Environmental assessment schemes for non-domestic building refurbishment in the Malaysian context

The increase in global warming, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions has gained attention in various regions. In Malaysia, the government announced a voluntary commitment to reduce 40% of CO 2 emissions by 2020 and to refurbish 100 government buildings. Existing buildings make a large contribution to energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, therefore refurbishing existing buildings is an essential strategy to achieve the commitment. There is no single assessment scheme for building refurbishment in Malaysia and hence, this study aims to develop a comprehensive list of assessment themes and sub-themes for building refurbishment purposes. It examines and compares 10 assessment schemes from various countries: BREEAM, LEED, CASBEE, BEAM Plus, GBLS, Green Star, HQE, Green Mark, GBI and MyCrest. The findings revealed fourteen themes that were considered for assessment: management, sustainable site, transport, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), water, waste, material, energy, pollution, innovation, economic, social, culture and quality of services. Energy and IEQ are dominant themes in all assessment schemes. Most of the schemes are considered relatively weak in evaluating economic and social aspects, in comparison to environmental aspects. The assessment of quality of services is overlooked in most of the schemes, including GBI and MyCrest in Malaysia. Outcomes from this paper will form the baseline for a new environmental assessment scheme that aimed at non-domestic building refurbishments in Malaysia. A new model is proposed for the development of an environmental assessment scheme in the further stage

The environmental study on ageing in place: the design practice compliance to accessibility legislation and standards in Malaysia for elderly home environment

Malaysia has been actively providing accessibility in the environmental built since the country signed the ‘Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asia-Pacific Region’ in 1994. The aim of this research is to evaluate design practice compliances to accessibility legislation and design requirements in Malaysia. With regards of the increasing disability rates with age, ageing population have a significant impact on the needs of housing to be designed for future. The government regulation concerning housing design for ageing and disabled set to ensure a degree of access to their home. The role and relevance of the legislation and design requirements addressing the issue is to be practiced in the housing projects in Malaysia. On the strength of the legislations and design requirements, the analysis examines how Malaysia are practicing design solutions for housing accessibility, which encourages ageing in place. The results further reveal that such requirements was not used in the design practice and construction of housing projects in Malaysia. The outcomes are discussed considering the design requirements and concepts which can partly clarify competent design for the ageing population

Measuring electricity-related GHG emissions and the affordability of electricity in Malaysian low-cost housing: A case study of low-cost housing projects in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia is yet to establish any mandatory energy efficiency or energy performance building code. In the absence of such legislation, the Malaysian residential sector is likely locking-in inefficiency for decades into the future. This research focuses on the public low-cost housing typology (PPR), as the least environmentally researched typology, and has high potential for policy improvements as it is nationally administrated and is a required provision for all new housing developments. A project-specific baseline was developed for the first time in Malaysia using the UNEP-SCIs Common Carbon Metric (CCM). The CCM tool provides an internationally comparable baseline that is consistent with the measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) framework for GHG emisssions reporting, therefore was adopted for this research. A case study was conducted to investigate energy performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from building operation of two PPR in Kuala Lumpur. The CCM converted utilized electricity bills collected from the National Energy Provider Company (Tenaga Nasional Berhad) and presented GHG emissions of the sample (383 units) using a bottom-up approach, and the PPR building stock in Kuala Lumpur (27,102 units) using a top-down approach. Findings suggest that the average households electricity consumption was relatively higher than benchmarks set by World Energy Council and the International Energy Agency. The importance of this research lies in generating a measured baseline of electricity consumption and GHG emissions of low-cost urban housing in Malaysia. This research also provided an indicative report on the affordability of electricity for low-income households, as Malaysian low-cost housing is defined solely on sale price and/or monthly rental. Affordability of electricity is important due to issues such as energy poverty, access to energy and the rebound effect. Therefore, investigating percentage of monthly household income spent on electricity and other utilities helps measure operational and long term affordability of PPRs. A survey questionnaire was conducted in two PPR to investigate operational costs of rent, electricity and water, and to measure end-use electricity consumption patterns in terms of average operating time of electrical appliances. Examining end-use electricity consumption patterns was helpful in identifying the typologys energy profile and determining its energy savings potential. The research findings determined which characteristics of the building design can be improved based on electricity consumption data for thermal comfort, lighting and appliances. This research presents for the first time building energy performance data for this typology that is consistent with measurable, reportable and verifiable requirements. Its focus on a developing country experiencing rapid urbanisation gives broader relevance to both research design and methodology, and recommendations for policy makers in Malaysia and South East Asia

Vertical Greenery System in urban tropical climate and its carbon sequestration potential: A review

This article presents a comprehensive literature review of Vertical Greenery System (VGS) in tropical areas, its benefits, its carbon sequestration potential and its calculation methodologies, and its potential for urban heat island (UHI) and climate change mitigation. The contemporary VGS has evolved from the seventh-century beginnings of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the vertical urban farms of today in Singapore and Japan. The VGS has demonstrated a significant role in mitigating urban climate change impacts by the potential use of carbon sequestration from vegetation. However, studies on carbon sequestration rate and the methodologies used for calculation are still rather vague. Therefore, this paper reviews existing methodologies for evaluating carbon sequestration rates in tropical climate plants and makes suggestions of potential plants for optimum carbon sequestering