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BEC 2018 Edition
15 May 2019
John A. Herbert
Registered Energy Assessor (REA)
The new BEC 2018 edition issued last year will take
effect tomorrow on 16 May 2019. Thereafter, projects obtaining
BD consent after that date, must comply with the new 2018 version.
The new BEC 2018 code is available to download from the EMSD
website BEC 2018 version
The BEC 2018 edition provides marginal improvements over the 2015 version,
highlights vs BEC 2015, include:
Lighting Power Density (LPD) - new types of spaces added, with new LPD criteria
Lighting Power Density (LPD) - all defined spaces marginally strengthened
Automatic Lighting Control (ALC) - new types of spaces requiring ALC added
Automatic Lighting Control (ALC) - sensor ALC now permitted in toilets
COP VRF - for water and air cooled units, COP requirement marginally strengthened
COP Chiller - for all types of chillers, full load and where applicable 75% load, COP requirement marginally strengthened
COP Heat Pump - new requirement, list of COP requirements in Table 6.12c
Cooling Tower Fan Efficiency - new requirement 1.7 L/s per kW for centrifugal fans, 3.4 L/s per kW for propeller or axial fans (not mentioned in the summary)
Cooling Tower Fan Speed Control - new requirement (clause 6.12.5)
Motor Efficiency - motors under 11kw energy efficiency requirement marginally strengthened
view table
Total Harmonic Distortion - 15min, hourly, daily, monthly and annual data captured and stored for 36 months
Lift and Escalator - minor strengthening for lifts and escalators requirements
In summary, overall the updated BEC version 2018 has been marginally strenghened
across the board. The largest impact will be the updated chiller criteria, since
air conditioning is highest portion of building energy usage.
The requirement to record the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) data for 36 months
will be challenging for buildings without BMS because most energy sub-meters that
do record harmonics, don't store data for 3 years.
About the Author
John Herbert is a
veteran engineer with more than 30 years engineering experience, educated in
the United Kingdom he has worked across Asia for more than two decades
engaged by international and local companies. He is a Hong Kong Registered Energy
Assessor (REA) and BEAM Professional.
