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According to The Earth Times, the US market for ‘green’ building materials – defined as those products that contribute to LEED certification by the US Green Building Council – generated $58 billion worth of product demand in 2008. This market is expected to grow 6% a year to an astonishing $80 billion by 2013. So has Dubai caught up with the rest of the world? Or are its purported green buildings merely ‘ivy’ towers?
The Dubai ruler and UAE Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, passed a decree in 2008 to implement green building in line with the emirate’s strategic plan. DEWA regulations to institutionalise this have, however, been delayed. Dubai Municipality building and planning affairs assistant director-general Essa Maidoor has since revealed that the bulk of the proposed legislative framework has been thrashed out, and will be released imminently for comment, feedback and input from consultants, contractors and suppliers.
Regulations
These green building regulations should not only focus on new build, but must look at existing buildings as well. “Making operational buildings efficient is the real challenge,” argues Imdaad CEO Jamal Abdulla Lootah. He refers to a Dubai shopping mall, which he declines to name, where Imdaad effected an AED60 000 a month saving for its client by instituting a policy of switching off its 500 fan-coil units manually, as the centre lacks the necessary automation in this regard.
“There is a huge demand in Dubai and the rest of the UAE for a total solution that accounts not only for the maintenance of projects, but their sustainability as well,” says Lootah, calling upon developers to involve companies like Imdaad as early as possible. “The only way to be able to offer integrated solutions that allow clients to focus on their core business is to engage with clients right from the start.”
Adherence
At present, such ‘total solutions’ are taken as adherence to a system like LEED. Mario Seneviratne, who is involved with both the Emirates Green Building Council and the World Green Building Council, comments that “LEED has been able to quantify green building and bring some rationality into the debate.” In terms of the LEED rating system, energy now accounts for 32% out of a 100% rating, up from 25%, while the weighting of water efficiency has climbed from 8% to 10%. This clearly means that energy and water use are two of the primary focus areas of increased building efficiency. And this is where the advent of district cooling has placed Dubai in a unique position to lead a green revolution into the future.
At a district cooling summit held last month, DEWA MD and CEO Saeed Al Tayer reiterated the construction industry’s obligation to uphold Decree 27 of 2008. The onus of this responsibility fell largely on the shoulders of the district cooling sector, particularly in terms of water and energy use. “I am happy to note that the district cooling sector supports the drive to bring down a building’s kilowatts per ton in order to reduce its energy consumption,” notes Seneviratne. “I hope the sector will continue to do so, as this is an important consideration of green building.”
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Natural
While natural cooling obviously produces zero kilowatts per ton, some cooling technologies soar as high as 2 kW/t. “What we are now advocating in the green building industry is a hybrid between water-cooled chillers and alternative energy systems like solar power,” says Seneviratne. “In terms of green building, the district cooling sector is aiming for as low an air-conditioning load as possible.
“Interestingly, green building does not necessarily advocate district cooling; this is implied simply by default. What is required is that the capacity of any air-conditioning system is reduced and its efficiency increased concomitantly. The biggest quantum leap in this regard is water-cooled systems. However, this is not new technology, as we were using it in Sri Lanka in 1972.”
Benchmark
Seneviratne points to Dubai International Airport’s 1 000 t water-cooled system from as early as 1975, and Al Wasl Hospital’s 3 000 t water-cooled system setting a benchmark in 1984. “We tend to forget about these early advances. It is as if we progressed from central chilled water systems, which is what green building really needs, straight to district cooling.”
The ideal solution, according to Seneviratne, is harnessing alternative energy systems like solar power together with electrical energy, due to niggling problems with the former in terms of chiller densities and supply water temperature. “An ultimate scenario would be where alternative energy could free us from dependence on the national grid.”
Water
Another critical factor is the cost of water, which is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity. Decree 27, for example, stipulates that district cooling companies must opt for sea water, grey water or treated sewage effluent (TSE) as opposed to desalinated water.
“Water is the second most important consideration in green building after energy. Even factoring in the amount of energy required to generate the water necessary, and in terms of its overall impact in terms of energy and carbon footprint, district cooling is the right way to go,” concludes Seneviratne.
LEED green rating system
Category 1997 to 2008 2009 and beyond
Energy and atmosphere 25% 32%
Water efficiency 8% 10%
Indoor environmental quality 23% 15%
Sustainable sites 18% 22%
Materials and resources 19% 12%
Innovation in design 7% 9%
100% 100%
Source: Mario Seneviratne. IQPC District Cooling
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