Building owners and developers looking for ways to reduce energy costs and improve
indoor air quality should look at systems such as "heat wheels" and "energy recovery
ventilators".
According to a global leader in air engineering and environmental control technologies,
these solutions can help shave operation and maintenance costs by 50 per cent and
enhance occupant productivity at the same time.
Bry-Air Malaysia Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Umang Sharma said with proper systems
in place, building occupants might also be qualified to claim carbon credits.
For every million units of electricity saved a year, he pointed out that companies
can earn around 800 carbon credits which, like bonds, can be traded for financial
gains on the international market.
Citing the example of an IT call centre operating round the clock throughout the
year, Umang said a power reduction of 1,000kW would generate US$150,000 (RM514,500)
a year through carbon credits.
Projects in the region currently using Bry-Air energy recovery systems include Beijing
Airport, Technopolis Kolkata, Capricorn Dubai and the Thai Parliament House.
Locally, its technology has been employed in the Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Convention Centre, Bank Negara, National Planetarium and Putrajaya Hospital.
On the increase in work productivity as a result of better indoor air quality, Umang
said "studies of people working in green buildings have reported (performance) gains
of 16 per cent as well as reduced absenteeism".
Such benefits, he pointed out, are in addition to the buildings’ ability to be more
energy efficient, lower airconditioning costs and in the process, help owners reap
financial returns under the Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism.
Umang said he is concerned that Malaysia is still in the process of forming a Green
Building Council while Vietnam has already set its up.
"Malaysia has to catch up with the world as many building owners and developers
are already working on the next stage of ‘net zero energy’ buildings," he said.