Property Management – Residential

​Rhythm Garden Sets an Example with its Solar Energy System

Located in San Po Kong, Rhythm Garden is one of the first estates to produce and sell renewable energy to power companies. It became a green estate when solar energy systems were installed in September 2018.

All 12 buildings in the estate are included in the scheme. In total, 902 solar panels have been installed, with the capacity to generate as much as 25,500kWh a month, and currently averaging 18,500kWh a month. Under CLP’s Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff scheme, the estate can earn approximately HK$200,000 a year. In this way, the estate can benefit both environmentally and economically.

Urban Group, the company who manages Rhythm Garden, worked closely with the Owners’ Committee, sharing the advantages of solar energy and addressing concerns about the installation project. In the end, the Owners’ Committee launched a survey interviewing 3,000 of the estate’s property owners. The results showed almost 85% supported the green initiative, giving the go-ahead for this meaningful project.

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Urban Group values high quality, environmentally friendly estate management, and regularly invites CLP engineers to conduct energy audits on their properties to discover energy saving opportunities and assess the potential for renewable energy installations. Dr Edmond Cheng, managing director of Urban Group, said, “We consulted with contractors frequently to ensure construction and the new energy system would not affect residents’ day-to-day lives, keeping a balance between the environment and people. Urban Group will continue to promote solar energy to our properties and bring renewable energy into the lives of residents.”

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Smart Data Analysis Makes a Property Management Professional

Located above the MTR Kowloon Station, The Cullinan is managed by PREMIER PLUS, a property management department of the MTR Corporation Limited. PREMIER PLUS is committed to promoting various energy efficiency measures while making the best use of CLP’s Smart Energy Online service. Achieving remarkable results, PREMIER PLUS receives the Gold Award for Property Management – Residential of the CLP GREEN^PLUS Award 2016.

As part of the daily management, PREMIER PLUS ensures that the equipment of the clubhouse functions well seamlessly. As the central air conditioning system operates for longer time which requires more energy, it prompts the management team to focus more on the electricity usage pattern of the clubhouse. With CLP’s technical support, PREMIER PLUS deployed the CLP Smart Energy Online service to the clubhouse in 2014 to enhance energy efficiency. Through collecting electricity consumption data, PREMIER PLUS can formulate corresponding energy saving solutions. For example, whenever the power consumption of the clubhouse exceeds the pre-set level, the frontline colleagues will be notified with a message to take appropriate measures for adjustment. Since 2015, the clubhouse has achieved 5% energy savings annually without compromising the service quality standards.

The team is also striving to achieve energy conservation from daily operations. With the benefits of less cooking fumes and lower air conditioning consumption, the Chinese restaurant in the clubhouse therefore fully adopts the electric cooking equipment. In addition, the engineering staff develops specific air-conditioning controllers for over 200 floors and zones. Staff can minimise the manpower resources to manage the air conditioners floor by floor. The controller will automatically shut down the air conditioners during non-peak hours, saving more than 40% of electricity usage.

‘CLP Smart Energy Online services allow us to advance our energy management, freeing us more time to formulate the most suitable energy efficient solutions.' said Mr. Takky Yung,  Technical Manager of PREMIER PLUS. 'Through new simple interface and flow of Smart Energy Online, we can quickly analyse data and make appropriate arrangements for the clubhouse's power usage. This enables us to achieve the monthly energy conservation target' added Mr. Maverick Tang, Property Manager of PREMIER PLUS.

Energy Forecast Facilitates Greener Clubhouse Environment

Park Island is the first large-scale residential property including 31 residential buildings and 4 clubhouses which designed with eco-friendly and pollution-free concept. Being the property management of Park Island, Kai Shing Management Services Limited is providing eco-friendly facilities to residents. Last year, CLP’s Smart Energy Online service was introduced to those clubhouses following by a series of energy conservation measures. The energy saving performance is remarkable.

With the technical advice from CLP, Kai Shing adopts labelling system to identify the energy-efficient equipment of lighting and air conditioners which corresponding consumption is flexible. Whenever the management team received the alerts from '7-Day Energy Forecast' of Smart Energy Online service, they will adjust the operation of the labelled equipment and also re-arrange the staff deployment plans accordingly.

In order to provide in-depth analysis for energy management, Kai Shing collaborates with CLP to work out the operation schedule for lighting and air conditioning equipment. The schedule can clearly show the record of the operation pattern which is subjected to the alerts from '7-Day Energy Forecast'. After two months trial, the analysis showed that on average 5% of energy cost can be saved after the implementation of the above measures.

After using the '7-Day Energy Forecast' of Smart Energy Online service, Senior Property and Facility Manager of Kai Shing, Anthony Yau stated that the work flows are streamlined and energy consumption is controlled more effectively. The implementation also inspired the behavioural change of their staff to join together in achieving energy saving and carbon reduction.

Better Preparation for Better Energy Saving

Going green is not just a living style but can also be a key driver for building energy efficiency enhancement with much bigger impacts. The AquaMarine managed by the Jones Lang LaSalle is one of the successful cases. Through the newly developed '7-Day Energy Forecast' function of CLP's Smart Energy Online service, which incorporates forecast data on temperature and relative humidity from the Hong Kong Observatory, the property management team can plan ahead to achieve better energy saving.

Energy Forecast for Effective Management

AquaMarine is a pioneer in using CLP’s Smart Energy Online service. Through in-depth data analysis, the property management team can better understand the relationships amongst the estate’s energy consumption, facility operation and resident behaviour pattern. They can then optimise their operation to deliver quality service while consuming less energy.

The '7-Day Energy Forecast' brings to the property management team a clearer picture of electricity consumption in the next 7 days, which gives them more lead time to adjust staff deployment and operation plans accordingly. One example is to re-schedule high-consumption operations to off-peak periods to minimize electricity demand.

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Solid Data for Energy Saving Practices

With Smart Energy Online service, the property management team now has reliable and accurate data to demonstrate the energy saving achievements to the residents and solicit support from the Owners’ Committee to further step up energy saving efforts. Examples include adjusting fresh air intake, chillers operating sequence, chilled water temperature, air temperature and luminance levels according to traffic to the clubhouse and utilization of the facilities.

The property management also listens to voices of the residents and make adjustment so that the two parties can work together to save energy. After using the Smart Energy Online service and '7-Day Energy Forecast', AquaMarine has achieved more than 10% energy saving at clubhouse and common areas.

Green Design with Eco-Friendly Clubhouse

In addition, the clubhouse adopts a large number of glass windows with anti-ultraviolet window film. This can make the best use of natural light, while also effectively controls the indoor temperature. The clubhouse has also replaced traditional lighting with LED and reduced unnecessary lighting to provide comfortable indoor illumination more economically.

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