12 September 2017

Innovating in green buildings and construction spaces

Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia, the Southeast Asian trade exhibition for the green building market, has kicked off at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Visitors from more than 50 countries are expected to attend the event to get a firsthand look at the latest innovations and insights in the Asian green building, HVAC-R*, water, energy and heating industries.

Running until 14 September 2017, BEX Asia is co-located with Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE) Asia, the regional trade exhibition for energy-efficient solutions that power industrial, commercial and residential buildings. The events anchor Singapore Green Building Week (SGBW), and are part of a larger movement contributing to the future wellbeing of the planet. SGBW hosts events that galvanise the community to act on sustainability, reaching out to international green building experts, policymakers, academics, built environment practitioners, end-users, as well as members of the public and students.

A key theme throughout the exhibition were smart devices that promise to power next-generation homes, offices and buildings.

A close up of the Halio glass when it is in transition. These patterns only appear while the glass is becoming darker or lighter, disappearing completely thereafter.
A close up of the Halio glass when it is in transition. These patterns only appear while the glass is becoming darker or lighter, disappearing completely thereafter. Transitions occur in under three minutes and are detectable in 20 seconds. The darker tints can reduce the need for HVAC solutions and artificial light, with savings of up to 22%. There is a 360-degree Halio experience available.

“We are glad to be able to participate in this year’s edition of MCE Asia 2017,” said David Yim, Marketing Manager at AGC Asia Pacific. “It is a great opportunity for us to share Halio, our smart-tinting glass that brings active glass technology into the market to deliver powerful and responsive natural light management. Through the event, we are not only able to reach out to new and potential clients, but are able to network with some of the brightest minds in the industry. We are looking forward to gaining many new insights into the business, and hope to interact with more experts and end-users over the next few days.”

Kinestral's Halio from AGC is a smart tinting glass that can darken and lighten as required for sun-blocking, anti-glare and privacy purposes, automatically or on demand, in just under three minutes. The glass can be voice-controlled or controlled with a dimmer-type switch.

Other companies debuting their latest solutions include: 

The AL-SUS Step Lift takes up 15 cm of the width of the staircase when it is in use. Starting and stopping is extremely smooth.
The AL-SUS Step Lift takes up 15 cm of the width of the staircase when it is in use. Starting and stopping is extremely smooth.

AL-SUS Technologies’ Step Lift, a lift that can be quickly installed to fit existing staircases, eliminating the need to build expensive escalator or lift shafts. Meant to complement the use of staircases, the step lift is a platform that smoothly and automatically moves up a single flight of stairs, and can take loads of up to 150kg.

Belimo’s Energy Valve is a smart HVAC control valve for air conditioning. With integrated smart sensors, the Energy Valve automatically calibrates the chilled water needed to maintain optimal temperatures in buildings, thereby lowering costs and reducing energy wastage.

The ITALIA WOW snow-textured paint enhancer is brushed onto an emulsion paint surface to give a snow-textured finish. The ITALIA family of textured paints is from SAN Cora Paint, a KANSAI Paint company.
The ITALIA WOW snow-textured paint enhancer is brushed onto an emulsion paint surface to give a snow-textured finish. The ITALIA family of textured paints is from SAN Cora Paint, a KANSAI Paint company.

KANSAI Paint ALES-SHIQUY interior lime plaster paint can purify the air.
KANSAI Paint's ALES-SHIQUY air purifying paint can eliminate odour, deactivate bacteria and viruses, and clear indoor air pollution. The company set up two boxes containing vinegar to demonstrate how effective its paint is. The box on the left smelled of paint and vinegar whereas the box on the right - painted with ALES-SHIQUY paint - smelled of vinegar two hours into the exhibition. According to the booth representative the paint would ensure the vinegar smell would also dissipate over time. ALES-SHIQUY paint is recommended for restaurants, hospitals and schools.

KANSAI Paint Singapore will be showcasing its air-purifying paint that detoxifies indoor air pollution to deactivate bacteria and viruses for better health and wellbeing, as well as textured paint that can be overlaid onto existing painted surfaces.

