The following is a C and a podcast. Welcome to the climate conversations, I'm Jamie Hoh. Now when we talk about climate action, we often think of big changes like weaning of fossil fuels, adopting renewable energy and going big on electric vehicles. But what if we looked a bit more carefully into the carbon emissions in our homes, all related to electricity usage for what we do at home?
They are already energy efficient air conditioners and fridges, smart home systems that can monitor and regulate our electricity usage and perhaps sometime in the future. Solar panels that can directly power our homes. These sounds great, but while developers can also make new buildings greener, what about older homes? What does moving beyond buying LED lights or using less
power entail? An energy efficient at home devices make a difference in our overall emissions, and if more of us did our our pothole, will these efforts add to the overall climate goals that Singapore has with me to talk through? This is my initial point zone president in East Asia and Japan for Schneider Electric Manish overseas operations and his company's drive for smart energy management solutions to help homes and businesses operate more sustainably and contribute to the country's
climate goals. Manish, welcome.
Thank you, Jimi.
Manish, let's start with the last year and a half. You know, we've largely lived with COVID 19 at home looking at how we've adapted for good and bad. What's your take on our overall energy usage at home? Has it been a net negative or net positive? Have some of the bad habits we used to have at the office translated back home?
It's a great question. Clearly, COVID has been one of the single most events of this century that has. This has changed a lot of things. One of them is what we have been spending more time at home. It's a place where you live, play, work and doing all of that even more than what you were doing before. And it's changing the habits of all of us in
some respects from a perspective of energy. Since we are spending more time at home, it's very normal to expect that their energy consumption are going to go up at home. And let's keep also in mind that there are a lot of other dimensions that are changing and that you change. One of the things that COVID has done is we all start to realise that it's an interconnected world today.
You have a desert, which is everywhere. COVID started at one place and it's all over the world, so we are very well connected and it's something that closing of boundaries is not going to be an answer coming to climate change. And it's pretty much the same that you can say that if you produce more in one part of the world, it's going to be not affecting the
other part of the world. And therefore, everything about climate change because of COVID is gaining that much more attention and is really at the top of the agenda for everybody, not just for the government. We start to realize it as well.
Let me talk a little bit about technology in homes as far as energy efficiency goes. Have we reached the peak of technology there or do you still see some potential in real savings in technology foil for energy efficiency in homes?
As a believer in technology, there are always gains to be made. There's always an improvement that is possible. The continuous improvement is always there. First things first, as consumers, we have to be responsible, which means that we have to make sure that since we are spending so much time at home, let's make sure we do the basics
that's fundamental and even goes beyond technology. Of course, technology is there to help us and this is the power of digital, which is helping us complement or augment our behaviour and making it much more easier, for example, to switch off the air conditioner or switch on the light, including the light for the whole home, then we are taking a step outside. So yes, technologies today exist, which are able to, thanks to the power of digital that is able to bring automation at home since we are
spending more time at home. We have seen that there is an uptick in adoption of these technologies by consumers, and this is a global phenomenon that is happening. We have seen the amount of money that is spent on home improvement is going up. Home automation is something that is also on the uptick because people start to realise that, yes, a today you have technologies that work and be. It is something that is increasing the level of comfort personalisation.
Not to say that it is also helping save energy at the same time. Yes, it is smart, but it's also making home sustainable, and I think both of them are quite key.
But the fact is, this might tell us, especially for individual homes, if they start looking at smart home or new technologies at an individual level, how much savings are we actually thinking about in terms of energy usage?
What we have seen is that adoption of smart home technologies can save depending on your baseline or what you are using before. It could save anything between 30 and even up to 50 percent of energy. I'm talking about global, so this is more relevant where you use heating in cold weather, which uses a substantial energy guzzler over a
period of time. So that's where you use automated thermostats, where you are able to set temperatures, and today you have technologies which is able to even go deeper and you can set a different temperature in every room. And Schneider, as a company, brings those technologies that help you do that.
