CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ENERGY AND BUILDINGS IN MALAYSIA: FOCUS ON R&D AND POLICIES

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Contemporary Issues in Energy and Buildings in Malaysia: Focus on R&D and Policies

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ENERGY AND BUILDINGS INMALAYSIA: FOCUS ON R&D AND POLICIES

Azni Zain-Ahmed1,2

1Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, MALAYSIA2Centre for Research and Innovation in Sustainable Energy (RISE), Institute of Science, Universiti TeknologiMARA, Shah Alam, [email protected]

ABSTRACT: Despite uncertainties in the price of fuel and likewise, energy, the demand has notabated in the ASEAN counties, especially Malaysia. Much needs to be done in terms of searchingand development of alternative energy sources and energy efficient measures to curb the effectsand impact of energy consumption and utilisation. Research and development in energy in buildingshas been carried out since the 1980’s. The areas that were given much focus were on energyefficiency, renewable energy technologies and applications such as solar heaters, solar dryingand thermal comfort studies. Recent research activities include thermal performance modelingadvanced innovative daylighting systems, advanced materials and innovative building design.Funding for research and development in the energy sector however has shown some increasedue to the National Science and Technology Policy 2 which prioritized renewable/alternativeenergy as an area. This paper presents the current status of energy consumption in buildings, thepolicies that support the energy sector and some recent R&D activities in Malaysia and suggestionsfor the way forward.Keywords: Energy, Buildings, R&D, Policies

1. INTRODUCTION

Heyzer (2008) reported that by the year 2030 the energy demand in Asia and the Pacific region willmake up half of the world’s quota at the projected rate of 2.75% growth per annum. Fossil fuelssuch coal, oil and gas shall still make up 80% of the total energy sources. However, it is estimatedthat through energy efficiency measures, 12% of the consumption can be reduced. This would alsomean that the use of alternative clean energy can also decrease the dependency on fossil fuelswhich are well-known to be non-sustainable nor environmental-friendly. Although the Asia andPacific region has 45% of the world’s total hydroelectric power and 35% of the total solar andgeothermal potential, but only 9% of the total energy potential has been exploited. This seems to begood news to the countries in this region and therefore it is imperative to formulate strategies toharness sustainable sources of energy. In order to further reduce energy consumption, energyefficiency measures should be fully practiced and this can be done in several ways in the buildingsector.

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2. ENERGY IN MALAYSIA

2.1 Energy Source

The main source of energy in Malaysia is petroleum products. The energy trend from the year 2000until 2010 from other sources (natural gas, electricity and coal and coke) is shown in Figure 1. Thepercentage of energy from petroleum however has declined due to the Fuel Diversification Policycreated in 1999 which is shown in Figure 2 (Malaysia, 2006). By 2010, the largest energy demand isstill from petroleum products (62%) and followed by electricity (19%) with a gradual increase fromnatural gas (16%). Demand for coal and coke is somewhat stabilized.

Figure 2: Percentage of Final Energy Demand by Source (2000-2010)

Figure 1: Final Commercial Energy Demand by Source (2000-2010)

Year

Year


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2.2 Energy Demand

In Malaysia, the largest consumer of energy is the transport sector which accounts to almost half ofthe total commercial energy demand followed by the industrial sector and the residential andcommercial sector as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Final Commercial Energy Demand by Sector (2000-2010)

By 2010 the transport and industrial sectors will still remain the largest consumer of energyaccounting to 80% of the total energy consumed (Figure 4). The increase in energy demand is dueto the increased quality of life and spending power leading to an increase in electricity consumption.Many Malaysians now travel a lot more than they used to and this reflected in the increase ofenergy consumption in the transport sector. The Malaysian Government has benchmarked the energyconsumption against Denmark, Germany and South Korea as stated in the 9th Malaysia Plan toimprove energy efficiency (Malaysia, 2006).

Figure 4: Final Energy Demand by Sector (2010)

Year



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2.3 Energy Supply

The total energy supply is expected to increase to 3,127.7 PJ by 2010 as shown in Table 1. Crude oil,petroleum, natural gas and coal and coke will make up more than 95% of the total energy suppliedto the country which means less than 5% is from other renewable sources by 2010 (Zain Ahmed,2008).

