DEWA hosts Emirates Green Building Council Seminar at its Sustainable Building

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) recently hosted a workshop titled 'The Impact of Interiors on Air Quality' organised by the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), at DEWA's Sustainable Building in Al Quoz.

Hosting the event supports DEWA's method to share its proficiency and experiences with government and personal organisations in Dubai and the UAE. 33 green-building specialists, who are all members of the EmiratesGBC, participated in the seminar. The Council selected DEWA's Sustainable Building to host the seminar, as a successful example of green buildings, while also providing its members an opportunity to carry out a clinical trip of the green structure's features.

"We are pleased to welcome the delegation from the Emirates Green Building Council to DEWA's Sustainable Building, and share our know-how in the location of sustainability with its members. The building is a design for green structures, and increasing dependence on clean and eco-friendly energy resources.

"We are happy to DEWA for their support in hosting this workshop that looked at improving air quality inside buildings. The initiatives adopted by DEWA in its Sustainable Building are a model for other organisations seeking to promote built environment sustainability," stated Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of Emirates Green Building Council.

"Improving indoor air quality is an essential facet of sustainable buildings affecting the health of residents and productivity of employees in the long-run. Through easy, actionable actions, such as the use of the best items and appropriate ventilation systems, the indoor air quality can be improved contributing to a 'greener' and 'cleaner' building," included Al Abbar.

A group from DEWA gave a presentation on the Sustainable Building to members of EmiratesGBC, which is an independent online forum targeted at saving the environment by promoting green building practices. The DEWA group accompanied individuals on a tour and presented the different technologies utilized in the structure, which is the very first sustainable government structure in the UAE and the largest government building on the planet to get a Platinum Rating for green buildings from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). It achieved 98 out of 110 points according to the rating criteria for the design set by the United States Green Building Council institute. The building uses 66% less energy thanks to the additional insulation in its walls and roofing system and special glass to minimize heat transfer into the building, which helps reduce carbon emissions and safeguard the environment. Highly efficient water-cooled chillers cut down energy usage.

The building uses low powered LED lights and automatic lighting control systems with occupancy sensing units. In addition, eco-friendly energy is readily available from an on-site 660 kilowatt (kW) solar power plant, thereby minimizing the building's carbon footprint even further.

The session, organised by the Emirates Green Building Council at DEWA's Sustainable Building, attended to a number of problems related to indoor air quality. This secures people's health, and the quality of air inside the buildings.

The indoor air quality of DEWA's Sustainable Building is constantly monitored by co2 sensing units with alarms, in all densely-occupied areas like conference room. Outdoor air is treated and supplied throughout the structure to provide better ventilation.

At the end of the go to, the EmiratesGBC delegation applauded DEWA's efforts to improve the sustainable development of the UAE, and thanked DEWA for its hospitality.