Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications

Ministry of Energy, Water & Communications

MILESTONE REPORT

FOR

MEWC OFFICERS VISIT TO

‘SMART AND COOL’ HOME, SEMENYIH

Prepared by:
Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV) Project

Page 1 of 18
 MILESTONE REPORT
for

MEWC’S Officers Visit to ‘Smart and

Cool’ Home, Semenyih

Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic

(MBIPV) Project

UNDP Project No. MAL/04/G31 (Project ID: 42090)

Project Task Component 1.6

Prepared by Nor Radhiha Mohd Ali

Senior Officer - Public Relation
PTM

Checked & Approved Ahmad Hadri Haris,

by National Project Leader/CTA
PTM

Release Status Final

Date 4th September 2007

Distribution List
Dr. Anuar Abdul Rahman

CEO/National Project Director, PTM/MBIPV

PRC

NSC

Page 2 of 18
Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................4
Background....................................................................................................................4
Methodology / Process.................................................................................................5
Impact Analysis .............................................................................................................7
a) Turnout..............................................................................................................7
b) Process and Feedback ....................................................................................7
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................8
Appendixes ....................................................................................................................9
Program Lawatan ................................................................................................10
Handout : Visit to Smart and Cool Home in Semenyih ...................................11

Page 3 of 18
Introduction

This milestone report is prepared by Component 1 of the Malaysia Building

Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV) Project to report to the National Project Leader
and other higher authorities involved in the MBIPV Project.

Background

During the recent official launching of National SURIA 1000 Programme at the
Putrajaya Marriott Hotel, the Secretary General (SG) of Ministry of Energy, Water
and Communications (MEWC), Y.Bhg. Dato’ Dr. Halim Man paid a visit to the PV
Display Corner – a mini PV exhibition organized by MBIPV Project at the same
event. The Secretary General was particularly interested in the display of ‘Smart
and Cool Home’ from Laurenz Leistung Sdn. Bhd. and expressed his interest to PTM
to see a real-life showcase of such house. Hence, the visit to the ‘Smart and Cool’
Home was organized in fulfilment of the Secretary-General’s request to PTM to see
how well technology and design function in reality.

The house was developed by Soon Hoe Technologies Sdn Bhd and the energy
efficiency (EE) technology is marketed under the ‘Smart and Cool Home’. The
technology makes innovative use of recycled car tyres in the foundation of the
house as heat sink which gives a cooling effect. The PV system is integrated into
the house meaning there is no secondary roof beneath the PV module. The PV
system is thus termed ‘building integrated photovoltaic’ or BIPV. In such a
situation, PV serves as roofing material and electricity generating system for the
house. The PV also adds aesthetic value to the house when the colour of the PV is
in harmony with the roof.

The capacity installed at Semenyih’s house

was 5.25kWp and the house is designed so
that the BIPV system produces net
electricity for the house. Effectively, it
means the house sells extra electricity to
TNB, the local utility in the country. To
date, the house is still a show home with no

Page 4 of 18
permanent residents; hence it is difficult to gauge the accuracy to the claim of
‘net-electricity producer’ house. Nevertheless, the house was a practical example
of a sustainable house built with a mission of reducing carbon footprint in domestic
application.

This site visit to the Smart and Cool Home at Semenyih was part of Component 1’s
activities (under subtask 1.6 Capacity building and awareness programs for policy
makers and financial sector). The objective of this activity is to promote
awareness of BIPV as well as to enhance understanding of BIPV technology among
the policy makers. This is hoped to generate greater buy-ins from policy makers to
later on, formulate integrated policy framework which will favour the long term
development and sustainability of BIPV in the country. BIPV without the
meaningful support and commitment from the Government will not be able to
sustain on its own while it is still in embryonic stage. PV industry will only grow
when there is a strong backing from the Government via policies supporting BIPV.
This is because industries have to weigh the risk of conducting PV businesses in
countries where policies are perceived to be weak or non-existence and such risk
increases the cost of operations. Hence, it is the Government’s responsibility to
reduce that risk and increase the confidence of the industry players.

