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SMALL OFFICE

More than 70% of Office Spaces in

Malaysia are small office/ shop lots.
HOWEVER in most cases, E.E.
programme miss this niche market
OR owners of small office HAVE NO
IDEA of E.E. retrofitting.
Source: National Property Information Centre (NAPIC)

More than 80% Office Space

are Small Office

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SMALL OFFICE - SYNOPSIS

This presentation introduces a step-by-step practical

guide to owners of Small Office (< 4,000 m ) on achieving
and practicing E.E. with the following topical discussions:
1. Start Assessing Your Use
2. Audit/ Inventory of Energy Use
3. Identifying E.E. Use Possible E.E. Actions
4. Parasitic Load ?
5. Cooling Passive Design
6. Cooling Air Conditioning

7. Lighting
8. Assessing the Result
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SMALL OFFICE - SYNOPSIS

Assess Energy
Use Level

Audit / Survey of
Energy Use

Report Inventory
of Energy Use
Air Cond.
Lighting
Appliances
Shading

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STARTING ASSESSMENT

Start by estimating your present energy use status:

1. Look at your electricity bill (kWh / month)

2. Find out your Gross Floor Area (sq. m.)
3. Calculate the Building Energy Index of your office:

/
=

> 200kWh/m

< 100kWh/m
Low Energy
Building (LEO)
Zero Energy
Building (ZEO)

150kWh/m

More > 60% office

Entry
Level
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INVENTORYING YOUR ENERGY USE

Go through your office. List down an inventory of electrical

appliances:
1. Lighting (type, location quantity)
2. Air Conditioning (size, type, quantity, location)
3. Other Appliances

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ESTIMATING YOUR ENERGY USE

From the inventory of appliances in each room, estimate the

average hour of operation in a working day. A estimate of the kWh
run for each appliance can be estimated.
Double Check your Calculation with your actual electrical bill.
The figures SHOULD NOT BE FAR OFF DIFFERENT.
Excel Spreadsheet

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YOUR LOAD PROFILE

A Chart of energy profile can be made ...

Identifying your source and manner of energy use is important BEFORE
you can identify WHAT can be done to reduce energy use.
Setting up spread sheet is also useful, as entering different scenario for
energy appliance can be made to assess the economic impact of
proposed E.E. measures
6,000 Wh

Office XXXX- Power Usage

5,000 Wh
4,000 Wh

Parasitic
Load

3,000 Wh
2,000 Wh
1,000 Wh
0 Wh

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Appliances

Computer

Lighting

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SUMMARY OF E.E. MEASURES

E.E. Measures for Small Office can be summarised as follows:

(a)

Management,
Usage Pattern

(b)

(a)

Cooling Needs

(b)

Lightings

Management (switching off

appliances/lights)
Identify parasitic loads

Passive Design (Building

Thermal Envelope)
Air Conditioning
(a)
(b)
(c)

Appliances

Change to Low Energy Lights

Use day lighting
Light Tube for day light harvesting
(a)

Choose appliances with

energy labelling
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10 PARASITIC LOAD
Parasitic Loads are appliances which consume energy even during off
office hours. Some of these are essential (e.g. computer servers, fire
fighting panel etc). Some may NOT be essential.
Reduce parasitic load by identifying, shutting off OR use energy efficiency
appliances.
6,000 Wh

Office XXXX- Power Usage

5,000 Wh
4,000 Wh

Parasitic
Load

3,000 Wh
2,000 Wh

Water heater / dispenser are

MAJOR cause of parasitic load in
offices. Switch off especially before
weekends and public holidays,
install time switch.

1,000 Wh
0 Wh
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718192021222324

Appliances

Computer

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11 COOLING PASSIVE DESIGN

The first measure to reduce cooling energy may be to improve the thermal
property of buildings.
Since replacing brick walls and even windows with double glazing may be
difficult, some creative measures usually adopted are to use solar
shielding over the faade or windows. Solar Shielding can be installed for
existing buildings.
Pixelated solar shielding over
faade (Melbourne)
Lattice over
faade (Al or
timber)

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12 COOLING PASSIVE DESIGN

Assessment of Passive design (with RoI) can be done using simple
software tool (such as the BEIT (Building Energy Index Tool).

Below is an example of faade studies.

Email author for anyone keen to download this FREE software and learn
how to use it.

Impact of insulation on roof

Double Glazing
Insulated Walls

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13 COOLING AIR CONDITIONING

Understand the Technology 3 types for Air Cond technology (up to
20TR):
(a) All air conditioning unit 4kW and below must have CoA from
Suruhanjaya Tenaga
(b) Single unit split; Inverter Drive
(c) Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV system (2-3 times the cost of
normal ACSU
Tips

If staffs are OUT more than 40% of the time, it may be more efficient to
use single unit. Just switch off the air cond when staff not in office.
VRV and inverter drive air cond are ONLY effective if your load is
highly variable; e.g. an office of more than 100m BUT where air cond
is ALWAYS ON during office hours will qualify.
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14 COOLING AIR CONDITIONING

Case Study
(a) All air conditioning unit 4kW and below must have CoA from
Suruhanjaya Tenaga
(b) Single unit split; Inverter Drive
(c) Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV system (2-3 times the cost of
normal ACSU

Tips

If staffs are OUT more than 40% of the time, it may be more efficient
to use single unit. Just switch off the air cond when staff not in
office.
VRV and inverter drive air cond are ONLY effective if your load is
highly variable; e.g. an office of more than 100m BUT where air
cond is ALWAYS ON during office hours will qualify.
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15 SMALL OFFICE AIR COND CASE

2 Storey Shop Lot Office:
Replace (about) 12 split units with multi-split Variable Refrigeration Volume
(VRV) system Savings of about 11,000 kWh/year RM 6,000/year.
Cost of VRV system (Capex) approx. = RM40,000.00

RoI for TOTAL

REPLACEMNT
Approx: 6 years.

