Abstract
Residential buildings are vital in the energy scenario of Saudi Arabia as they account for 52% of the total electricity consumption. The Eastern Province, due to its harsh weather conditions, is one of the most challenging areas in Saudi Arabia in terms of residential energy consumption. The province is vital also because of its large land area, accounting for almost one third of the entire country. This article investigates some of the important factors related to the residential energy consumption i.e. weather conditions, types of dwellings, building envelops, air-conditioning (A/C) systems and domestic appliances especially cooking ovens. The work is based upon an analysis of the actual monthly electricity consumption for 115 dwellings in Dhahran for the year 2012. The investigated buildings include 62 apartments, 28 villas, and 25 traditional houses. The annual average electricity consumption for the surveyed dwellings was found to be 176.5 kWh/m², a value higher than international energy-efficiency benchmarks. It is found that the use of mini-split A/C systems, thermal insulation and double-glazed windows can help reduce the electricity consumption by over 30%.
Highlights
The building industry has a key role to play in achieving sustainable development in any country [1]
The types of dwelling studied in the survey are apartments, traditional houses and villas representing over 90% of the dwellings in the Eastern Province [29]
A traditional house in Saudi Arabia is a dwelling that has at least one external wall is shared with a neighbour and does not have a fence (i.e. 100% of the land is built)
Summary
The building industry has a key role to play in achieving sustainable development in any country [1]. In the wake of such a crucial role of buildings in its energy and environmental scenario, the EU through its 20-20-20 Directive has set 20-20-20 targets. These targets aim to achieve by 2020 a 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 levels; raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20% and a 20% improvement in the EU's energy efficiency [6]. The annual environmental impact of the global building sector includes energy use (42%), atmospheric emissions (40%), raw materials use (30%), solid waste (25%), water use (25%), water effluents (20%), land use (12%), and other emissions (13%) [8]. In order to develop robust strategies to stimulate the take up of energy-efficient buildings, it is crucial to have a thorough understanding of current practices and future trends in the building sector
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