also known as environmental technology or green
technology is an evolving group of methods and materials
constantly, from techniques for generating energy to non-toxic
cleaning products. It also can be defined as minimizing or reducing
the negative impact of human activities and conserve the natural
environment and resources. The expectation for nowadays is to bring
innovation and changes in daily life that are comparable with
information technology which is growing rapidly over the last two
decades. There are 5 subject areas that green technology involves
which are energy, green building, environmental preferred
purchasing, green chemistry and green nanotechnology.
The driving forces behind these technological advancements are
improving efficiency and reducing utility bills, lessening the
strain on both the grid and the environment, and lastly is
increasing the comfort of rooms in a home or building. What's
making this possible is the fact that interconnection is at an
all-time high between both people and machines and only improving
on basically a daily basis.
Malaysia started promoting green technology and recognized it as
one of key to increase economic growth. Malaysia government
launched the National Green Technology Policy with a National Green
Technology Policy on 24 July 2009. There are 4 pillars of the
policy focused on, which are Energy, Environment, Economy, and
Social. Malaysia government planning to focus on green technology
and renewable energy industry as it’s not just increasing the jobs
opportunities unit also green business opportunities.
[footnoteRef:1] (EARTHGREEN TECH: Green Technology, 2017) [1: []
EARTHGREEN TECH: Green Technology. 2017. EARTHGREEN TECH: Green
Technology. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://dib1adis2013a.blogspot.my/2014/03/green-technology-malaysia-has.html.
[Accessed 2 May 2017].]
Air conditioning is the process of controlling the humidity,
temperature, ventilation in the space or building. The goal of air
conditioning is to keep it more comfortable inside the house than
outside. There are many types of air conditioning systems can
enhance green technology and mainly suggest these four types of air
conditioning systems not only environmentally friendly and save
cost, but also suitable to use in Malaysia are solar air
conditioning system, ice-powered air conditioner and inverter air
conditioning.
The number of humans keeps increasing and a question appears,
what is going to replace of the resources after the disappearance
of fossil fuels? One of the best renewable resources is solar
energy. Solar air conditioning system is the cooling system using
solar power to cool down the rooms or buildings. The photovoltaic
(PV) solar panel receives light energy and heat energy from the sun
then convert it to electricity. Solar air conditioning can be
divided into many types but the two most famous, which are hybrid
solar air conditioner and Solar closed-loop absorption cooling.
A hybrid solar air conditioning system consists of photovoltaic
technology and direct current (DC). It can switch between solar and
battery power automatically. Hybrid solar air conditioning system
does not require batteries, inverter and controller. It generates
power in the same way as a common grid-tie solar system but use
batteries to store energy for later use. When there is sunlight,
the system will charge their batteries automatically; When the
sunlight is unavailable, the system runs on battery backup while
charging its batteries via alternating current (AC) power. This
allows solar hybrid air conditioner can reduce power consumption
from the grid and even can be used even when a grid outage or
blackout. [footnoteRef:2] (How Solar Air Conditioners Work, 2017)
[2: HowStuffWorks. 2017. Environmental Benefits of Solar Air
Conditioners - How Solar Air Conditioners Work | HowStuffWorks.
[ONLINE] Available at:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/solar-air-conditioner1.htm.
[Accessed 25 May 2017].]
Solar closed-loop absorption cooling which recognized as
thermally driven air-conditioning, operate by heating and cooling
water through evaporation and condensation. The water is mixed with
other materials and can be grouped into 3 categories:
Lithium-Bromide(LiBr)-Water Solution, Water-Ammonia, and Lithium
Chloride (LiCl)-Water systems. The chillers are used to cool the
air and blowing it over water-saturated material while the fan and
motor are powered by the solar energy. It only consumes little
electrical energy where the part that use electricity are low amp
fan motors and control boards. Cheap natural gas can be added to
the chillers depend on situations. In addition
Solar conditioning system doesn’t consume a lot of electricity
which generated from the power plants. Electricity is generated
from burning non-renewable resources such as coal, petroleum and
natural gas. This will produce a lot of carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants. This will enhance
the greenhouse effect and climate change. Solar conditioning using
the renewable energy to generate electricity not only decrease the
greenhouse effect but also decrease the electricity bill. Solar
conditioning has become more famous and attractive day by day as
the cooling system because of the increment of electricity cost.
