In 2009, an existing building at the BCA Academy was retrofitted into a Zero Energy Building (ZEB), a live demonstration of an energy efficient building. As Southeast Asia’s first ZEB retrofitted from an existing building, it marked a milestone in Singapore’s journey towards a sustainable built environment.
With a view to push the boundaries of energy performance, BCA started work to take ZEB from zero to positive energy in 2019. This transformation was completed in 2022, heralding the arrival of ZEB Plus in line with the SGBMP’s third target to achieve 80% improvement in energy efficiency over 2005 levels for best-in-class green buildings by 2030.
This was made possible by leveraging the latest green building technologies, which were integrated into ZEB Plus’s various building systems, such as air-conditioning, lighting, control, and solar panels.
ZEB Plus, a living laboratory to test-bed new and innovative green building technologies, aims to achieve at least 20% improvement in energy efficiency, 40% energy surplus and 90% occupants’ satisfaction rate. The new office space incorporates various green buildings technologies and solutions to achieve Green Mark Healthier Workplaces’ Platinum office standard.
One of technology that is successfully implemented is the hybrid cooling system which has achieved about 32% cooling energy savings while maintaining satisfactory thermal comfort. Hybrid cooling system operates on principle where design and operational indoor set-point temperature of the air-conditioning system is higher with increased air movement through the use of fans to maintain indoor thermal comfort of occupants. Results from occupants’ satisfaction survey on thermal comfort preferences were also comparable to those of a conventional air conditioning system.
To encourage a collaborative and healthier workplace, the office was designed to incorporate more collaborative areas and biophilic features.