There are two or three things which are happening. One is people start to see that these devices are available and you are seeing the benefit of adopting this because you are more conscious now that you are spending time at home of the impact it has on your nose, you build. So that's visible. The other is there is a stronger focus from the government in terms of bringing a lot of sometimes subsidies in different parts of the world.
We've seen that in the UK, you see that in us to help in the adoption of these energy efficient devices for home. And third is the cost in general of these smart home devices thanks to larger adoption or technology advancements. The price points that the customer see is actually going down, whereas I can give you an example before we used to have wired systems which are like Kinnick.
Systems are Siebel Systems, which are available in different parts of the world that were quite sophisticated and were at price points which were substantially higher today with the adoption of wireless systems. One of them is wiser. We've seen that the cost it can go into a middle class home, whereas before it was more for the higher end and the premium segment Hobbs. That's what technology is bringing in, and therefore it is becoming easier for customers for consumers
to access this technology. First, I would say, from a personalization, comfort and lifestyle. And then at the same time, also from an efficiency perspective,
let me just shift attention a little bit specifically to Singapore now. And obviously, most of us here live in either HDB flat or private condo in such a setting. What really is the potential for spot technology and energy efficient systems playing out? And is it really practical for individual households to start looking into this?
Here I will bring in some data from Singapore, where we see that Singapore is contributing 0.1 percent to the global emissions. And we it. If you look at four households, there is about seven percent of emissions which are coming from households both direct as well as secondary emissions, which is much more than that of transportation. So clearly one of the areas that when we focus on, we are able to bring down the level of energy consumption. Now
one of the things is it is about electricity. It is the cleanest form of energy, is the best vector for decarbonisation. So today we still in Singapore use gas if you are able to move from gas to electricity. There will be a substantial savings that we will get in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions. What we see is that today in Singapore, there's a network of gas, which is there any fear able to switch that to electricity? It is clearly something that is going to save a
lot of carbon emissions, which is what is. We have seen, for example, in the UK, there's a move to move from gas heating. And of course, it's in a different environment because it's more used for heating the homes and not just for cooking. Now the second thing is about digitisation, which is about automation that we talked about both electricity being green and then digital, bringing the power of making
electricity visible. Even staying in HDB home, you're able to see how much energy you're consuming on a real time basis, which is possible. There is a technologies which exist today that is able to help you control your home together with a layer of artificial intelligence which is coming into those devices. The thing is what we are also saying it's possible to add on top of the connected devices and appliances that are getting more and more common in homes.
You can add smart capability to make it much more efficient. You have the adoption of home energy management systems to which you can control appliances, for example, directly from your electric socket instead of going to the device so you have smart devices. Or you can even make your non-smart devices smart by controlling them directly from the electrical panel, which is able to control and see how much energy
you are consuming. So we see that one is able to save, as I said before, up to 30 percent of electricity bills and in there are certain countries where there is a time of use tariff as well, and this is smart home gives you the ability to make sure that various tariff is low. That is the time that you're consuming a large part of your electricity. With this, the paybacks become much more faster off the devices and of the home energy management system that you use at home.
One more point that I want to say, which is impacting the use of energy at homes, is the adoption of electric vehicles. That's something which is new in Singapore, and it's starting with what we have seen in other parts of the world that every electric vehicle that comes in a home increases the consumption by 30 to 40 percent. That would be applicable here. So even if you're living in an HDB home and you have an electric vehicle charging it at home, it is going to add that
much to your electricity bill. Now, the way to manage that in, it's different for from when you're living in a single family home versus when you are living in a high rise apartment. The advent of electric vehicles is going to bring the adoption of smart home devices and technologies like wiser, even more prevalent going forward where we
have solar adoption in parts of the world. There is a classic saying that we have that we need to be because the payback gets so much faster because you're charging at home because your electricity bill is actually going up by 30 percent. So those of us who in Singapore were living in individual homes and need to look at getting solar together with the electric. And maybe that's a phenomenon that we would see a period of time.