Methodology / Process

The invitation letter to the visit was sent to the Y.Bhg Dato’ Dr. Halim Man on 2nd
August 2007. The invitations were also extended to the President of Malaysian
Photovoltaic Industry Association (MPIA), En. Shamsudin Khalid and executive
committee members. This will provide the industry an opportunity to discuss on
how Government can help to remove barriers for PV market development in the
country.

The visit was carried out on 16th August 2007. There were three (3) officers from
MEWC, three (3) from MPIA and five (5) from PTM. List of the delegates can be
found at the Impact Analysis on the page 7. Reading materials on the BIPV systems
and the Smart and Cool Home were been distributed to the visitors. Upon arrival at
the site, Mr. Lincoln Lee, the developer of the house gave a presentation about
the concept of Smart and Cool Home. Mr Lee is also a member of MPIA and a listed
PV service provider under the MBIPV Project financial incentive programmes.

Page 5 of 18
The visitors were briefed on BIPV systems,
about the house design concept as well as
the working mechanisms of the rest of the
components in the BIPV system (e.g.
inverter, data logger and the array
junction box). The visitors were also given
opportunities to clarify some questions on
the house design and BIPV technology.
Mr. Lincoln explained about the house design concept

Visitors experienced the effectiveness of Ir Lal’s discussion with MEWC’s officers

tyres as heat sink

Mr. Lincoln briefed Dato’ Dr Halim and Pn.

Representatives from MPIA
Badriyah

Page 6 of 18
Impact Analysis
a) Turnout

The attendance was made up of the following visitors :

1. Dato’ Dr. Halim Man – Secretary General of MEWC
2. Pn. Badriyah Abdul Malek – Under Secretary of MEWC
3. En. Abdul Khalid Che Din – Energy Engineer of MEWC
4. En. Shamsuddin Khalid – President of MPIA
5. En. Ahmad Shazli Abdul Wahab – MPIA’s Committee
6. Dr. Anuar Abdul Rahman – Chief Executive Officer of PTM
7. Ir. Ahmad Hadri Haris – National Project Leader of MBIPV Project
8. Ir. G. Lalchand – Technical Advisor of Component 3, MBIPV Project
9. Ms. Chen Wei Nee – Technical Advisor of Component 1, MBIPV Project
10. Ms. Gladys Mak – Senior Officer of Component 3, MBIPV Project

Host: Mr. Lincoln Lee (Developer cum MPIA member)

b) Process and Feedback

The MEWC’s officers reached at the house at 2:45pm. The weather was ideal to
showcase the effectiveness of EE and the reading from PV meter which displayed
the electricity generated by PV.

The briefing and the site visit ended at 4:15pm. Y.Bhg. Dato’ Dr. Halim showed
great interest in house design concept and BIPV technology. From the verbal
feedback, Y.Bhg. Dato’ and his team were impressed with the BIPV technology and
the importance of the role of energy efficiency in reducing the return of
investment (ROI) in BIPV systems.

Page 7 of 18
Conclusion

Y.Bhg. Dato’ Dr. Halim and his team were pleased with the visit. The objective of
organizing the visit was duly fulfilled. While it may be too early to pre-empt the
true success of the ultimate objective of the visit, the MBIPV team trusted that the
seeds of ‘concept of grid-connected BIPV’ were sown in these hearts. Success will
not come over night, but with a lot of perseverance and provision of guided
information, the Government will be able to structure their policies so solar BIPV
will achieve the mark of being a significant fifth fuel source for the nation.