Lumani aims to reduce the global carbon footprint from buildings and reduce energy costs through autonomous lighting control solutions that automatically adjust according to occupants’ needs. Lumani Lumazones, an autonomous lighting and HVAC system, uses sensors to decide the best energy-saving operating mode, without sacrificing user comfort.

Another highlight is the Future Home, curated by Surbana Jurong Consultants, themed Life in the Time of Climate Change. The focal display showcases the integration of building and sustainable innovation in the form of a house, highlighting that sustainable living starts from home. In these spaces, visitors can learn about products that can enable cost savings on energy and water, thermal comfort, digital connectivity and environment wellbeing. Companies featured include AGC Asia Pacific, Cityneon, Ecosoftt, Greenology, Hubble, Hydrabath, Mobike, SoundEye, Waldmann Lighting and Whiteblack – Greenblue.

  Bike sharing, as represented by Mobike bikes outside the Smart Home, offer a green solution to last-mile travel between home and public transport. The bikes can be rented affordably and are located, locked and unlocked using a mobile app.
Bike sharing, as represented by Mobike bikes outside the Smart Home, offer a green solution to last-mile travel between home and public transport. The bikes can be rented affordably and are located, locked and unlocked using a mobile app.

Ecosoftt showcased a smart bathroom in the Future Home which collects lightly-used water from baths, showers and hand basins for flushing toilets and household cleaning.
Ecosoftt showcased a smart bathroom in the Future Home which collects lightly-used water from baths, showers and hand basins for flushing toilets and household cleaning. 
The SoundEye Ark sensor, showcased in the Future Home, detects sounds of distress such as screaming or crying with high accuracy. It can also detect motion and supports a two-way voice intercom and live video feed, helping to monitor the elderly and children.
The SoundEye Ark sensor, showcased in the Future Home, detects sounds of distress such as screaming or crying with high accuracy. It can also detect motion and supports a two-way voice intercom and live video feed, helping to monitor the elderly and children.

Hubble harnessed cloud-based mobile and web data analytics platforms for their "ERP for construction" to improve construction management across functions such as quality, safety, workforce, inventory, and fleet management.
Hubble, which had a booth inside the Future Home, harnessed cloud-based mobile and web data analytics platforms for their "ERP for construction" to improve construction management across functions such as quality, safety, workforce, inventory, and fleet management. The solution is uniquely tuned towards sectors where the workforce is typically in the field most of the time, and is used by Woh Hup, Hexacon, Sante, KKL and Chuan Lim.

Greenology is known for its vertical greening solutions. A pavilion created on-site with double-sided vertical greening creates a serene, cool private yet open space. Its Greenologix subsidiary offers sensors and drones to help in plant maintenance.
Greenology is known for its vertical greening solutions. A pavilion created on-site with double-sided vertical greening creates a serene, cool private yet open space. Its Greenologix subsidiary offers sensors and drones to help in plant maintenance.

Other solutions include:

Crestron Singapore’s Crestron Fusion, an intelligent energy management solution that provides data analytics and centralised environmental controls

En-trak Hong Kong’s En-trak Energy, which allows businesses to leverage real-time data to save costs and improve energy efficiency

The exhibition will also shine a spotlight on green building materials that can potentially reduce wastage of natural resources. Products showcased will include eco-friendly tile adhesives from PAREX Group; and Innovative Precast Builders’ patented interlocking precast block system that minimises wastage.

Kel Low, Senior Manager for Specifier Relations, Nippon Paint (Singapore), one of the key exhibitors at BEX 2017, said, “In the paints industry, there have been new innovations. For example, the development of anti-mosquito paints featuring unique knock-down formulation, seeks to provide passive protection to consumers by knocking down mosquitoes when they come into contact with painted surfaces. At Nippon Paint, we are excited to share our innovations with the wider market and are also honoured to be part of the movement towards greener buildings.”

