A water-repellent coating for air-conditioners’ cooling coils which could help to reduce energy consumption will be trialled at South Beach Tower. It is one of two initiatives that aim to reduce the energy usage of air-cons in offices and hotels which will be piloted at the building.

The projects were awarded about $1.2 million in grants under BCA’s Green Buildings Innovation Cluster 2.0 programme, a research, development and demonstration programme for energy-efficient technologies and innovations.

With the coating, BCA expects energy consumption of an air handling unit to be reduced by more than 30 per cent, and energy use of a chiller – which produces chilled water for the air handling unit – to be decreased by 12 per cent.

The second initiative to be trialled at South Beach Tower is a monitoring system.

The measurement and verification toolkit, developed by building consultancy firm Building System and Diagnostics, will measure the airside system, which handles the flow of air within a building. It consists of sensors and meters that measure air temperature, among other things, and could lead to energy savings of 25 per cent.

Ms Samantha Tan, South Beach Consortium’s general manager, said that with the firm pushing the boundaries of environmental sustainability, she hopes other building owners will recognise the benefits of green buildings, which include lower utility bills and benefits to the health and well-being of its occupants.