Poor or non-existent insulation in old UAE buildings is one of the biggest carbon footprint culprits - in the UAE where air conditioning is a necessity, good thermal insulation is crucial to prevent heat from seeping in through the exterior building envelope to the inside living spaces.
This is according to Dr Andreas Kiesewetter of Europe’s largest privately owned paint and insulation manufacturer, Caparol. Dr Kiesewetter touched down in Dubai recently to take part in an Emirates Green Building Council conference.
“The easiest and cheapest way to save energy is through buildings. With proper insulation, a building’s energy consumption and related expenditure can be cut in half,” says the Engineer who heads up Caparol’s Building Envelope Systems Division.
In the Middle East where buildings need to be continuously cooled, use of high quality insulation can significantly impact energy consumption by keeping cool air sealed within buildings and sealing warm air out.
“It requires a larger amount of energy to cool a building than to heat it due to the fact that the efficiency of air conditioners is less than central heating systems, besides the nature of heat transfer inside living spaces from objects and appliance that emit heat.
He continues, “There is no point in saving energy on one front then use the savings in a wasteful manner on the other. It only makes sense to produce green energy if it is used sustainably. Good insulation allows us to use energy sustainably.”
Caparol is currently among the UAE’s leading ETICS (External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems) suppliers. The company is the developer and manufacturer behind patented Dalmatiner technology, which combines black and white expanded polystyrene beads. The black beads are good insulators and white beads are flexible - together they create the perfect mix for insulation board.
Caparol ETICS now incorporates a carbon fibre base coat that reinforces, making insulation systems 20 times more impact resistant and thereby more durable.
“To insulate well it is not necessary to have thick walls. New technology uses products that are thin and light weight. Today’s ETICS is longer lasting, needs less labour to install and can easily be painted over. Yes, there is an initial cost to installing good insulations, but in the long run there are enormous savings to be made.
Dr Kiesewetter praised the UAE government’s new green building codes, which require all new buildings be properly insulated.
“It is now important to ensure that developers choose the right insulation and install it effectively to maximize energy savings”, he added.
Caparol recently became a member of the Emirates Green Building Council, which is working towards making the UAE a global leader in reducing ecological footprint of the built environment by 2015.
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