Technical Report (Individual Speech)

Indeed, there are many benefits to using solar panels. Because we are installing the solar panels on the rooftops of shophouses in Clarke Quay, they can act as a secondary roof layer against adverse weather in Singapore, preserving the building’s structural integrity. It also makes use of solar energy from the sun, which is a sustainable and a renewable source of energy, hence, this system is reliable as sunlight is available every day. It also does not require any sort of maintenance for the first 25 years of operation if installed properly. Of course, Batteries are also included in the system to store any excess electricity generated by the solar panels, allowing the building to run at night or on cloudy days and not rely solely on sunlight.

As you may know, objects tend to heat up when they are directly exposed to sunlight, and solar panels are no different. In fact, for every 1 degree celsius rise in temperature, solar panels can reduce their efficiency by 0.5%. Hence we are introducing the implementation of a rainwater harvesting system to be in conjunction with the solar panels. Firstly, singapore is a country that experiences monsoon seasons throughout the year, hence there is no scarcity of rainwater in singapore, making it a cost effective solution to tackle overheating of the solar panels as the system will collect and reuse rainwater as a cooling agent for the solar panels, reducing the need of other special liquid coolants. Why use rainwater you may ask—isn't the water that falls from the sky dirty? To address this issue, our solution lies in the filtration system in our rainwater harvesting system which comprises of many layers of filters that filter out sediments that may be trapped within the water droplets. Consider our filtration mechanism to be similar to a coffee filter. When the water finally is evenly distributed across the faces of the solar panels by the system, it will also have enough pressure to remove any debris such as bird feces or leaves that may be on the surfaces of the solar panels. On days when there is no rain, there will be rainwater that was collected previously that will be used.

With this solar panel rainwater harvesting system installed, CapitaLand stands to benefit from the reduction in water and electricity consumption, as well as a reduction in the intensity of the carbon emissions which ultimately leads to a reduced carbon tax, improved brand reputation, and a greater customer loyalty.

Tenants will also experience a reduction in their utility bills as solar panels are able to generate more than half of the power that a building requires for operation.

With this more affordable approach, this integration can be accessible to a wider market, targeting small business owners as well as major developers due to its cheaper implementation.