Abu Dhabi – Building a sustainable villa may cost more, but the extra investment can be recovered within two years while the cost savings last a lifetime, development experts said in the capital today (Tuesday).
Already, more than 10,000 villas have been built following Abu Dhabi emirate’s Estidama (sustainability) standards introduced by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC). But the majority of these are public sector or investor developments.
“We would like to encourage private owners and Emirati residents to construct their homes under Estidama guidelines. The key for them is simply to choose the right materials,” Yasmeen Al Rashidi, planning manager for Estidama implementation and execution at the UPC, told Gulf News.
She was speaking on the sidelines of Cityscape Abu Dhabi, where the UPC has set up a comparative display of conventional and Estidama-compliant building materials.
It is currently mandatory for public sector and commercial structures to meet specified ratings on the five-point Estidama system, which was launched in 2010. Public sector buildings must achieve a two-pearl rating, while commercial facilities must achieve a lower one-pearl rating. However, the requirements are still voluntary for Emirati private villa owners.
“We are still testing the market to see if this segment can also meet the Estidama standards. Fortunately, we have received an overwhelming response from private owners at this Cityscape,” Yasmeen said.
The UPC stand included models of villas built for Emirati residents within the Al Ghareba area in Al Ain. Yasmeen explained that the use of slightly thicker walls that have additional insulation reduces the penetration of heat by 70 to 85 per cent. The inclusion of efficient water fixtures enables water savings of 35 per cent. The reduction in heat penetration, the use of a single efficient chiller on the roof, windows that let in less heat and other such factors lead to 36 per cent savings in energy consumption.
“Recent announcements by the Abu Dhabi Government stated that Dh17.5 billion has been reserved to cover utility subsidies. The implementation of Estidama in construction will support a reduction in the size of the subsidies required because of the tangible water and electricity savings,” said Falah Al Ahbabi, general manager at UPC.
“By reducing water and energy consumption in this manner, not only do we protect our natural resources, but a greater proportion of government spending can be used for social infrastructure projects such as schools and hospitals,” he added.
