ECONOMICS OF LIGHT SHELVES

Abstract

Raising the awareness of sustainable and environmentally friendly buildings has been on-going for many years. The introduction of light shelves with the aim of reducing energy consumption using solar light is one step towards sustainability. This study aims to encourage wide utilization of light shelves to promote a sustainable building environment for Singapore. It is done by evaluating the performance of light shelves in terms of the potential for energy savings and performing life cycle cost analysis to study the economical feasibility of light shelves. The study included a survey, to find out the current level of awareness of light shelves. These respondents were architects selected from the firms listed in the Singapore Institute of Architect (SIA) website. 41 responses were obtained. Survey results indicate that awareness of the concept of light shelf is low and the general opinion is that they are expensive. Therefore, an economic feasibility study is important. A case study was done based on the Zero Energy Building (ZEB) at Building Construction Authority (BCA) Academy. Sensor Placement + Optimization Tool (SPOT) software is used to demonstrate the impact of different configurations of light shelves in terms of the potential in energy savings. An interview was carried out to collect information for the analysis. It is concluded that although light shelves have high initial costs, it produces the lowest life cycle cost. Therefore, light shelf system is recommended for similar office buildings in Singapore.