A Review on Building Energy Index (BEI) in Different Green Government Buildings (GGBs) in Malaysia

Abstract

The Building Energy Index (BEI) is the ratio of total amount of energy consumed by a building in a year over the built area of the building and is measured in kWh/m2/year. As of 2020, Malaysia has a MS 1525:2007 Building Energy Index standard of 135 kWh/m2/year. A lower BEI rating translates to efficient and energy saving environment of a building. Different techniques are being employed in the Energy Conservation Opportunities (ECO) to achieve the recommended standard in Malaysia. Different materials and structural design of low carbon buildings in Malaysia plays a vital role in determining the average BEI rating annually. The Green Energy Office (GEO) building in Bangi which was completed in 2007 has deployed many of its efficient and environmentally friendly technologies to produce a BEI rating of 30 kWh/m2/year, reducing a total of 360 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. The efficiently designed structures of these low carbon buildings utilize many different energy saving techniques like natural lighting, tilting facade, building orientation and insulated concrete roof. This paper identifies and selects green buildings in Malaysia, compares their BEI ratings to understand how they are utilizing Energy Efficient Technologies (EET), innovative concepts and design improvements in reducing carbon footprints to achieve the recommended BEI rating in Malaysia.