The Chinese University won the gold award, the highest honour in the Schools (Tertiary) Category of the First Hong Kong Energy Efficiency Awards. The award is a recognition of its achievements in raising energy efficiency, renewing resources and promoting energy saving practices. The awards ceremony took place on 9th May; it was officiated by Dr. Sarah Liao, Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works. The University will have the honour of using the award logo for promotional and publicity purposes for one year from the date of the award presentation.
The Energy Efficiency Awards are organized by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) of the HKSAR Government to promote best practices, to enhance awareness, and to honour success and innovation in energy conservation for Hong Kong's private and education sector. The event comprises two main categories: buildings (commercial and residential) and schools (kindergartens/primary, secondary, and tertiary academic institutions). Some 200 private and educational bodies took part in this year's contest.
The participants were judged on their performance in enhancing energy efficiency in the period from December 2004 to November 2005. The criteria adopted included leadership and organization, processes, actual performance, and sustainability. The judging panel consisted of senior government officials, professionals and academics.
The Chinese University selected seven, among its 137 buildings, for the contest. They were Ho Sin Hang Engineering Building, Shanghai Fraternity Association Research Services Centre, Wong Foo Yuan Building, Esther Lee Building, Chung Chi College Administration Building, Pi Ch'iu Building and John Fulton Centre.
The University has a high energy demand owing to its extensive campus housing a multitude of facilities. However, even before the awards, it has spared no effort to conserve energy. In 1999, the Energy Saving Task Force was set up to consolidate campus-wide energy saving efforts. Key energy management strategies initiated included the campus-wide lighting retrofit programme using T5 neon lamps, which reduced energy consumption by 20%; the replacement of air-cooled chillers by high-energy-efficient water-cooled chillers, which improved the capacity and stability of the system and reduced energy consumption by 20%; the implementation of the Building Management System which imposed more complex, real-time controls and monitoring, thereby saving energy by 12%.
The University also encourages the use of renewable energy. CUHK was the first among local tertiary institutions to install the evacuated tube solar hot water system in showering facilities; a hydraulic ram pump has also been installed in streams for irrigation and flushing.
In terms of promotion, over a hundred Energy Coordinators have been appointed to promote energy saving awareness. Departments and units are urged to set their indoor temperature at 25.5 degrees Celsius and to install occupancy sensors to power off idle electrical devices. The University has also formulated an energy policy and guidelines, organized energy saving contests and energy consumption guessing games to raise consciousness of green practices on campus.