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BEC 2018 Edition
15 May 2019
John 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) - ALC with occupancy sensor is 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 for air and water cooled list 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 official EMSD summary)
Cooling Tower Fan Speed Control - new requirement (clause 6.12.5)
Motor Efficiency - 3 phase motors 7.5kw and larger remain unchanged. 3 phase motors below 7.5kw the energy efficiency requirement has been marginally strengthened, the EMSD summary points to IE2 to IE3, view our summary table here
Total Harmonic Distortion - 15min, hourly, daily, monthly and annual data captured, recorded and stored for 36 months
Lift and Escalator - minor strengthening of requirements for lifts and escalators
BEC 2015 vs 2018 Summary
In summary, comparing the BEC2015 vs 2018 version, the updated 2018 version
has been marginally strenghened across the board. The largest impact, energy wise,
will be the updated chiller COP criteria, since air conditioning is highest
portion of building energy usage.
The requirement for recording the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) data for 36 months
will be challenging for buildings without providing a BMS because most energy
sub-meters that record harmonics, don't record data for 3 years. It will be a challenge
for smaller projects, the requirement practically demands BMS installation for every
building.
About the Author
John Herbert is a
veteran chief engineer with more than 30 years international engineering experience, educated in
the United Kingdom, he has worked in the United Kingdom and then across Asia for more than two
decades engaged by international and local companies. He is a Hong Kong Registered Energy
Assessor (REA), a BEAM Professional, and stationed in Hong Kong.
