Zee Lanka teams up with Malaysian-based Ihandal Energy Solutions to lead Sri Lanka in energy efficiency
In the backdrop of the electricity tariff hike affecting local businesses severely, a Sri Lankan offshore and marine specialist domiciled in Malaysia has teamed up with a renowned former civil servant and diplomat to lead the country in yet another field - energy efficiency.
Herman Perera, Technical Director of Zee Engineering Ltd which has been serving the offshore and gas industry since 1987 based in Malaysia, together with former civil servant Lionel Fernando has formed Zee Lanka with the aim of assisting Sri Lanka to save energy resulting in lowering expenses in electricity.
Mr. Perera, a student at St. Sebastian's - Moratuwa, left the country in the 1980's for highest studies in UK and qualified as subsequently a Chartered Engineer (UK) and became a Member of the Institute of Structural Engineers (UK).
He has 25 years of experience in design, project management and construction, including 20 years in offshore structures.
He said that his long standing friendship with Mr. Fernando since the latter was holding the High Commissioner's post in Malaysia was the motivating factor behind this venture to rescue Sri Lanka at a time when its energy cost hits sky high. Zee Lanka, a subsidiary of Zee Engineering Pvt. Ltd, along with Malaysian-based Ihandal Energy Solutions, has introduced 'Enerzee', a new proven technology to help Sri Lankan businesses reduce their energy usage by at least 20 per cent, Mr. Perera - director at Zee Lanka - said in an interview with Business Times.
This new technology will help businesses with central air conditioning and water boilers with high energy consumption, he said, adding that it will reduce high electricity bills.
Explaining the energy efficiency solution, he noted that the new and ingenious technolo- gy will reduce organization's energy consumption by converting coolers using the company's heat recovery equipment.
It provides maximum energy and operation savings in areas such as water heating and airconditioning, the two largest energy consumers in a building, he added.
This hybrid heat recovery solution will be the first of many that they will introduce in Sri Lanka, he revealed.
It has minimal maintenance with no cleaning cost as the technology is always clean and 'financial and operational risk free,' he added.
Outlining the new system, Mr Perera said it absorbs heat from air and transfers it to heat water
he equipment runs on electricity but is roughly three times more efficient than conventional electric water heaters, so when used in the right environment they save energy, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The company will conduct an energy audit before and after the installing of equipment. It gives an accurate estimate of energy savings providing necessary insights to organizational decision makers on how they could optimize their energy without a heavy outlay in capital investment.
Zee Lanka CEO Lionel Fernando said that several business enterprises in Sri Lanka including the Navaloka hospitals have expressed willingness to obtain energy solutions from his company.
He noted that this will be a paradigm change in the con- sumption of electricity and it could further lead towards sustainable development.
He told the Business Times that the country's per capita energy consumption is around 600 Kilo Watt hours per year and the energy demand is around 10,000 Giga Watt hours costing a massive amount of Rs. 268 billion for the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for electricity generation this year.
Citing an example, Mr. Fernando revealed the electricity costs of the central Government medical institutions from 2008 to 2012.
He disclosed that in 2008, the CEB supplied Rs. 1.5 billion worth of electricity to hospitals. In 2009, it increased to Rs. 1.6 billion while in 2010, it went up to Rs. 1.8 billion.
In 2011 and 2012, it was up again at Rs. 2.1 billion and Rs. 2.2 billion, respectively.
He said that it is essential to bring down these staggering unnecessary costs as the Treasury cannot afford to bear this huge expenditure for health services.
In a bid to prove that 'Enerzee' works well, he noted that Gleneagles Hospital based in Kuala Lumpur reduced and made annual savings on their energy bills by up to 72.3% with the solutions offered by Ihandal.
He expressed the belief that 'Enerzee' would help save energy bills and also contribute to a growing national concern.
Mr. Fernando pointed out that 'Enerzee' is going to assist businesses such as apparel, healthcare and hospitality sector with very high power consumption leading to massive electricity bills.