TECHNICAL FORUM ON CONTROL AND PRACTICE OF FWCTS

AND BUILDINGS ENERGY EFFICIENCY 2022

LATEST DEVELOPMENT OF
RETRO-COMMISSIONING (RCX)

Energy Efficiency Office

7 December 2022
 Presentation Outline
1. Hong Kong Situation and Energy Consumption

2. Government Target and Implementation Programme of RCx in Government Buildings

3. Example of Implementation of RCx in Major Types of Government Buildings

4. RCx Promotion Works by EMSD and Private Sectors

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 HONG KONG SITUATION AND
ENERGY CONSUMPTION

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 Hong Kong Situation
8,000+ 42,000+ 500+
7.4 millions Government Buildings in New Buildings
Population Buildings/ Facilities Private Sector per year

Source: 1. Building Department, HKSAR

2. Development Bureau, HKSARG 4
3. Census and Statistics Department, HKSARG
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 Hong Kong Carbon Emission Sources
and Energy Consumption

In 2019, electricity
Residential generation
accounted for
Buildings account about 66% of total
for about 90% of carbon emissions.
Hong Kong’s total
electricity
consumption. Commercial

Industrial

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 GOVERNMENT TARGET AND
IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMME OF
RCX IN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

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 Hong Kong Government Target
■ Green Energy Target in Government Buildings as per ENB
Circular Memorandum No. 1/2020
Green Energy Target to boost the overall energy performance of
the Government by 6% by 2024-25 under comparable
operating conditions in 2018-19 as the baseline.
Retro-commissioning (RCx) is one of the tools to help B&Ds
identify opportunities for reducing energy consumption.

■ Hong Kong's Climate Action Plan 2050 announcement on

Oct 2021
Strives to achieve Carbon Neutrality before 2050.
Strengthen the promotion of RCx for continuous enhancement
of energy performance of buildings.

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 Implementation of RCx in Government Buildings
7-Year RCx Implementation Programme
FY19/20 FY20/21 FY21/22 FY22/23 FY23/24 FY24/25

>200 Buildings
 Types of Buildings:
1. Government Offices
2. Municipal Services Buildings
3. Swimming Pool/ Sports Centre
4. Theatre
5. Public Market, etc

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 4 Stages during RCx Implementation
RCx is a systematic and cost-effective process to periodically check the energy performance of an existing
building or system to identify energy saving opportunities (ESOs) for operational enhancement.

Stage 1: Planning Stage 2: Investigation

• Collect building design & operational • Collect trend logged data & data analysis
information • Identify potential Energy Saving Opportunities (ESOs)
• Carry out initial building walk-through

Stage 3: Implementation Stage 4: On-going Commissioning

• Implement selected ESOs • Conduct training for O&M staff

• Perform Measurement & Verification • Continuous monitoring & revise O&M plan for
(M&V) improved operation

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 EXAMPLE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF
RCX IN MAJOR TYPES OF
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

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 Implementation of RCx in Government Office
■ General Building Characteristic ■ Observations during RCx Implementation:
 Office Use: Consist of single or different  The operation schedule of equipment may be
Government departments outside office operating hours.

 Typical Operating Hours:

 ESO: Adjustment of AHU/PAU operation schedule
 8:30-18:00 (Mon-Fri)
 The AC equipment is adjusted to match the actual
 Closed in weekends and public holidays operating hours of the building.

 ESO: Adjustment of lighting operation schedule

 The lighting is adjusted to match the actual
operating hours of the building.

 Both weekly and holiday time schedule should be

programmed into BMS system.

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 Implementation of RCx in Municipal Services Building
■ General Building Characteristic
 Multi-Functional Use: Consist of Government
Offices, Library, Sports Centre, Market,
Cooked Food Market, etc.
 Various Operating Hours:
 Market: 6:00-20:00 (Mon-Sun)
 Sports Centre: 7:00-23:00 (Mon-Sun)
 Library: 9:00-20:00 (Mon-Sat); 9:00-17:00 (Sun
and Holiday)
 Office: 8:30-18:00 (Mon-Fri)
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■ Observations during RCx Implementation:
 AC system is divided into different zones to serve
for different floors/ areas.
 Diverse operating hours may cause unnecessary
operation of air-conditioning system.
 ESO: Adjustment of chiller/AHU/PAU operation
schedule
 Tuning the pre-cooling period and shut-off time
based on actual operating hours.
 Eg. For market, it operates earlier from 5am for
preparation and goods loading, minimize pre-
cooling period
 Eg. For office and library, minimize pre-cooling
period and shut off time
 Implementation of RCx in Swimming Pool/ Sports Centre
■ General Building Characteristic – Swimming Pool
 Operating Hours: 6:30-22:00 (daily) with 2-hour
session breaks in between
 Weekly Cleansing: From 10:00 to the end of
second session of the day
 Temporary Closure: Indoor Pools or Main Pool
only (Nov – Mar)
■ Observations during RCx Implementation:
 The lighting and AC are fully in operation during
cleansing and maintenance period.
 Hot water demand for pool heating is low in summer.
 ESO: Application of cleansing mode
 Eg. Reduce lighting level at pool area, sports arena, etc
 Eg. Reduce the number of AHUs in operation