Group Photo

Page 8 of 18
Appendixes

Page 9 of 18
 Ministry of Energy, Water & Communications Global Environment Facility

Program Lawatan

LAWATAN KE RUMAH BIPV: SMART & COOL HOME DI SEMENYIH

Tarikh : 16 Ogos 2007 (Khamis)

Masa : 2:00 ptg

Masa Penerangan Aktiviti

2:00 ptg Bertolak ke Smart & Cool Home, Semenyih

2:45 ptg Tiba di Smart & Cool Home, Semenyih

4:00 ptg Bertolak ke Putrajaya

Page 10 of 18
Handout : Visit to Smart and Cool Home in Semenyih

HOW DOES BIPV SYSTEM WORK?

5.25 kWp BIPV system at Bandar Tasik Kesuma, Semenyih.

Front view Rear view

Page 11 of 18
BACKGROUND

Ideally, PV should be incorporated into the building from the design stage. When PV is
integrated into the building, the PV system serves multiple functions. It generates
electricity from the sun; it is part of the building envelope and creates aesthetic value
for the building as a whole. It is also highly recommended that the building be energy
efficient in the first place. This is important as the cost of PV is high and energy
efficient building will ensure the PV system will not be over dimensioned.

In this regard, a 5.25 kWp BIPV system was installed to complement the overall energy
efficient concept of the house. A project by Soon Hoe Technologies Sdn Bhd, located
at Bandar Tasik Kesuma Semenyih, demonstrated total package of energy efficiency
and renewable energy initiatives for residential houses.

This project is important as it showcases the concept of energy efficiency working in

perfect partnership with PV technology.

The system design, procurement and installation was conducted for a period of three
months and commissioned on 22 November 2005. This project received technical
support from PTM, under the MBIPV project. In addition, this initiative also received
assistance from MBIPV for grid-interconnection to the TNB grid on a net-metering
basis.

BIPV SYSTEM BRIEF

Grid connected PV system basically consists of two main items: PV modules that
convert sunlight into electricity; and inverter that convert the electricity from d.c.
(direct current) to a.c. (alternating current) so it can be used by most appliances.

The PV modules used in this project are of monocrystalline silicon type and are
integrated as part of the roof. The PV arrays are mounted on stainless steel type. 30
units of 175 Wp solar modules are installed covering the area of about 39.03 m2 and
therefore, the total installed capacity is 5.25 KWp.

The grid connected inverter which is the ‘heart’ and interfacing device between the
PV and the local distribution grid is generally designed to shutdown when the
operating condition is not within the design specifications. This is for safety and
protection purposes. When the inverter shutdowns, neither the grid nor the loads will
receive any power supply from the PV array. The system uses one grid-connected
inverter rated at 6 kW. It is installed indoor (IP 54) and connected to a PV kWh meter
to capture the energy generated from the PV system.

The BIPV system design is in compliance to the Malaysian Standard: MS 1837 –

Installation of Grid Connected Photovoltaic System.

Page 12 of 18
MAIN BIPV SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Components Type Quantity Capacity Brand/model

(unit)
PV modules Monocrystalline 30 5.25 kWp Sharp NTR5E3E
(175 Wp each)
Inverter Multi-string 1 6 kVA Solarmax 6000E

i. PV modules

A total of 30 units 175 Wp mono-crystalline solar modules are used with the technical
specifications as follows.

PV module: Sharp NTR 5E3E (175Wp)

Power rating: 175Wp

Type: crystalline with frame

Dimension (L×W×D): 1575×826×46 mm

Weight: 17kg

Certifications: IEC61215

Bypass diode: included

ii. Grid connected inverter

The system uses one unit of grid connected inverter rated at 6 kW with the technical
specifications as stated below.

Inverter: SolarMax 6000E

PV power rating: 6000Wp

Max input voltage: 600Vdc

Nominal power: 4600Wac

Topology: Transformerless, twin stage (without galvanic isolation)

Cooling: Thermal convection, aided by a ventilator

Dimension (L×W×D): 550×250×200 mm

IP rating: IP54 (to install indoor)

Weight: 15kg

Certifications: EN50081, EN50082, EN61000-3-2, EN50178

Page 13 of 18
Page 14 of 18
Page 15 of 18
Page 16 of 18
Page 17 of 18
Page 18 of 18