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Living Off the (Power) Grid

LIVING OFF THE

(POWER) GRID
As one of the pioneering carbon negative
homes in Singapore, the B House is a
powerhouse in every sense of the word.

R. S ©
Living Off the (Power) Grid

CONTEXT
The built environment’s extraction of natural materials produced for human daily consumption.
resources, material production, construction and With continued deforestation, the ability of trees
operation has a significant impact on global carbon to absorb the increasing carbon dioxide emissions
emissions. Whilst such activities contribute to human through photosynthesis is being challenged. The
and economic development, the side effects of need to measure and therefore monitor our carbon
associated energy production and consumption footprint is one way of quantifying the effects our
threaten natural resources, the environment and lifestyles have on the environment and consequently
contribute to global warming. Carbon dioxide, reduce emissions in order to mitigate its negative
which is released when burning fossil fuels such results. We can do this by measuring direct energy
as coal, gas and oil, is one of the more serious consumption, which can be calculated by reviewing a
pollutants of our planet and is ‘embodied’ within year’s energy bills of a home’s occupants.

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Living Off the (Power) Grid

Singapore. The two homes, one of which would be

retained for private use, the other rented out to
another family, sought to ensure that the occupants
would never have energy bills again along with
greatly reduced water bills. The challenge was
therefore to create a zero carbon house of 500 sqm,
in an upscale part of Singapore at the same cost
of a bungalow comparable in scale. However, what
started as a carbon zero housing project would
eventually become the pioneering carbon negative
house in Singapore (i.e the house actually generating
more energy than it can consume).

BASELINE / LITERATURE REVIEW

PROJECT BRIEF
Given the design intent to create a carbon zero
The experience gleaned by Pomeroy Studio in development, it became apparent that direct
designing the first carbon zero prototype house energy modelling (i.e. the house’s operating
in Asia (the Sime Darby Idea House in Malaysia), energy consumption) could provide an objective
formed the basis of the Studio’s continued research balance to the more subjective green assessment
into the field of zero energy/ carbon development methods in being able to demonstrate the B
and its application to commercially-oriented zero House’s green status. In order to quantify how much
energy/ carbon projects. One particular private more environmentally responsive B House was in
client had experienced the green qualities of the comparison to a conventional house, the need to
Idea House first-hand and was willing to push the compare like-for-like was essential. Given that B
boundaries of sustainable design for a private House was planned as a 5-bedroom residence, the
commission of two family bungalows in Novena, conventional Singaporean bungalow was modelled

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Living Off the (Power) Grid

using the same built-up area and footprint.

It was assumed that it would be a fully
air-conditioned 5-bedroom detached
property with full modern conveniences
and a resident family of five people. In
addition, conventional building products
with average thermal performance levels
that met the building regulations were
used. No environmental technologies
or passive design considerations were
considered, though a north-south
orientation was included as is typical in
conventional residential developments.
This baseline provided an opportunity to
compare the conventional model with a
high performance house that embraced
passive design and specified materials
that had an enhanced environmental
performance. It would also include
renewable technologies as a means of
off-setting energy consumption and thus
reach a net carbon zero level.

This also necessitated a definition of

net zero energy development. Particular
reference was made to UK government
legislation – widely regarded as being at
the forefront of zero emission legislation
in the built environment globally. In the
government’s consultation paper Building
a Greener Future: Towards Zero Carbon
Development, all new residential homes
from 2016 are required to be zero carbon.
In defining zero energy residential
development, the paper stated that all
new homes built from 2016 would need to
take into account the emissions from space
heating, ventilation, hot water and fixed
lighting, and the expected energy use
from appliances. Exports and imports of
energy from the development (and directly
connected energy installations) to and
from centralised energy networks would
need to be reflected for the development
to have a net zero carbon emissions over
the course of a year. It would also need
to achieve at least a minimum level of
carbon reductions through a combination
of energy efficiency, on-site energy supply
and/ or directly connected low carbon R. S ©

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Living Off the (Power) Grid

R. S ©

LightCollab © R. S ©

or renewable cooling; and choose from a range of sources. The above definition helped inform what
(mainly off-site) solutions for tackling the remaining would eventually become the brief and definition of
emissions. net zero energy for the onward design of B House
that can be summarised as follows:
The Code for Sustainable Homes, the UK standard
for the sustainable design and construction ƒ Reducing all energy consumed within a dwelling,
of new homes, provided a 1-6 scale of carbon including: fabric specification, space cooling, hot-
emission reduction in order to aid the creation water systems, ventilation, lighting, and all fixed
of such developments. Code 6 represents zero electrical appliances.
energy - a definition that treats every home as an
individual energy ‘island’ which must generate all ƒ Creating a very high level of energy efficiency
the power and heat it needs. Code 6 considered On-site renewable energy generation that, when
zero energy from all energy uses including energy exported, would be equal to the energy imported
consumed in the operation of the space heating/ from the grid per year.
cooling, hot-water systems, ventilation, all internal
ƒ The house would have net zero energy / carbon
lighting, cooking and all electrical appliances (an
emissions over the course of a year generation of
estimated value), with the calculation taking account
on-site renewable energies would be enough to
of contributions from renewable / low energy
offset occupant’s energy consumption for a family
installations on / in the dwelling and the limited
of five, per year.
amount of accredited external renewable energy

