Strong Demand for ‘Green' Buildings in MENA Region Over Next Five Years

Hunter Douglas' Light & Energy Tool Uses 3D Models to Present Optimal Visual Comfort, Energy Savings, and Climate Control in Buildings

Dubai, UAE: Recently-released software that predicts how a building's sun control can provide owners with significant energy savings is expected to see strong demand across the MENA region.

Rental and value premiums are projected to increase for sustainable buildings across the Middle East and North Africa, with a major focus on saving energy costs as electricity prices rise, according to a recent report from global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

“It is our view that a more significant rental and value premium for sustainable buildings in the Middle East over the next five years,” the Jones Lang LaSalle report said. “In the office sector, the preference of global occupiers for long-term green leases in more sustainable buildings will drive this premium, while demonstrable savings in energy costs (and therefore service charges) will be a major driver in both the commercial and residential sectors.”

Green offices also provide benefits for workers, as access to daylight and operable windows can increase productivity by 18 percent, and workers with views have 25 percent better functioning memory, according to a recent report from the World Green Buildings Council.

Providing an innovative solution for the MENA region is the Light & Energy Tool by Hunter Douglas. The free software provides architects with a 3D model to show how different forms of sun control affect shadows in a room during different climates and seasons.

Sander Teunissen, Product Manager, New Products, Hunter Douglas, said: “The Light & Energy Tool is a practical instrument for architects who want to show what a building's interior will look like with different types of sun control. It also shows how much energy can be saved on air conditioning, as exterior sun control can block out heat from the sun, cutting back on the need for indoor cooling.”

Hunter Douglas expects to see strong demand in the UAE for the Light & Energy Tool.

Of the Middle East's 1,200 LEED-certified projects, the UAE hosts 65 percent, followed by Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to the Jones Lang LaSalle. In Grade A office buildings in the UAE, electricity and cooling account for 40 percent of total operating costs, the report said.

Investing two percent of a building's cost in green design equals a 20 percent lifescycle savings, and the UAE government's goal is to reduce its carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2015, according to the report.

On the Light & Energy Tool, users can easily enter information such as room dimensions, building envelope material, window size, glass types, and building position. Four different scenarios are produced based on different kinds of sun control, calculating comfort, energy capacity, and indoor temperatures.

The Light & Energy Tool also highlights poor choices, such as overly transparent or light-weight roller blinds that let in too much light and hamper working comfortably on a computer.

Data produced by the Light & Energy Tool for a given building are presented in a report in PDF format. The Hunter Douglas Light & Energy Tool can be downloaded free of charge at http://tools.hde.nl/energytool2/tool.html.
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