Technical Report Literature Review

 

1.1.6 Green Mark Certification 

Singapore established its first waterfront dining and entertainment district in CQ @ Clarke Quay (CapitaLand, 2022). The ASEAN Centre of Energy awarded CQ @ Clarke Quay the "ASEAN Energy Efficient Building Award for Tropical Design" in 2006, recognizing it for its distinctive architectural design and new technologies to address environmental challenges while conserving the historic charm of the shophouses (CapitaLand, 2006). CQ @ Clarke Quay received the green mark certification in 2019 for its environmental effect and performance. According to CapitaLand (2006), sustainable features include cooling canopies, a 4,000 square foot water fountain in the heart of CQ At Clarke Quay that uses chilled water from 16 degrees Celsius, and trees providing physical shade, which play an important role in the overall cooling impact.

Following a $62 million asset enhancement initiative (AEI) targeted at increasing thermal comfort and offering new living experiences by featuring solutions that increase the property's daytime thermal comfort, CQ @ Clarke Quay is on track to obtain green mark gold (Plus) accreditation (CapitaLand, 2022). These solutions include a more energy-efficient chiller to improve air circulation, a modified canopy that can maintain a suitable daylight environment while reducing solar heat input by up to 70%, and an omni-directional fan with a misting system that reduces energy use while also lowering environmental temperatures (CapitaLand, 2022).

1.1.9 Modelling and Implementation of Solar Panel Rainwater Cooling System 

Students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst proposed a solar panel system with a rainwater harvesting system on the rooftops of the University of Massachusetts (UMass) to promote campus sustainability (Fateiger, Lane, Rollings & Smith-Freedman, 2017). The students proposed installing a rainwater harvesting system on the roof of the university’s parking canopies. The parking canopies were already retrofitted with three large solar photovoltaic panels. According to Fateiger et al. (2017), this integration of solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system will increase the energy output of the panels by roughly ten to 20 percent, which is equivalent to 20 to 40 kilowatts of energy saved.  This will save the university up to 5,300 dollars a year if implemented, as well as reduce the preventable greenhouse gas emissions (Fateiger et al., 2017). 

The integration of solar panels and rainwater collection systems is also currently in place in Singapore. According to Sembcorp (2022), the solar farm uses mobile solar panels, and has a total solar capacity of 17.6 megawatt-peak (MWp). The panels annual output of 22,025 megawatt hours can power 4,681 four-room HDB apartments with renewable energy (Sembcorp, 2022). That is equivalent to growing about 150,000 trees and will prevent over 8,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the course of a year.

Ideally, ambient cooling in shophouses is achieved by using an efficient cooling system with a renewable energy source for maximum energy efficiency and to prevent overheating.