3. ENERGY AND BUILDINGS IN MALAYSIA

3.1 Energy and Climate

The energy consumption in buildings is closely related to the climate. The Malaysian climate isalmost similar to its neighbouring Asian countries and the typical Malaysian climate has the followingcharacteristics:

• Very small variation in monthly temperatures (less than 8°C).• Mean daily temperature of the hottest month (February/March) is 27.8°C.• Coolest month (December) is 25.9°C.• Daily temperature exceed the value of 25°C more than 50% of the time.• Monthly humidities exceed 70% with a mean annual value of 83%.• RH exceeds 55% most of the time.• Wind speeds are quite low with a mean value of 1.2 m/s.• Prevailing winds blow from the North East, East and South East.• Rainfall exceeds 200 mm/month for 8 months in a year.

The above characteristics require the main strategies to keep the indoor conditions thermallycomfortable cool are dehumidification, cooling and natural ventilation. In Malaysia, most modernbuildings have resorted to mechanical cooling technologies that inevitably consume fossil energyvis-a-vis electricity (Zain-Ahmed et al., 2006). As a result, buildings consume about one-third of theworld’s energy and the worldwide energy consumption for buildings is expected to grow from 45%from 2002 to 2025 (Klee, 2007). In the ASEAN region alone, commercial buildings consume wellover one-third of all electricity and will account for more than 40% of the demand for additionalgenerating capacity in the near future (MECM, 2001).

Table 1: Primary Commercial Energy Supply by Source 2000-2010

Petajoules (PJ) Percentage (%)Source 2000 2005 2010 2000 2005 2010

Crude Oil & Petroleum 988.1 1181.2 1400.0 49.3 46.8 44.7Products

Natural Gas 845.6 1043.9 1300.0 42.2 41.3 41.6Coal & Coke 104.1 230.0 350.0 5.2 9.1 11.2

Hydro 65.3 71.0 77.7 3.3 2.8 2.5

Total 2003.1 4531.1 5137.7 100.0 100.0 100.0Source: (Malaysia, 2006)


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3.2 Energy Consumption in Buildings

The energy consumed is Malaysia is 90% in the form of electricity and when these trends continue,buildings will consume almost as much as industry and transport combined. It has also been reportedthat Malaysia has one of the fastest growing building industry in the world (ABCSE, 2007). Whereenergy consumption in buildings is concerned, buildings can be roughly be divided into residentialand non-residential buildings. Commercial buildings in the ASEAN countries consume more than30% of all the electricity and will demand at least 40% of the additional generating capacity in thenear future. However, more than 40% of the energy consumed can be reduced if energy efficiencyis practiced and sustainable technologies are applied to buildings (Zain-Ahmed, 2008a).

In 2002, 44% of the total energy used in the residential sector in Malaysia was in the form ofelectricity. In the commercial sector which includes commercial buildings, 75% of the energyconsumed is in the form of electricity. Commercial buildings consume more than 50% of energy forlighting and air-conditioning (Ramatha, 1994). There is, therefore, enormous potential in energysavings from energy efficiency practices in buildings.

The energy demand can be reduced by applying energy efficiency measures coupled with theuse of alternative energy sources or renewable energy for hot water systems, drying systems, waterpumping and the application of photovoltaic systems for the production of electricity. The followingbuilding energy efficiency potentials are attainable (Kannan, 2001), such as 40% to 50% reductionof energy consumption of new buildings; 15% to 25% in reduction in energy consumption of existingbuildings and a shift of electricity demand for buildings from day to night, thus improving the loadfactor on electricity generating equipment for some ASEAN countries.

In the Malaysian residential housing sector, the housing stock is made up of terrace or linkedhouses (61%), apartments (27%) and detached (12%). More than 70% of the detached houses areair conditioned while 62% of the terrace houses and 36% apartments are air conditioned (Kubota,2006). The current trend indicates that the bigger houses tend to be air conditioned than the smallerhouses and further suggests that the purchasing power of occupants is proportional to the installedair conditioners.