Yeah. Manage that point on electric vehicles. That's very interesting. Did you actually see that spike in usage translate into energy usage at home? And actually Home's electrical systems are built for that kind of purpose? I mean, we saw a lot of incidents, but was it really such a significant uptick that that you yourselves see as a concerning pattern in usage
like consumption in homes? Yes. I mean, you were charging and there's the increase that you're having now in order to make sure that it is done from an electrical
safety perspective, which is also very key. You have your maximum demand that the electricity utility company imposes on you that you cannot exceed, and therefore you need to have again technologies that are balancing the total amount of energy that you're consuming at a particular point of time, including the one that is used for charging your electric vehicle.
We have seen that, therefore the electrical charging in homes, while it looks very simple when it is done at lower loads, but it is something which is going to add to the complexity. And that's why I said the adoption of smart home and especially the home energy management systems, which is going to help you control your energy bill directly from the electrical panel and regulate it is something that is going to get more and more prevalent.
You mentioned your company, and I want to talk a little bit bigger picture now about the work that companies like yours does. How is your work with architects and engineers sort of evolving both in terms of working on older buildings as well as, I would imagine, newer buildings and newer technology, right? Where is the biggest potential, do you think, for technology to play in energy efficiency and
emissions reductions? Is it in retrofitting the older buildings and older systems, or is it in even finding new technologies for new buildings?
It's a great question, Jamie. Our mission is to be the digital partner for sustainability and efficiency. Our purpose is to empower all to make the most of the energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability. For all that Schneider we call this life is on for everybody, whether it's consumers, whether it's enterprise businesses, infrastructure and governments, etc. So that's what we bring when we think of the challenge of
decarbonisation for new buildings. It is relatively easier because when you're constructing your building, you're already able to bring in the new technologies right from the word go across what you are building. Having said that, what you're building new is a fraction of the total consumption that you're doing. So the challenge is on the retrofit, which you rightly pointed.
And this is where is the big challenge where you have to work to see you are able to ensure that the occupants of whether it's an industry running process that is there, which is able to ensure that you keep the things going while you transition into a greener environment and decarbonize at the same place. That's a big challenge. So at Schneider Electric, we bring those technologies which are able to go and to help retrofit systems in such a manner that you have business continuity as well as
your decarbonisation targets that are built. This is an area where we have seen, for example, in Europe, that there's a strong focus from the government in terms of the subsidy and the support that would be given to retrofit buildings, for example, and make them decarbonised. And that's what we have to do. It's not just an issue of Europe. We will have to do it in Singapore. And I think the green plan that the Singapore government has, it's going to address that as well
is fascinating because if we look at it from the level of what's happening in Asia as well, I would imagine that in Asia you have a very interesting mix of both older buildings which need retrofitting, which are built on perhaps quite inefficient older systems and many of them in places like India, for example. But you also have places where there for new buildings are being built, and
the potential for technology is great there too. I imagine that it must be exciting being able to work in Asia for a company like Schneider in trying to balance the two, which one is more difficult or you imagine there is a bit like trying to fix the bicycle or, yes, cycling at the same time, especially for the older buildings. But what's the challenge for places like those cities in India, Asia here?
First, it's a global issue. You write that it's an issue in Asia, but it's also a global issue of how we are able to do that together. The challenge is clearly being in terms of first, the technology that is required, which needs to be adapted for each of those different installations as compared to new build. Because every building has been built or every process or every industry has been built at different points of time, and you need to be able to tailor those solutions for sustainability
for each one of them. One of the other challenges that we see is in terms of gathering of data. Actually, I would I should have said that is number one because it all starts with the data that where do you want to impact in terms of where is the biggest impact for decarbonization? And those are the areas within a given installation that you want to address first and
this is what is there. And then being able to develop solutions for those installations, which again would be very unique, is something that is the other challenge that is what we see ongoing. The other challenges in terms of the
investments that need to be done. We need a strong commitment from enterprises around taking the columns of sustainability and saying, well, this is what we want to do and therefore being convinced that we have to be setting aside some sort of budget or being looking at financing in order to do that. This whole area of sustainability is going to be asking for additional investments and therefore additional opportunities for
different stakeholders. The thing about sustainability is that it requires various stakeholders to come together in order to achieve it. I would say that's the other challenge because. That's something that does not come naturally to us, and that's what we have to be doing.