20,000 Wh

Existing Power Usage

18,000 Wh
16,000 Wh

kWh
Savings
of
approx
42kWh/day 11,000kWh/year

14,000 Wh

12,000 Wh
A more detail studies
10,000 Wh
Can optimise capex
8,000 Wh
By installing VRV
6,000 Wh
Only in general office
Space. Individual rooms 4,000 Wh
Served by 5 star ACSU. 2,000 Wh

E.E. Measures (VRV

AC System & Roof
Insulation)

0 Wh

RoI can be reduced to

5 years or less.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
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16 SMALL OFFICE LIGHTING

Lighting replacement may be the easiest measure to implement.
Lighting usually take up from 20% up to 50% of total load (small offices may
have varying space usage with ground floor used as warehouse).
Room

Lamp Type

Quantity

Hours
/Month

kWh /Month

1.

General
Office 1F

T5x2 Flou.
CFL D/L

36
18

20
10

200
200

144,000kWh
28,800kwh

2.

Managers
Room 1F

T5x2 Flou
D/L halogen

36
50

9
5

140
140

45,360kWh
35,000.00

For assessing lamp retrofit, add another 2 columns for:

New Lamp Wattage.
Cost (capex)
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17 LAMP REPLACEMENT
Tips:
ALWAYS request lamps to be certified by Suruhanjaya Tenaga with a
Certificate of Approval (CoA)
ALL lamps for reading application (e.g. design office, general office etc)
MUST BE SPECIFIED WITH Colour Rendering Index 80 or better.
Many LED has high Colour Temperature. High Colour temperature is
BLUEISH-WHITE
HIGH CRI (80 and above) is like sunlight and is REDDISH WHITE.

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18 LAMP REPLACEMENT
ALWAYS request lamps to be certified by Suruhanjaya Tenaga with a
Certificate of Approval (CoA)
ALL lamps for reading application (e.g. design office, general office etc)
MUST BE SPECIFIED WITH Colour Rendering Index 80 or better.
Many LED has high Colour Temperature. High Colour temperature is
BLUEISH-WHITE
HIGH CRI (80 and above) is like sunlight and is REDDISH WHITE.

CRI 80

Color Tem > 5000

High Colour Temperature is a HEALTH ISSUE for prolong reading.

LED with high CRI will have lower Lumen/W
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19 SMART LAMPS

Technology in LED now include smart lamps which can dynamically dim
lights in response to space usage and occupant response.

This is claimed to reduce lighting energy consumption by as much as 80%

(subject to verification).
Retrofitting of lamps for Smart Control can use wireless technology which
will not need extensive rewiring a problem for existing office.

Understand Lamp types and its specification (especially CRI and health
risk implication (next slide).
The next generation of LED is expected to reach over 200 lumens/W. By
then all other lamp technologies will become OBSOLETE.
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20 LAMP COMPARISON
Mercury

Metal
Halide

High
Pressure
Sodium

Low
Pressure
Sodium

2 - 10

50 1,000

70
1,500

35 1,000

18 180

1,000
3,200

200
1,000

1,000
45,000

7,000
150,000

2,000
140,000

1,800
40,000

75 81

40 60

30 - 55

60 95

60 125

80 180

85% (80%)

75%
(65%)

90% (70%)

100%
(100%)

35,000
50,000

18000
24000

10000 20000

18000 24000

16000

40 - 90

30 80

80 90

20 39

< 20

Incandescent

Linear
Fluores.

Compact
fluores.

LED

Wattage

25 - 150

18 - 95

13 26

Output
(lumens)

210
2,700

1,000
7,500

Efficiency
(lm/watt)

8 - 18

55 79

Lumen
Maintnce

90%
(85%)

85%
(80%)

Lamp Life
(hours)

750
2000

10000
20000

10,000

80 95

30 90

30 90

CRI
Note

Wattage and output refers to the common available lamp rating for outdoor lightings.
Efficiency refers to luminous efficiency taken at 50% mean lifetime and do not include ballast loss.
Lumen Maintenance refers to percent of initial lamp output at 50% of mean lifetime and at end of lifetime
(parenthesis).
Lamp life refers to the approximate mean lifetime of lamp.

21

Solar Tube

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22 INSTALL ENERGY MONITORS

Half hourly monitoring to find out your daily load profile.

Wireless technology make it possible to retrofit existing
office with Automation System.
In future all meters installed will be smart meters.
You can also identify parasitic loads and take action
accordingly.

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If you need further

information or advice;
Email:
hippeulooi@gmail.com