 General Building Characteristic – Sports Centre

 ESO: Installation of VSD for hot water pump
 Operating Hours: 7:00-23:00 (daily)
 To suit for part load hot water demand in summer.
 Maintenance Period: 7:00-13:00 on 2 days of
each month

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 Implementation of RCx in Theatre
■ General Building Characteristic
 Operating Hours: It depends on the
events and functions, rehearsal and
practice period
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■ Observations during RCx Implementation:
 There is normally not fully occupied during
rehearsal and practicing time. Only the stage and
front rows will be under occupied.
 AHU return temperature is quite low.
 ESO: Application of rehearsal mode
 Only the AHUs and lightings serving for the stage
and front rows will be in operation due to low
occupancy.
 ESO: Tuning of return air temperature set-point at
AHU
 Reset RAT set-point to prevent overcooling the
space.
 Implementation of RCx in Public Market
■ General Building Characteristic
 Operating Hours: 6:00-20:00 (Market)/
6:00-2:00am (Cooked Food Centre)
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■ Observations during RCx Implementation:
 Unnecessary lighting operation overnight eg.
lightings at toilet, market area and outdoor
façade are turned on 24/7.
 ESO: Automatic lighting control
 Installation of occupancy sensors at public toilet
and market area for lighting control during
midnight.
 Installation of timer and daylight sensor for
outdoor façade lighting control at night and
daytime.
 RCX PROMOTION WORKS
BY EMSD AND PRIVATE SECTORS

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EMSD – RCx Resources Centre
■ RCx Technical Guidelines
■ Latest RCx Seminars and Training Events
■ RCx Training Material Download
■ Successful Cases Sharing
■ Useful Links

QR Code:

Website:
https://www.rcxrc.emsd.gov.hk/en/
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EMSD – RCx Seminar Events
■ Organize seminar events regularly for RCx
promotion

■ Target audience:
 Trade and stakeholders – Building owners,
property management companies,
consultants, contractors
 Government departments
 EMSTF O&M teams
 Schools
 Public

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 HKGBC - RCx Training and Registration Scheme

■ RCx training & seminar by Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC)
 Organise relevant training courses for local engineers and stakeholders
 Practitioners courses - Operational and maintenance technique
 Professional courses - Details of the RCx process
 Registered 1,500 persons

RCx Practitioner (Level 1) RCx Practitioner (Level 2) RCx Professional

Target • Technical practitioners up-keep • Professionals involve in RCx • Professionals have in-depth
Group the energy efficiencies of process knowledge of building energy
building facilities and/or assist in efficiency that can manage RCx
the RCx process process

19 Website: http://retro.hkgbc.org.hk/textdisplay.php?serial=4
 RCx Financial Support
HKE
Green Tech CLP
Smart Power
Fund Eco Building Fund
Building Fund

Support to research and Energy Efficiency Energy Efficiency

development projects Enhancement Projects Enhancement Projects
Energy Saving and Green Retro-commissioning Retro-commissioning
Buildings Retrofitting of BSIs Retrofitting of BSIs
Building Smart technologies Building Smart technologies

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 RCx Financial Support - Incentives Scheme from Government
■ $400 million Green Tech Fund (GTF)
■ To fund research and development (R&D) projects
■ RCx is one of the tool for energy efficiency and conservation in buildings
■ Applicable if you have innovative technology could improve energy
performance in buildings

Local Public Research Institute/

Applicants Local Companies
R&D Centre
HK$2.5 million – HK$20 million
on a matching basis
Funding per project HK$2.5 million – HK$30 million
(Applicants shall contribute at least
one-third of the total project cost)

Maximum project duration 5 years 3 years

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 RCx Financial Support - Incentives Scheme from CLP and HKE
■ Subsidizes building owners to enhance energy efficiency and reduce energy
use of the building including RCx works

Funding from
Eco Building Fund by CLP Smart Power Building Fund by HKE
Power Company
Cap to HK$0.5 million
Cap to HK$0.5 million
Depends on the types and numbers of
Funding per Up to 100% in subsidies for RCx works
buildings
application
Depends on the amount of estimated
Based on a subsidy rate % of the actual
energy saved and project duration
project expenditure

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 2022 2023
 Objectives
 Any building with the application of RCx and I&T -
welcome to participate Registration period and Stage 1 Stage 2
submission by applicants Assessment Assessment –
 Promote the implementation of RCx Interview
 Share the application of I&T Briefing Sessions
Announcement
 Raise public awareness on the benefits of RCx and presentation
of awards
 Build up collaboration in the industry

Website:
https://www.energysaving.gov.hk/eschampion2022/en/scheme/index.html
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 For any enquires on RCx…

Energy Efficiency Office

Phone: 3757 6107

Email: pcwong@emsd.gov.hk

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 LET’S WORK TOGETHER
TO SAVE ENERGY!

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