Asia's world city not so clever when it comes to smart meters
Our attention has been drawn to the benefits of smart meters in buildings. We are told by people who know about these matters that the meters can lead to energy savings of 15 to 20 per cent. In Hong Kong that would represent a considerable saving. It would also mean our city would at last start seriously engaging in energy saving. For all its claims as 'Asia's world city', it is a laggard in in the region this area.
The current practice is for air conditioning to be included in the monthly management charges paid to the building management company, which is invariably owned by the landlord. Individual offices have a meter for the rest of their electricity consumption which is paid directly to the utility company.
However, the monthly management charge, of which air conditioning accounts for some 80 per cent, is typically about five times the monthly electricity bill. A smart meter installed by the landlord would enable tenants to know how much they were paying for their air conditioning and what they were paying for. Typically management fees are between HK$5 and HK$7.50 per square foot, and are not broken down.
A smart metering system would enable the chief exceutive to monitor from his desktop, if he was so inclined, the amount of electricity he was consuming a minute, how much it was costing and where it was being used. Armed with this information, companies will be more inclined to switch off lights and equipment at night and turn down the air conditioning in winter. The idea is that, if the tenants make the savings, they, rather than the landlord, get the financial benefits.
Although monthly management fees are viewed as an exercise in recovering costs in many parts of the world, service charges are a profit centre in Hong Kong, so there is little incentive for the landlord to install smart metering.
The question is how to kick-start this change? It's going to be difficult when space is tight and landlords have greater negotiating power. It may be something that will have to wait for the next downturn when tenants are in a stronger position.