3.3 Building Energy Index and Building Codes of Practice

The energy consumption in buildings is normally given in terms of the Building Energy Index or BEI.The South East Average BEI is 233 kWh/m2/yr whereby the Malaysian and Singaporean averageare 269 kWh/m2/yr and 230 kWh/m2/yr respectively. The Malaysian Ministry of Energy, Water andCommunication (MEWC) or previously known as the Ministry of Energy, Communication andMultimedia (MECM) before the year 2004; introduced the Guidelines for Energy Efficiency in Non-Domestic Buildings in 1989 (Malaysia, 1989) which was meant to be a building code of practice. Inthe first version, the BEI was recommended to be not more than 135 kWh/m2/yr. In 2001, it wasimproved to include revised equations based on the latest research work on local buildings. As theenergy efficiency awareness was beginning to set in at the time, the BEI of several new buildingsbegan to demonstrate a decrease in value. The guidelines now were renamed as the MalaysianStandard MS 1525:2001 (Malaysia, 2001). The purpose of the MS were as follows : to encouragethe design of new and existing buildings so that they may be constructed, operated and maintained ina manner that reduces the use of energy without constraining the building function, nor the comfort



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or productivity of the occupants and with appropriate regard for cost considerations; to provide thecriteria and minimum standards for energy efficiency in the design of new buildings, retrofit ofexisting buildings and methods for determining compliance with these criteria and minimum standardsand to provide guidance for energy efficiency designs that demonstrate good professional judgmentand exceeds minimum standards criteria. The standards were later improved in 2007 to include thefollowing:

“To encourage the application of renewable energy in new and existing buildings to minimize non-renewableenergy sources, pollution and energy consumption whist maintaining comfort, health and safety of theoccupants” (Malaysia, 2007).

4. NATIONAL POLICIES

4.1 National Science and Technology Policy 2

The national policy states that the advancement of S& T must be maximized and utilised as a tool forsustaining economic development, the improvement of quality of life and national security (MOSTI,2008). In relation to this the policy is aimed at accelerating the development of S&T capability andcapacity for national competitiveness by increasing the R&D expenditure to at least 1.5% of theGross Domestic Product (GDP) and to achieve a competent work force of at least 60 RSEs(researchers, scientists and engineers) per 10,000 labour force by 2010 especially in the science andtechnology fields. The investment in R&D up to 2000 was only 0.5% of the Malaysian GDP and thisfigure is grossly less than other developing countries. In order to address this discrepancy, theMalaysian Government set aside over RM2 billion for R&D and commercialization activities ofR&D products to increase the country’s competitiveness (MOSTI, 2008). Among the many initiativesthat have been taken under the S&T Policy is the development of a secure knowledge base in thekey technology areas to sustain technology support for Malaysian industry namely: AdvancedManufacturing, Advanced Materials, Microelectronics, Biotechnology, Information andCommunication Technology, Multimedia Technology, Energy, Aerospace, Nanotechnology, Photonicsand Pharmaceuticals. These areas have been given priority status in terms of granting researchawards to researchers and scientists. As a result, the research focus have been steered towardsthese areas and today, we now see an increase in R&D activities and outputs in the areas mentionedand notably in energy. In seminars around the country, researchers who have been recipients ofsuch funding, disseminate their findings and results. These research outputs however, may findsome difficulty in putting their products in the market as most of them are initiated by public andprivate universities. More efforts need to be taken to assist these researchers to mould them intotechnoprenurs or be given a helping hand in the process of commercialisation. At the same time, theprivate sector needs to invest or create smart partnerships with universities and the research institutionsto create new products, designs, processes or services that can be quickly accepted by the public.Most R&D work in public universities is carried out without much help from the private sector or theindustry. Perhaps in the area of R&D, more investment need to be made in the energy sector, be infor the discovery of new and alternative energy sources or in energy efficiency or in the design ofsustainable buildings and townships.


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4.2 National Energy Policy

The Malaysian Government has put in place the plans, strategies, initiatives and incentives to diversifythe sources of energy for sustainable development and to improve the quality of life for the population.However, there exist some challenges that hamper the development of sustainable energy. Thereshould be more concerted efforts in formulating the policies and strategies to further accelerate thedevelopment of this energy source and its related technologies. It has been seen that the moresuccessful projects have been partially funded by global organizations and investment by thegovernment itself. The Malaysian Building Integrated Photovoltaic project and the supplementarySuria 1000, the demonstrations projects in the form of the Low Energy Office (LEO), the ZeroEmission Office (ZEO) and Energy Commission Diamond Buildings are proof of the effectivenessof the strategies formulated and the overall impact it has on the Malaysian society (Zain-Ahmed,2008b).

5. CURRENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Presently, many public and private universities have embarked on various research and developmentwork in sustainable buildings or energy-efficient building technologies for future applications inbuilding.. As an example, the Centre for Research and Innovation in Sustainable Energy (RISE) atUniversiti Teknologi MARA has was established to conduct research in the development and innovationof new technologies and its research fellows have embarked on several major projects. Theseprojects have produced a few innovative technologies such as the a fibre optic daylighting system(Sulaiman et al., 2005), solar assisted integrated lighting and ventilation system (Ahmed et al., 2006)as shown in Figure 5, an insulation material based on oil palm empty fruit bunches (Figure 6) forroofing and potential building materials (Mohd Noor et al., 2006). Currently, an advanced polymerfor energy efficient glazing material is being developed, its properties tested and in the near future tobe laminated and tested on the field. Advanced solar cells using nanotechnology is also being studiedusing local organic materials as a base (Mohamad et al., 2007). RISE has also collaborated with alocal construction company to build twin test cells for energy performance tests of building materialsand new technologies. During the time of writing, the test cells are being used in collaboration witha manufacturing association to test roofing insulation materials. In future the Twin Energy EfficiencyTest Cells (Figure 7) shall become part of a research facility for tropical buildings which would bethe first in the ASEAN region.

6. CONCLUSION

Barriers that hinder the development of sustainable sources and technologies need to be removed.More appropriate incentives (i.e. tax deduction on renewable energy technology, improved financingand green fund) need to be introduced to promote the utilisation of renewable energy. Other thanthat, the capacity of key players needs to be enhanced as well. These key players include governmentdecision-makers, industries, utilities, financial institutions and universities.

In the energy sector, the policies and strategies are already in place to diversity energy sourcesand power general. Incentives have been given to various sectors especially in the development of



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biofuels, solar and photovoltaics. In the building sector, there needs a firmer policy and focusedstrategies to increase the acceptance of energy efficiency measures and the use of sustainableapproach to building design and construction. The only strategy that has been out in place is the MS1525:2007 which in reality is not mandatory. It has also been suggested that innovative financingfrom international bodies need to be solicited.

Finally, perhaps there is an urgent need to create a National Energy and Environment R&DPolicy to strengthen or consolidate current policies where there exist weaknesses or lacks specificinitiatives to improve the energy solutions. More emphasis must be given to R&D funding for theenergy and environment area. With these added incentives, R&D shall grow faster and be moreproductive in the long run.

Figure 5 : Integrated Daylighting and VentilationSystem

Figure 6: EFB Based Insulation Material

Figure 7: Twin Energy Efficiency Test Cells


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author thanks Universiti Teknologi MARA, the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministryof Science, Technology and Innovation for supporting this work and Putra Perdana ConstructionSdn Bhd for the collaborative project.

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Daylighting Performance of Light Pipes. Int. Journal of Low Carbon Technologies, Vol 1 (4). Oct. Pp. 315-328. ISSN 1748-1317.

Heyzer, N. (2008). Devoting their energy to finding security. The New Straits Times. Friday 1 May 2008. NSTPress.

Kannan, K. (2001). Energy Efficiency in Buildings, National Seminar on Energy Efficiency. Kuala Lumpur.Kannan, K. S. (2001). Energy Efficiency in Buildings, National Seminar on Energy Efficiency. Kuala Lumpur.Klee, H. (2007). Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EEB) Project.Kubota, T. (2006). Usage of Air-conditioners and windows in residential areas in Johor Bahru city: Planning

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Mohd Noor, B. H., Abdul Rahman, S. and Zain-Ahmed, A. (2006). Thermal Performance of Roof Systems inTropical Climates. Proc. Int. Symposium on Sustainable Energy and Environment. ISESEE 2006. 3-6Dec, Kuala Lumpur.

MOSTI. (2008). Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Website: http://www.mosti.gov.my.Ramatha, L. (1994). Energy in buildings in Malaysia. Proc. of AEEMTRC’s 12th Seminar-Workshop, Energy in

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CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ENERGY AND BUILDINGS IN MALAYSIA: FOCUS ON R&D AND POLICIES