In November / December there were two evening meetings discussing the merits of temperature settings for comfort, productivity and energy efficiency. On 6th December at 6:15pm a panel of speakers from HK Polytechnic University, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, EMSD and Jones Lang Lasalle gave their views on the government's recent attempts to save energy within Hong Kong by raising room temperatures. HKIE, the Hong Kong Chapter of IFMA and IVE organized this meeting on behalf of HKIFM, with funding from the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau.

The favoured temperature to aim at is 25.5 degC and this has been the subject of various advertisements generated by the Government. The EMSD identified that this figure is taken from the upper level of the ASHRAE standard. Viewed from an energy conservation standpoint, 1 degC increase in room temperature will save approximately 3% of the building energy consumption, so for some buildings where low temperatures are the norm - 18 degC and lower have been identified - raising temperatures will definitely generate significant energy savings.

However it is not just a question of changing the room set point! Maintaining adequate airflow to avoid stuffiness is imperative and system re-commissioning may be necessary, particularly for VAV systems where an increased room temperature results in lower air flow rates. It is also important to ensure the humidity remains in the comfort zones and dehumidification capacity from cooling coils may be compromised. Generally larger cooling coils are needed for higher space temperatures to maintain the same dehumidification. Also higher temperatures may need a corresponding reduction in space humidity for comfort. If the original cooling coils were designed on the limit for the original conditions, increasing the space temperature may overload the cooling capacity available and humidity may rise, creating discomfort.

It was recognised by the meeting that dress code would play a major role in the acceptance of higher space temperatures. A relaxation of dress code to allow short sleeve shirts and no ties will need to go hand in hand with space temperature increases.

As a counterpoint to this meeting, on 17th November the CIBSE organised a meeting at the Polytechnic University where Prof. Derek Clements-Croome from the School of Construction Management and Engineering at the University of Reading, UK discussed environment and the productive workplace. Whilst this meeting covered a wide range of research on what makes a productive workplace, of interest to this discussion is the correlation between space temperature and productivity, and the cost savings available from productivity improvements.

One of the main points of the talk related to the whole life costs of building ownership, including the costs associated with salaries for the staff located in the building. When all costs are considered, the salary costs for staff amount to greater than 90% of the whole life building ownership costs. Thus productivity improvements arising from a better workplace can generate significant benefits to the building owner.

Research identified by Derek Clements-Croome shows a direct relationship between space temperature and productivity, with productivity peaking at may be 1/2 degC below normal comfort temperature - although normal comfort temperature may vary in different climates.

The interesting question still to be answered must relate to the inverse correlation between energy saving due to increasing space temperature and productivity losses due to the same actions. What balance achieves the greatest benefit - and for whom?

If you wish to continue this train of thought through the pages of this newsletter please e-mail me at the address below. If we have an adequate response we may open an email discussion group on the web site to follow through.

Tony Garland
Director of Communications
hk-ifma.communicate@ifma.org.hk

On 8th December 29 IFMA members and guests met at the Royal Yacht Club at Causeway Bay for a Christmas lunch and network session. This was the most attended session of the year, apart from the AGM, and the venue - the Ward Room - was a little cramped both during the networking session and for the speakers presentation. However it made for close-quarters contact and ensured that no one was left out of the discussions.

Cary Chan Head of Technical Services at Swire Properties gave the talk during lunch, and covered how Swire identify and manage the risk associated with owning and operating a large portfolio of buildings in Hong Kong .

Being Christmas, the event would not be complete without a lucky draw and a number of people went away from the lunch with chocolates or wine to enjoy over the Christmas break. The main prize was an iPod Nano, which was won by one of the principle guests - Bonny Landers, the Chair of the AmCham Environment Committee. Bonny kindly donated the prize back to the lunch group and an auction was held to raise money for a charity. Raymond Pang of IVE was the man with deep pockets and a charity - undecided at the time - was richer by $1500.

Tony Garland
Director of Communications
hk-ifma.communicate@ifma.org.hk

A recent Jones Lang LaSalle survey of corporate real estate in Asia Pacific found that reducing real estate costs remains the key objective for many corporate occupiers to maintain competitiveness in a growing market. Almost all corporates are looking to achieve cost savings in their portfolio, with over 80% of respondents targeting savings of up to 10%. The results also highlight an increased focus on longer-term cost containment strategies, with the top three being:

To read the full report - Corporate Real Estate Impact Survey (CREIS 4) - go to the web site at www.ifma.org.hk/essentials.html .