Energy experts said there is lot of energy wastage in buildings in Saudi Arabia and recommended that commercial offices, hospitals, malls, government infrastructures, schools and universities, and other enclosed areas implement strategies that could reduce energy costs up to 40 percent. Due to the continuously rising energy costs and the impending depletion of fossil energy like oil and gas, the application of long-term energy saving strategies, like the installation of integrated room automation system, results in savings that are worth millions of riyals, according to the experts. “The benefits of having strategies to save energy in buildings – in rooms – is not only saving energy consumption and money, but also ensuring flexibility of use, comfort and productivity,” said Jan Spelsberg, CEO of Spega, the leading German manufacturer of integrated room automation systems. Spelsberg is one of the experts who addressed the Green Energy Saving Solutions seminar organized by Nesma Trading Company. The other speakers were Ghassan Abla, managing director of Building Management Systems FZCO, and Nebojsa Sremac, systems engineering manager of Building Management Systems FZCO. Spelsberg said it is now timely for Saudi Arabia to implement green building regulations, similar to that of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive which is now enforced in Europe. “It is also worthy that sustainable building certification is issued, citing the ecological, economical, social and technical quality of buildings and infrastructures,” he said. With the introduction of green building regulations in Europe, the energy requirements of all important technical equipment used for heating, cooling, ventilating and lighting commercial buildings have now become transparent to the users there. The same transparency will be observed among users in the Kingdom once the green building regulations is implemented in the Kingdom. Consumers and beneficiaries of energy savings automation systems should also be educated on the proper use of energy, like electricity. It has been observed that although the Saudi Electricity Company conduct electricity-saving drive, this is only strictly emphasized during summer months when electricity consumption is on peak. Improving the energy performance of buildings in the Kingdom by implementing, for example, integrated room automation systems, should also be complemented with consumer education program, the experts said. Other speakers who addressed the Green Building Energy Savings Solutions seminars were Dr. Marwan Gholmieh, CEO of Nesma Trading, and George Fayad, technical systems division manager of Nesma Trading.
