Dr. Chan Kwok-tai
Associate Professor & Associate Head Of Department

Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Room: FJ734

Tel: 27665837, Fax: 27746146 E-mail: bektc@polyu.edu.hk

Brief

Dr. Chan graduated with a BSc(Eng) degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1978 from The University of Hong Kong. After graduation he worked for seven years in building services contracting and consulting firms, and then started his career in teaching and research. He joined the then Hong Kong Polytechnic as a lecturer in 1988, and is now Associate Professor in the Department of Building Services Engineering of the university. He obtained his PhD degree through a staff development programme in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interest is on building energy and air conditioning system efficiency. He is a member of the Building Services Discipline Advisory Panel of HKIE and is a committee member of the CIBSE Hong Kong Branch.

Academic and Professional Qualifications

  • BSc(Eng) in Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (1978)
  • Master of Business Administration (MBA), Chinese University of Hong Kong (1987)
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (1996)
  • Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, FCIBSE (2002)
  • Member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, MHKIE (1985)
  • Chartered Engineer (CEng), Engineering Council, UK (1986)
  • Registered Professional Engineer (RPE, Building Services), Hong Kong (1991)
  • Member of ASHRAE, (1992)

Research Interests

  • Building energy efficiency;
  • Simulation of building and air conditioning systems;
  • Variable condensing temperature control of chillers;
  • Econometric study of building sector electricity demand;

Research and Academic Experiences

  • Principal investigator of: four CERG research projects funded by RGC of HKSAR, one industrial collaborative research project jointly funded by Grand Stanford Hotel and the Industrial Support Fund, and three other PolyU funded projects;
  • Researcher participating in the Research Centre for Building Environmental Performance at the Dept. of BSE, PolyU;
  • Chief Supervisor: Supervision of 1 PhD student, 2 MPhil students, and other MEng, MSc and undergraduate research projects;
  • Member of the Editorial Board, International Journal on Architectural Science;
  • Editor of five symposium proceedings;
  • Reviewer for two international journals;

Teaching Experiences

  • Program Leader, BEng (Hons) in Building Services Engineering (Part-time Mode);
  • HVAC laboratory development; Design Project teaching development;
  • Taught MSc subject: Air Conditioning Control and Operation;
  • Taught BEng subjects: HVACR Systems, Construction Management, Energy Economics;

Professional Service

  • Secretary, BS Discipline Advisory Panel, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers;
  • Member of the Training Committee, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers;
  • Member of the Steering Group for the Consultancy Study on Review of Lighting and Ventilation Requirements for Buildings, Building Department, The Government of the Hong Kong SAR, 2000-2003;
  • Member of the Working Party on OTTV Control, Building Department, The Government of the Hong Kong SAR, 1998-2000;
  • Member of the Education and Examination Committee, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, 1995-2004;
  • Member of the Appeal Board Panel under the Builders' Lifts and Tower Working Platforms (Safety) Ordinance, Works Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong SAR, 2000-2003;
  • Member of the CIBSE Hong Kong Branch Committee;
  • Designated corporate membership interviewer, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineering and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

Research and Consultancy Projects

  • Centrifugal chiller variable condensing temperature control for energy efficiency, UGC CERG HK$359K, started in January 2006
  • Variable condensing temperature control of air-cooled screw chillers for energy efficiency, UGC CERG HK$356K, in progress.
  • Optimum condensing temperature at part-load operation of air-cooled chillers for energy efficiency, UGC CERG HK$437K, completed in 2004.
  • Cointegration analysis of electricity demand in Hong Kong in association with energy efficiency of commercial and residential buildings, PolyU Central Research Grant HK$200K, completed in 2005.
  • Analysis of energy demand trend in HK in relation to passive and active energy saving measures in commercial buildings, PolyU HK$462K, completed in 2003.
  • Operating efficiency of air-cooled chillers at part-load, PolyU Central Research Grant 240K, completed in 2002.
  • Development of operation and maintenance strategy for systems performance optimization of hotel building services, Industrial Support Fund and funded by Grand Stanford Hotel HK$553K, completed in 2002.
  • Feasibility study and design of a solar hot water system at Lamma Power Station, 2000.
  • Energy performance evaluation of an automatic condenser tube cleaning system at China Ferry Terminal, 2000.
  • Energy impact of increased diffuse solar radiation due to reflection from adjacent curtain wall buildings, UGC CERG HK$458K, completed in 1998.

