Five schools trial smart plug system to trim power use

Users can track and optimise electricity use, achieving up to 20% energy savings

- Gabrielle Chan

Five schools in Singapore have installed a new smart plug system that tracks and optimises energy use across school equipment, helping them achieve 8 per cent to 20 per cent energy savings.

The schools - Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), St Andrew's School (Secondary) (SASS), Nanyang Junior College (NYJC), St Hilda's Secondary School and Rosyth School are currently undergoing a six-month trial with Ecovolt, an artificial intelligence-enabled building management system with smart plug load capabilities.

Using it is simple: The smart plug is inserted into a wall socket, and the appliance is then plugged into it. Once the plug connects to the WiFi network, real-time data on electricity use and cost appears on the monitoring platform.

The platform also allows schools to remotely manage individual appliances such as printers, water dispensers and audiovisual equipment, automatically switching off idle devices to cut energy wastage.

The number of plugs currently in each school ranges from 30 to 120, depending on specific needs.

This follows a Straits Times report in October stating that by 2031, all schools here will move from managing their own facilities to a central system overseen by the Ministry of Education (MOE).

This new system will allow lighting and air-conditioning to be automatically or remotely adjusted based on occupancy, and will use energy and water meters to track and reduce consumption, said MOE, with the aim of improving productivity, efficiency and environmental sustainability.