Energy use by Dubai malls way too high
STUDY SHOWS MALLS HERE USE 73% MORE ENERGY THAN THOSE IN US
Study shows shopping centres here use 73% more energy than those in United States |
An average enclosed mall in Dubai consumes 73 per cent more energy per square metre per year than a similar mall in the US, a study by sustainability consultants in Dubai revealed.
The Middle East’s first sustainability shopping mall benchmarking project, endorsed by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), involving seven of the largest and most popular malls in Dubai showed that the average shopping mall used 511 kilowatthour per square metre per year.
Malls in Europe, however, use less than 50 per cent of this at 192kwh per square metre per year. Swedish and Norwegian shopping malls have a usage of 391kwh.
The key findings of the study by Farnek were presented to a Mall Stakeholders Group consisting of facilities management and retail professionals during the RetrofitTech Dubai Summit this week. Reducing demand on energy and water and making malls and existing buildings in the Dubai more efficient through retrofitting is part of the Demand Side Management Strategy of the DSCE by 2030.
Energy audits, studying water consumption and waste generation, are, therefore, important to determine key areas in malls where improvements can be made and reduction in consumption and costs can be implemented using best practices and latest technology.
Sandrine Le Biavant, Farnek director of Consultancy, said 15 Dubai malls were contacted to participate in the study but only seven were able to give ready data. The study looked at 20152016 data of the mall’s common, leasable, and gross floor area: data from electricity and cooling meters, and chiller efficiency.
Data management
“It’s important to start the data management in the malls and have an idea whether they are saving or not. In some of the malls that participated in the study, they already have energy managers in place,” Le Biavant told Gulf News.
Le Biavant said one of the seven malls outperformed the rest because it already had a green building certification. Malls that perform well keep saving while some under-performing malls, or those above average benchmark, do not report any savings.
In terms of energy, the study said mall operators can save at least five per cent of their energy consumption — this is equivalent to providing electricity to 10 offices running with 150 people every year.
For water, achieving 8 per cent savings is possible. A mall that saves an average of 5 per cent of its water consumption can save water equivalent to eight Olympic-size swimming pools, according to the report.
All malls were rated good for waste segregation compared to other types of facilities such as residential areas, offices, and hotels.
Le Biavant said the results of the study were presented to the seven participating malls and many of them said they will incorporate the recommendations in their strategies to make their malls more energy and water efficient.