Recent Publications

  • Chan K.T. and Yu F.W.  Thermodynamic-behaviour model for air-cooled screw chillers with a variable set-point condensing temperature. Applied Energy, Vol. 83(3), 2006, pp. 265-279.

  • Yu F.W. and Chan K.T. Advanced control of heat rejection airflow for improving the coefficient of performance of air-cooled chillers. Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 26(1), 2006, pp. 97-110.

  • Yu F.W. and Chan K.T. Low-energy design for air-cooled chiller plants in air-cooled buildings. Energy and Buildings, Vol. 38(4), 2006, pp. 334-339.

  • Chan K.T. and Yu F.W. Analysis of the components characteristics of air-cooled chillers for modeling floating condensing temperature control. Energy Conversion and Management, Vol.46(6), 2005, pp.927-939.

  • Yu F.W. and Chan K.T. Electricity end-use characteristics of air-cooled chillers in hotels in Hong Kong. Building and Environment, Vol. 40(1), 2005, pp. 143-151.

  • Yu F.W. and Chan K.T. Optimum condenser fan staging for air-cooled chillers. Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 25(14-15), 2005, pp. 2204-2218.

  • Yu F.W. and Chan K.T. Application of direct evaporative coolers for improving the energy efficiency of air-cooled chillers. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering – Transactions of the ASME, Vol. 127(3), 2005, pp. 430-433

  • Yu F.W. and Chan K.T. Experimental determination of the energy efficiency of an air-cooled chiller under part load conditions. Energy – The International Journal, Vol. 30(10), 2005, pp. 1747-1758.

  • Chan K.T. and Yu F.W. Optimum set point of condensing temperature for air-cooled chillers. International Journal of HVAC &R Research, Vol.10(2), 2004, pp.113-127.

  • Chan K.T. and Yu F.W. How chillers react to building loads. ASHRAE Journal, Vol.46(8), 2004, pp.52-58.

  • Yu F.W. and Chan K.T. Condensing temperature control to enhance the efficiency of air-cooled chillers. Building Serv. Eng. Res. Technol., Vol.25(4), 2004, pp.279-294.

  • Chan K. T. Variable condensing temperature control of screw chillers for energy efficiency. Proceedings of the Shenyang – Hong Kong Joint Symposium on Healthy Building in Urban Environment, Shenyang, China, 2004, pp.A149-158.

  • Chan K. T. and Yu F. W. Energy saving potential of air-cooled chillers by variable condensing temperature control. Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Building and Urban Environmental Engineering, Tianjin, China, 2004, pp.112-119.

  • Yu F. W. and Chan K. T. Reducing the condensing temperature to improve the efficiency of air-cooled chillers. Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Heat Transfer Enhancement and Energy Conservation, Guangzhou, China, 2004, Vol. 1, pp.180-185.

  • Chan K.T., Lee R.H.K. and Burnett, J. Maintenance practices and energy performance of hotel buildings. Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment, Vol.23(1), 2003, pp.6-28.

  • Chen H., Tu G., Yang J. and Chan K.T. Cooling load distribution of large space building. Transactions of Tianjin University, Vol.9(4), 2003, pp.340-344.

  • Chan K. T. Sustainable air conditioning system for high-rise residential buildings. Proceedings of the Shandong - Hong Kong Joint Symposium on New Technology for Better Built Environment, Qingdao, China, 2003.

  • Chan K. T. and Yu F.W. Tactics to optimize the energy efficiency of a chiller system with multiple air-cooled chillers. Proceedings of International Conference on Energy and the Environment, Shanghai, China, 2003, pp.1419-1424.