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CULTURAL RESPONSE
The Black and White bungalow is an indigenous typology to
Singapore and was built extensively in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. Surviving examples are testament to their physical and
aesthetic durability – an Asian tropical responsiveness that provides
indoor and outdoor living via the generous open-air veranda
spaces, whilst embracing Western architectural influences and
motifs - from the spatial organisation for entertainment of house
parties, to the use of mock-tudor facades to resemble a slice of
home for the homesick Colonials. The B House reinterprets this
culturally important typology to create a home that is typified by
large veranda spaces for public entertaining and monsoon shuttered
windows that similarly reflect elements of the past culture.

SOCIAL RESPONSE
An analysis of end-user requirements and how the spaces were to be
used was key to the appropriate shaping and sizing of the habitable
spaces. This was made possible by a rigorous understanding of ‘the
day in the life…’ of each individual household member from morning
to night. This was then arranged as a series of flow diagrams that
would ultimately inform movement patterns between functions
and thus help map out the organisation of spaces and rooms. In so
doing, it allowed for a clearer delineation between the public (formal
reception area), semi–public (courtyard and veranda) and private
(bedroom) spaces, whilst ensuring that the movement between such
spaces was as efficient as possible.

SPATIAL RESPONSE
Courtyards are integral elements to many Colonial and Asian
forms of dwelling in South East Asia. Spatially, they often formed
an effective transitional space between the more public reception
areas that would be open to visitors, and the more private areas
of the living, kitchen and dining areas that would be reserved
for the family and close friends. Such a space was incorporated
for the very same reasons, and furthermore offers environmental
benefits when working in unison with the lofty interior spaces.
Extended verandas also line the two wings of the house and
appear to continuously wrap to form both walls and roof - thus
giving the building its characteristic, curvilinear appearance.

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Living Off the (Power) Grid

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE
A form-matching-climate approach that embraced the climatic
conditions of Singapore sought to reduce energy and water
consumption from the outset. Like the Black and White bungalow
that would be orientated to minimise heat gain from the east
and west sun, the house was similarly orientated to present the
narrower faces to the east and west, thus minimising solar heat gain
and maximising cross ventilation given the slidable screens that
line the façades. High ceilings and a variety of window opening
configurations optimise airflow during dry or monsoon seasons,
while the shallow floor plates optimise daylight penetration. All
such strategies help reduce the use of artificial cooling and lighting
loads, and thus direct energy consumption.

TECHNOLOGICAL RESPONSE
A modular design approach that employed a 1.2m planning grid
allowed components of 300,600,900 and 1200mm to fit within the
planning grid. This reduced the need for special components and
wasteful off-cuts of material. The pre-fabrication of modules as
a ‘kit-of-parts’ provided off-site quality control, and furthermore
facilitated heightened speed of construction that reduced the
on-site timeline by 50 percent. Green building materials with
low eco-toxicity and high recyclable content were specified
throughout, and an array of only 100 sqm of photovoltaic cells
per house made the project carbon negative. Extensive use of
rainwater harvesting and water saving devices further reduce
consumption by 50 percent.

ECONOMIC RESPONSE
The construction cost of B House is the same as a conventional
bungalow in the same area, despite its green credentials. 100
square metres of photovoltaic solar panels cost S$60,000 but
will generate a predicted energy output of 16,720 kWh per year.
The renewable energies therefore only account for 2.3 percent of
the overall budget, demonstrating that zero energy design when
executed properly need not be costly. As an average bungalow may
consume up to 12,500 kWh per year, the passive design means that
the residents of B House are likely to consume approximately 8000
kWh per year. This means that the house will generate more energy
than the house can consume and is one of the pioneering carbon
negative landed residences in Singapore.

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Living Off the (Power) Grid

POST OCCUPANCY ANALYSIS POMEROY STUDIO DESIGN TEAM

Based on a recent interview in 2018 with Channel NewsAsia ƒ Design Director: Jason Pomeroy
for Powering the Future, Episode 2: Lighting up with Solar, ƒ Project Director: Yoshi Shimada
Ms Belinda Young - the owner of B House - mentioned ƒ Project Designer: Elizabeth Simonson
that they are able to capture more solar energy than they ƒ Sustainability Consultant: Deepshi Bhogal
can actually consume. This translates into energy saving ƒ Sustainability Consultant: Mayank Kaushal
surpluses every month, which allows the owner to sell back ƒ Landscape Designer: Eugel Villaneuva
to the power grid. These energy savings come up to about
1,087kW/month on an average and at the rate of 21 cents LOCAL ARCHITECT
for supply into the grid, the owner is able to save nearly ƒ Architect of Record: Raymond Sim
$120-$200 per month on electricity consumption. B House
is therefore maintaining its design aspirations to be a CLIENT
pioneering carbon negative home in Singapore. ƒ Belinda Young

Text and images courtesy of Pomeroy Studio Pte Ltd

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