What is sustainable living? That is the question, as our resources deplete further and further and climate change is threatening our environment day by day.
Well, sustainable living is precisely that, the practice of using the least amount of natural resources as we can, and using items that cost the least amount of damage to the environment, by using mainly reusable and recycled items.
Although we can be sustainable by using reusable items such as stainless steel straws and reusable coffee cups or even doing the simple act of recycling, there are also several ways to turn your home and workplace sustainable and eco-friendly.
Saving energy
To lead a sustainable lifestyle, we can start with the simple act of being energy efficient. There are many measures we can take to improve our energy efficiency, and one of them includes using energy-saving light bulbs, such as LED bulbs. LED bulbs, compared to traditional incandescent light bulbs, use between 2 to 17 watts of electricity, which saves about 30% of energy, and also last about 10 to 15 times longer.
We can also avoid wasting energy by not putting our air-cons on all night, and programming it to switch off after a few hours. Setting the temperature of our air-con to be between 23°C to 26°C is the optimum temperature without being too hot or too cold because an air-con uses up a lot of energy if we set them at freezing temperatures.
Also, when buying electronic appliances such as refrigerators, televisions and fans, it is always helpful to look out for the energy label on the product, which is rated for its energy efficiency by the Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST). The sticker is rated with 1 to 5 stars: the higher the number of stars, the more energy the product saves.
Lastly, another crucial step in being energy efficient is switching off electronic devices when they’re not in use. And no, not only by turning them off when you’re done with them, by taking the effort to switch them off at the source.
Vampire power, also known as standby power, is what happens when electronic devices use up electricity even after they are turned off, such as your Astro B.yond box when it’s on standby mode and displays the time after you have switched it off. Yes, that wastes a lot of electricity and money, as it is reflected in your monthly electricity bill.
Solar power
An alternative and sustainable source of energy is solar power, which is used on many buildings worldwide. Energy harnessed from sunlight is known as solar energy, and it involves solar panels converting sunlight to electricity using photovoltaic (PV) technology. It is pretty common nowadays to see houses with solar panels installed; in fact, even my own neighbour uses solar-powered energy.
Malaysia has already started investing in solar farms, which, unlike solar panels on house rooftops that supply electricity to houses individually, are designed to generate enough energy to power thousands of homes and businesses. The largest solar farm in Malaysia is located in Ayer Keroh, with 29,092 solar panels, and can generate enough energy to power 1,800 homes every day.
One of the advantages of using solar energy is a cheaper electricity bill. In Malaysia, the average cost for basic utilities including electricity, heating and cooling for a typical 915 square foott apartment ranges from RM95 to RM300 a month, which is still considered low compared to other countries around the world.
Nonetheless, according to The Star, consumers can save even more money in their monthly electricity bill thanks to the Supply Agreement for Renewable Energy (SARE) programme and the Net Energy Mechanism (NET) mechanism, by allowing people to install solar panels on their homes under a solar leasing concept, which has been in effect since the 1st of January, 2019.
Under the NEM mechanism, the amount of money that consumers can save depends on the size of their solar panels. If consumers have larger solar panels installed on their roofs, they will be able to save more money.
Besides, consumers with solar panels installed in their homes can sell home solar energy to TNB at the same price as what they purchase, when previously, excess solar energy was sold to TNB at 31 cents per KWh, but they were buying electricity at over 50 cents per kWh.
Places in Malaysia that have adopted the use of solar energy are none other than Cyberjaya, Malaysia’s very own Silicon Valley, and Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia. Cyberjaya has already installed solar panels on five bus stops and numerous rooftops, including the Cyberjaya Community Recycling Collection Centre, and even on the Masjid Raja Haji Fisabilillah, also known as the Cyberjaya mosque.
The Cyberjaya Mosque is equipped with solar panels and is the first mosque in the world to use building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology.
In Putrajaya, the residential development D’Heron at the Lake, developed by Putra Perdana Development Sdn Bhd, is the first of its kind in Malaysia to incorporate energy-efficient BIPV technology. The ST headquarters, the Diamond Building is located in Putrajaya, also developed by Putra Perdana Development.
Additionally, the first solar power plant in Malaysia is located in Putrajaya, and although small at the time, it marked a step forward in Malaysia’s drive to harness sustainable and renewable energy.
Using less water
Water is a vital natural resource, and plays a significant role in life: all, if not most, of the living things on the planet, need water to survive. Even though the Earth is made up of 71% of water, we can only consume freshwater, and according to a Malaysian study done in 2013, only 1% of the world’s water is freshwater that can be used and collected easily for humans, animals, and irrigation.
Despite this, according to an American study in 2013, buildings consume almost 16% of the world’s freshwater annually, and the rate is expected to increase as the population increases.
In Malaysia, even though we have an abundance of water, with an annual rainfall of up to 3000mm on average and many rivers and lakes, we are still suffering from problems of water scarcity, as noted with the Selangor Reservoir water crisis in 2014.
One of the ways to combat the problem of water scarcity in Malaysia is to make use of non-potable water. Industrial applications don’t really need to make use of potable water, and besides, non-potable water can be made clean through treatment and filtration.
One of the sources of non-potable water is rainwater, which can be collected through a rainwater harvesting system. Because of the high annual rainfall of Malaysia, in the long run, utilising rainwater as an alternative to natural freshwater would be a viable option.
Also, one of the other benefits of rainwater harvesting would mean that water will be readily available, even when there is a water shortage. Examples of developers and companies in Malaysia that use this technique are UMLand Bhd with their UMLand Seri Austin development, IOI Properties with projects such as IOI City Mall and Sky Condominium, and Sunway Properties with Sunway University.
Another source of non-potable water is wastewater from the drains. Kuala Lumpur itself suffers from an overflow of drainage systems during heavy rains, often leading to flash floods. Water, as well as wastewater, should be viewed in the context of a cycle, meaning that wastewater can be reused if appropriately treated.
In fact, since 2010, Nestle Malaysia has conserved enough water to sustain almost 3,700 people in Malaysia for a year through its wastewater treatment plants.
Additional sources of non-potable water are rivers and lakes. More than 90% of Malaysia’s water supply comes from rivers and lakes; unfortunately, more than half of the rivers and lakes are polluted. However, with treatment, even polluted rivers can be cleaned, as seen with the recent case of the illegal dumping of toxic waste in Sungai Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, recently.
As a matter of fact, in 2016, Sunway Bhd won multiple awards at the StarProperty.my Awards, one of them for their initiative for sustainable living, namely for one of their projects to build a water treatment plant in the Sunway South Quay Lake, aiming to lift all properties in Sunway City off the public water grid.
Join the Green Build Conference on 27th June to find out how sustainable living might be achieved in buildings.
