Firms need incentives to cut cooling costs

Awareness about the environmental impact of keeping homes, offices and shopping malls cool during summer is rising, but there is still room for improvement.

DUBAI // Companies are put off acting to reduce cooling costs by a lack of control over air conditioning in leased buildings, difficulties in obtaining data on energy use and poor financial incentives to reduce consumption, say experts.

In general, cooling systems use the most energy in buildings, although awareness about the environmental impact of keeping homes, offices and malls at a comfortable temperature during summer is rising. However, there is room for improvement.

“There is a lot more potential for more organisations to address energy use and cooling,” said Tamara Withers, programme manager, corporate sustainability at Emirates Wildlife Society – World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF).

The organisation has for several years been working with private companies across the Emirates to encourage them to reduce their energy use.

Through her work with private firms, Ms Withers has found that once companies start to actively measure power consumption, a change in attitude towards cooling usually ensues.

“We see that organisations that begin to monitor energy consumption actually recognise the importance that cooling plays,” she said.

“It is always a delicate balance between comfort and energy use, but there are ways to do it that are easy to implement, cost nothing or very little and can yield significant savings.”

Moving the thermostat by just 2°C will help to reduce the energy used by a cooling system by 16 per cent, she said, while regular maintenance of air conditioners could improve efficiency by as much as 27 per cent.

Sealing windows and door frames and tinting windows in buildings could also make a lot of difference by limiting the amount of heat entering from outside.

Through its Corporate Heroes campaign, EWS-WWF is engaging with firms that pledge to implement at least 10 per cent savings in energy and water usage and record the results. There are seven companies taking part in the scheme, Ms Withers said.

Sharjah’s Liberty Investment Company opted to set thermostats at its offices at 24°C. It also revised AC maintenance schedules and installed timers to ensure systems were switched off after working hours. The results were overall energy savings of 27.2 per cent, Ms Withers said.

The Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi hotel also agreed to switch off the AC in areas that were not in use, while the units and fan coils are regularly maintained.

A survey carried out by The National two years ago in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai measured temperatures ranging from 17.5°C to more than 25°C in public and commercial buildings, with most of the locations being significantly cooler than 24°C – the level recommended for maximum energy efficiency.

Indoor temperatures were taken at 19 establishments, including government offices, a hospital, hotel reception areas, common areas in shopping malls as well as shops and supermarkets.

Sarfraz Dairkee, general manager of corporate development and engineering at MAHY Khoory, a Dubai-based engineering company, who took part in the survey two years ago, said that attitudes were now changing.

“It is changing, but I think the pace is still very, very slow,” he said.

Mr Dairkee said that one way to encourage individuals and businesses to assess their cooling needs would be to charge higher electricity rates at times of peak demand, a measure that could bring overall savings by discouraging non-essential use.

If higher charges were introduced, maintaining very cold temperatures in summer “would cost quite significantly more”, said Mr Dairkee, who admitted that the issue of indoor temperature and comfort was subjective.

“I am sitting in a room at home and the temperature is 27°C, I feel extremely comfortable,” he said.