Some companies also launched products and solutions new to Asia. Highlights include:

AET Flexible Space from the UK, which introduced underfloor air conditioning systems that optimise energy performance, leading to cost savings of up to 48%. The solution is highly compatible with green building certifications such as LEED.

The Finch unit showcased is made of solid wood.
The Finch unit showcased is made of solid wood. 

G3 Industry of Netherlands' Finch Buildings, a portable and stackable modular building system that utilises sustainably harvested timber. Finch modules are highly sustainable, due to their long lifespan, energy efficiency and closed-loop system.

Slovakian company TapHome rolled out a smart home energy management system that can control various modules, including thermostats, lighting, and doors. Its heating algorithms can learn the preferred energy requirements of each room. The system is controllable through a mobile app. 

Crestron's Mercury Tabletop Meeting Solution acts as a phone, support web collaboration, wired and wireless presentations, as well as room-booking capabilities. A built-in occupancy sensor offers usage and data reporting. For larger groups, Crestron offers "it just works" presentation facilities that configure automatically based on the number of connected devices.
Crestron's Mercury Tabletop Meeting Solution acts as a phone, support web collaboration, wired and wireless presentations, as well as room-booking capabilities. A built-in occupancy sensor offers usage and data reporting. For larger groups, Crestron offers "it just works" presentation facilities that configure automatically based on the number of connected devices.

Big Ass Fans showcased a number of fans, including the Haiku which has an integrated motion sensor so that it knows when to speed up or slow down to adjust the temperature in the room.
Big Ass Fans showcased a number of fans, including the Haiku which has an integrated motion sensor so that it knows when to speed up or slow down to adjust the temperature in the room.


BEX Asia and MCE Asia both feature seminars, titled Green View and Mostra Xchange respectively. The seminars will kick off with the Interior Design Confederation of Singapore (IDCS) Forum, which will feature experts discussing strategies for creating living spaces that are not only functional and aesthetic, but sustainable too.

“I am honoured to be able to participate in knowledge and information exchange with my industry peers in the coming days at MCE Asia’s Mostra Xchange,” said Chan Chow Fong, Principal Engineer at ST Electronics (Satcom & Sensor Systems). “Through our intensive R&D efforts over the years, ST Electronics has garnered deep insights into energy conservation that does not compromise user experience. I look forward to sharing these, as well as our experience in designing and deploying smart lighting systems. I’m excited at the prospect of hearing from other industry experts in various fields, as we strive to create more sustainable living environments in Asia and beyond.”

Over the next few days, attendees of the Green View seminars will be hearing from experts such as Vincent Chow, CEO, En-trak Hong Kong, on How to Reduce Lighting Energy Wastage Using One Simple App, as well as Alex Lau, CEO, Anacle System, on A Bold Vision for Energy Management in the Age of IoT. At MCE Asia’s Mostra Xchange, insights will be shared by industry leaders such as Jayant Kaushal, Director – Product & Project Management Office, Camfil Singapore, on Air Filtration Types and its Correct Applications, and Stewart Tai, Manager (Sustainability & Innovation), Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore, on Air Quality & Water Sustainability in Healthcare. 

Other highlights include the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Seminar on Designing & Managing Energy Efficient Buildings, conducted by Dr Yang Junjing, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Integrated Building Energy and Sustainability in Tropics, National University of Singapore, as well as Chair of Research Promotion Committee of the ASHRAE Singapore Chapter. Dr Benny Chow, Director of Sustainability at Aedas, will also be sharing the latest research on leveraging computational tools to design people-centric, sustainable urban neighbourhoods. Dr Chow, a sustainable design expert, is also Chairman of the Industry Standards Committee of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, as well as a Committee Member and Expert Panel Member of the China Green Building Council.

In all, professionals can look forward to gain up to 11 professional development units (PDUs) through these seminars over the next two days.

Interested?

View the Instavideos on the
Step Lift from AL-SUS
Hashtag: #bexasia2017

*Heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration