All govt offices to keep air-cond temperature at 24??C from now (The Star, Malaysia)
This is not really a new news. It's been like more than a month since this is out in the public .. and the company that I am investigating has a directive to the whole Group to comply to this policy in their email on 15 August 2011, less than 5 days after the government issued the direction.
Friday August 12, 2011All govt offices to keep air-cond temperature at 24??C from now
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=nation&file=/2011/8/11/nation/20110811150156
(The video can be seen here: http://bcove.me/rc6xwgq7)PUTRAJAYA: All government offices have been ordered to set their air-conditioner temperature no lower than 24 degrees Celsius to give nature a helping hand and to cut electricity bills.
The new regulation is expected to be implemented immediately although the circular on the matter will only be issued by the office of the Chief Secretary to the Government later this month.
Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin said the order would be extended to the private sector by 2013.
He said a new Bill on energy conservation was being drafted to compel the private sector to follow suit.
???It will be tabled in Parliament soon and we are looking at 2013 as the implementation date for the private sector.
???For now, the secretaries-general of all the ministries who are also the officers-in-charge of the buildings under their ministries must ensure that the air-conditioner temperature is set at 24 degrees Celsius and above unless under special circumstances,??? he told a press conference after attending a Green Technology and Climate Change Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
It was also attended by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas.
Chin said certain places like the ICUs and operation theatres in hospitals were, however, exempted from the ruling.
He said the meeting agreed that 24 degrees Celsius was a comfortable temperature for Malaysian climate.
???It is neither too cold nor too hot. In some countries, like China, they are required to set their (air-conditioner) temperatures at 26 degrees Celsius which is too hot (for Malaysia).
???So gone are the days when the ladies have to bring their shawls to the office,??? he said, referring to the common scene in many government offices where women staff covered their upper bodies with shawls due to the cold temperature.
Chin explained that for every degree dropped in air-conditioning temperature, the power usage would increase by between 4% and 7%.
He was unable to provide exact estimates on how much the Government could save with the move.
However, he said the ministry's Malaysia Green Technology Corporation building in Bangi which had already imposed the condition saved an estimated RM600,000 to RM700,000 annually on its energy bills.
???Offices in Putrajaya spend between RM30,000 and RM80,000 a month on electricity and about 40% of it is for air-conditioning,??? he said.
He added that the meeting also agreed that all bulbs in government buildings that need to be changed must be replaced with energy-efficient CFL bulbs or LEDs.
On Malaysia's commitment to reduce carbon emission intensity by 40% in 2020, Chin said the country has passed the halfway mark.
???To date, we have reduced intensity by 29.7 million metric tonnes and to meet the 40% target, we need to reduce it by 40 million metric tonnes,??? he said.
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Related news: Friday August 12, 2011Policy over temperature limit gets warm reception
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/12/nation/9288938&sec=nation
PETALING JAYA: The latest policy to set a temperature limit on air-conditioners in government offices has received the thumbs up from various organisations.
Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris lauded the move but called for the policy to be implemented in the private sector immediately instead of in 2013.
???There is no need to wait. The policy should be extended to industries and the commercial sector while individuals should also practise energy-saving steps on their own accord,??? he said.
He added that the people should also learn to switch off electrical appliances such as televisions and lights when they were not needed to avoid depleting the country's energy resources.
Water & Energy Consumers Association Malaysia secretary-general Soon Weng Lian said the move was timely as there was a need to reduce energy consumption.
Soon said the construction of future buildings must also take into consideration the need for natural ventilation and shade if the energy-saving move was to be further extended.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said the Government had to be mindful that there were certain operations, such as a company's server room, that required the room temperature to be lower than 24C.
He hoped the Government would study the policy carefully before implementing it to ensure companies were not penalised unnecessarily.
Fomca president Datuk N. Marimuthu said individual consumers could also play a role by switching off electrical appliances when not in use instead of putting the items on stand-by mode.
Green Information Systems & Environmental Sustainability 