However, the initial cost is quite expensive which is 4 times
higher than conventional air conditioners. Although it’s considered
very expensive, but it will benefit the owners and the environment
in long run.
The second type of air conditioning system is ice-powered air
conditioner which is one of the thermal energy storage(TES)
technology that converts water to ice to decrease the temperature
of the room. Thermal energy storage is like a battery for a
building’s air-conditioning system. This technology makes ice and
stored at night or during off-peak hours and use it to cool the
existing air conditioning units' refrigerant during the day, which
decreases the amount of electricity a building uses.
[footnoteRef:3] (Ice Energy, 2017) [3: Ice Energy. 2017. Technology
- Ice Energy. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.ice-energy.com/technology/. [Accessed 25 May
2017].]
During hot days, homes and buildings turn up the air
conditioning, which uses a tremendous amount of power. At night,
the unit freezes 450 gallons (1,703.81 liters) of water with 25% of
ethylene or propylene glycol by circulating refrigerant through a
system of copper coils. 95% of the water that surrounds the coils
in the tank turns to ice, which is then stored. The water in the
heat exchanger will not leave the tank. The tank takes 6 to 12
hours to fully charge. As temperatures rise in the next day, the
existing AC unit stands down and glycol solution circulates through
the ice storage tanks to deliver the stored energy to the building
to augment or offset electric chiller cooling. A fan blows air over
the coils to deliver cooling to the occupant spaces. People feel
cool and comfortable and never know ice storage is being used to
save money on cooling costs.
One of the companies that design ice storage system is a young
company named Ice Energy. The company’s Ice Bear unit can reduce
electricity by 95% up to 6 hours a day for every day. Ice-powered
air conditioner can decrease about 30% of power and save up to 40%
of their cooling bills. Besides, the ice batteries cost less than
half of lithium-ion batteries of the same capacity on a life-cycle
basis. Ice-powered air conditioner also a green technology as it
reduces CO2 emissions by up to 40% and NOx emissions by up to 56%
and reduces greenhouse gas emission and reduce hazardous waste and
toxic material. More importantly, it reduces the use of CFCs gasses
which is harmful to the ozone layer.
Lastly, the third type of air conditioning system I have chosen
is the inverter air conditioning system. Inverter technology is the
latest evolution of technology concerning the electro motors of the
compressors. A non-inverter type air conditioner or conventional
air conditioner remains constant motor speed and temperature is
adjusted by turning the motor either on or off. When the motor is
on, it will work at full capacity and consumes maximum electricity
as it’s designed to consume and throws cool air at the temperature
one sets it at. When thermostat reaches the required temperature
level in the room, the compressor will stop until the temperature
of the room has increased and it will start turning again.
[footnoteRef:4] (What is Inverter Technology AC and How it is
Different from BEE 5 star Non Inverter AC?, 2017) [4: Bijli Bachao.
2017. What is Inverter Technology AC and How it is Different from
BEE 5 star Non Inverter AC? - Bijli Bachao : Bijli Bachao. [ONLINE]
Available at:
https://www.bijlibachao.com/air-conditioners/what-is-inverter-technology-air-conditioner-and-how-it-is-different-from-bee-5-star.html.
[Accessed 25 May 2017].]
However, in inverter type air conditioners, the temperature is
adjusted without turning the motor on and off. The speed of
compressor motor and the frequency of power is controlled by the
inverter so as to continuously regulate the temperature. It gives
more power when the compressor needed and when it doesn’t, it will
give less power. This technology works like an accelerator in a
car, which means the compressor is always turning on but consume
less power or more power depending on the required temperature in
the room. This allows the air conditioner to keep the room
temperature comfortable all the time.
According to the annual electricity consumption based on date
from Bureau of Energy Efficiency, a 5-star non-inverter air
conditioner with 1.5 tonnages consumes 1130kWh for 1600hrs while a
5-star inverter air conditioner with 1.5 tonnages consumes only
815kWh for 1600hrs which consume less 315kWh of electricity per
year. It can save about 30% more energy compared to non-inverter
air conditioners. It consumes more energy during the start-up but
it also speeds up the start-up time to reach the required
temperature.
In addition, it can work smoothly and quite when it’s operating
and provide higher comfort levels. Although the initial cost of
inverter air conditioner is expensive compared to non-inverter type
however this is balanced by the lower energy bills. The payback
time is estimated in 2 years depending on the usage.
Furthermore, I would like to discuss about the smart thermostat.
A normal room thermostat requires a control panel or dial to allow
homeowners to change the temperature. If you upgrade to smart
thermostat after years with a basic one, the first and most
life-changing difference will be the ability to control it
remotely, from your phone, on your tablet, or with your voice. For
example, if you forget to adjust the thermostat before leaving
home, you’ll be able to change the settings no matter where you
are, using a tablet, smartphone, or laptop. Smart thermostats can
detect the presence of people in the room. This smart thermostat
will control the air conditioning system so that it turns off in
unoccupied rooms.
Smart temperature can allow user to optimize the energy usage to
save money. You will also receive email, alerts or reports about
your usage, which can help you better understand your heating
usage, and adjust your behavior and preferences accordingly to save
money. It can show you the indoor temperature, relative humidity,
outdoor temperature, and humidity so that the users can adjust the
suitable temperature. Smart thermostats can learn and remember your
habits and schedule by detecting when your smartphone is in the
house, or even taking it step further by detecting when you're on
your usual route home, and preparing your home to the desired
temperature. It can even turn itself off completely so that you
save money as well. This is especially useful when it can shut
itself off during peak demand.[footnoteRef:5] (The Best Smart
Thermostat, 2017) [5: The Wirecutter. 2017. The Best Smart
Thermostat | The Wirecutter. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-thermostat/. [Accessed 25
May 2017].]
According to Consumer Reports, smart temperature can save up to
42% of the home’s energy use and about $180 per year in United
State. Although smart thermostat seems like not an air conditioning
system but it’s a gadget that can enhance green technology. Smart
thermostat can be used with the previous three air conditioning
which are solar air conditioning, ice-powered air conditioning and
inverter air conditioning to double the effect of reducing costs,
save energy and protect the environment.
In conclusion, global warming is getting serious and cause
heating of Earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere, was a topic of
heated debate in the scientific community. There are many reasons
increase the greenhouse effect including the use of CFC to deplete
the ozone layer. There are many types air conditioning systems
using diverse ways to enhance green technology. It requires a huge
effort on the part of the air conditioning sector, provides an
opportunity to design new equipment using renewable as energy
sources and using technologies with good energy efficiency.
Existing equipment can and must be improved. However, the
progressive renewal, within about 20 years on the average, of
refrigeration and air–conditioning equipment, using environmentally
friendly technologies, is a key factor and could represent a major
part of worldwide efforts for mitigating global warming until
2030.
Bibliography
EARTHGREEN TECH: Green Technology. 2017. EARTHGREEN TECH: Green
Technology. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://dib1adis2013a.blogspot.my/2014/03/green-technology-malaysia-has.html.
[Accessed 25 May 2017].
HowStuffWorks. 2017. Environmental Benefits of Solar Air
Conditioners - How Solar Air Conditioners Work | HowStuffWorks.
[ONLINE] Available at:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/solar-air-conditioner1.htm.
[Accessed 25 May 2017].
Ice Energy. 2017. Technology - Ice Energy. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.ice-energy.com/technology/. [Accessed 25 May
2017].
Bijli Bachao. 2017. What is Inverter Technology AC and How it is
Different from BEE 5 star Non Inverter AC? - Bijli Bachao : Bijli
Bachao. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.bijlibachao.com/air-conditioners/what-is-inverter-technology-air-conditioner-and-how-it-is-different-from-bee-5-star.html.
[Accessed 25 May 2017].
The Wirecutter. 2017. The Best Smart Thermostat | The
Wirecutter. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-thermostat/. [Accessed 28
May 2017].