Yeah, I'm going to use that opportunity to talk about Singapore a bit more specifically from your perspective, how do you see players like, for example, the private developers so far getting on board sort of the sustainability the green building journey? Are they moving fast on their own or is a lot of the action still coming from, for example, the regulator from business of the world trying to regulate and push people on green marks and things like that?
Is Singapore and our built sector? Do you think able to lead the way for Asia in terms of its energy efficiency within buildings?
I would first say that kudos to the Singapore government because it's taken the step of defining the green plan. The Singapore government and the ministers have been communicating really around the sense of urgency for using the carbon emissions to different policies. This has been taken up by the
industry here. What we see is that there are corporations which have a chief sustainability officer, and it goes back to what we discussed before that it's something that starts with the strategy of a company that sustainability is a core part of the strategy, and it starts by having a CSO or an equivalent in a corporation. And we see that a lot of companies are having that in
Singapore mode building as well as non buildings. And therefore I'm very optimistic and confident that we will work together to drive this, of course. So again, it's the government and the companies or companies like Schneider. We have very specialised energy sustainability services division, which is bringing these solutions to our customers and spatially focused on the retrofit on the existing installations because that's where the biggest challenge lie.
On that note, we've been trying to go from the small picture to the big picture to a global picture as we sort of close off. Maybe we saw a crystal ball a little bit and we're looking to the future in Singapore, let's say, in 20 years or maybe even less, let's say 10 years in terms of what our average home looks like. As you talk about retrofitting and vision for us, what a typical HDB home is
going to look like. If Snyder had free reign to develop this new energy efficient home, what would it look like? What would a climate friendly, energy efficient home in Singapore look like in 20 years? That's vastly different from what it may be now.
The home of the future is going to be a sustainable and smart home. That's what we foresee in the future. It would be at home, which is Italy being a net zero home, which is consuming as much as as it is able to to generate through the mix of actions that we have inside the home and is not contributing to the greenhouse emissions in Singapore. That's something I would say would be the vision that we should have is how we are able to get to net zero homes in Singapore.
I want to therefore use that as a last question. If let's say I see, you know, I'm going to give my own home a target. The Singapore government has set a specific target yet for when it reaches net zero. But let's say I say I want to get to net zero home sooner rather than later. What are the immediate steps that I could take for myself?
It starts with the changes in terms of the energy consciousness that we have in the home. That's a starting point, coupled with the smart home and the home energy management system. And if you're able to move on top of that with renewables being generated at home like solar is what I would say would be an ideal that we would like to see in a home coupled with storage, which
we did not talk about today. But if you add storage to that, meaning that you are a self-sustainable home, your smart home, your resilient home and you are home on top of that.
Since you mentioned storage, then end off on that. How are you going to be able to do that within individual homes?
Well, today we are in individual homes, so storage is clearly something that is evolving very, very fast and then together with storage. There are different technologies around creation of virtual private networks. That means you are linked to solar in your home, you are charging it. And when the sun is away in times of where you have weather conditions, you know, we just saw one in the US right now with EDA. If some kind of unfortunate event happens,
you are completely resilient. You're able to power yourself. At the same time, I was talking about virtual private network technologies, which are making sure that you are able to share your power within a community or even a larger geography that is very much possible. Again, digitization electrification together with digitization is, I would say, the single biggest driver for decarbonization, which is going to change the world in the future.
It certainly sounds as if it's a future that's tremendously full of potential. We only hope that it gets to individual homes and. Individual sooner rather than later. On that note, thank you very much.
Thank you. Thank you, Jimi, for hosting me.
And thanks for listening to the climate conversation. Stay up to date on CNN's coverage of climate change on CNN Dot Asia. You can also find this in other senior podcasts on our website and on iTunes and Spotify. The team behind this podcast, Christina Robert Insulin and Erin Low. I'm Jamie Ho again two next week.