Occupants’ Behavior and Energy Usage
in Emirati’s Individual Houses in Al Ain:
Exploratory Investigation
Amna Al Ameri and Kheira Tabet Aoul
Abstract
Existing buildings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) account for over 65% of the total energy consumption, with
the residential sector leading the way with around 40%.
Further, the energy demand trend is expected to keep
rising, confirming its threefold increase from 2000 to
2012. Factors such as population growth, economic
development, the physical building characteristics, climate differentials, and occupants’ behavior have resulted
in high-electricity demand, ranking the UAE as one of the
highest energy consumptions per capita in the world. As a
result, the UAE government has taken far-reaching
actions to curb energy consumption. As such, building
regulations and codes emerged as well as energy-saving
media campaigns. While actions and studies are flourishing in terms of building energy efficiency, very little is
known about occupants’ behavior and energy usage in
their home, despite the vast body of literature acknowledging that occupants’ behavior is a driving factor in
determining building energy consumption. Particularly in
the UAE, there is evidence that the local Emirati
population carries higher home energy usage than the
expatriates. This paper reports on an exploratory qualitative study aimed to investigate first, nationals’ behavioral patterns and second, its consequent impact on
energy consumption in their detached houses (villas) in
the city of Al Ain (Abu Dhabi Emirate). The methodology is based on semi-structured interviews, addressing
occupants’ daily energy usage patterns, cultural aspects
and their awareness level of energy consumption in their
homes. Housing data and electricity bills have also been
considered. An exploratory pilot study with a small
number of units was carried out in the month of June.
This paper presents preliminary results of this investigation, expected to contribute to a better understanding of
Emirati energy consumption patterns in relation to their
culture, way of life, and potentially established appropriate venues to address energy use reduction in the
residential sector of the UAE.
Keywords
Occupants’ behavior Á Household energy usage Á
Villa Á United Arab Emirates
1 Introduction
Since the discovery of oil and gas in the mid-twentieth
Century, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced rapid
economic development and massive urbanization, resulting
in an excessive consumption of natural resources. It resulted
in overall better quality of life, making the UAE a popular
migrant destination, leading to an extraordinary population
increase, ranging from an estimated half a million in 1975 to
more than 9 million inhabitants in 2018 (United Arab
Emirates Population 2018). These factors have resulted in
high-energy consumption per capita, ranking the country
as one of the highest per capita ecological footprints
in the world (https://www.foxnews.com/story/report-unitedarab-emirates-has-highest-per-capita-ecological-footprint).
In 2010, the UAE ranked sixth in the world in terms
of carbon dioxide emissions and seventh in electricity
consumption per capita (KWh/person) (https://www.index
mundi.com/map/?v=81000). In fact, the electricity demand
has increased 6-fold from 2001 to 2018 to reach around 110
billion KWh (https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=
81&c=tc&l=en) (Fig. 1). The UAE residents consume a
larger amount of energy than commercial and residential
sectors, with almost 225% more than the energy consumed
by European counterparts (Khawaja 2012).
A. A. Ameri (&) Á K. T. Aoul
Architectural Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates
University, Al Ain, UAE
e-mail: 200610470@uaeu.ac.ae
K. T. Aoul
e-mail: kheira.anissa@uaeu.ac.ae
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. Mateev and J. Nightingale (eds.), Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility—Volume 1,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32922-8_12
125
in Emirati’s Individual Houses in Al Ain:
Exploratory Investigation
Amna Al Ameri and Kheira Tabet Aoul
Abstract
Existing buildings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) account for over 65% of the total energy consumption, with
the residential sector leading the way with around 40%.
Further, the energy demand trend is expected to keep
rising, confirming its threefold increase from 2000 to
2012. Factors such as population growth, economic
development, the physical building characteristics, climate differentials, and occupants’ behavior have resulted
in high-electricity demand, ranking the UAE as one of the
highest energy consumptions per capita in the world. As a
result, the UAE government has taken far-reaching
actions to curb energy consumption. As such, building
regulations and codes emerged as well as energy-saving
media campaigns. While actions and studies are flourishing in terms of building energy efficiency, very little is
known about occupants’ behavior and energy usage in
their home, despite the vast body of literature acknowledging that occupants’ behavior is a driving factor in
determining building energy consumption. Particularly in
the UAE, there is evidence that the local Emirati
population carries higher home energy usage than the
expatriates. This paper reports on an exploratory qualitative study aimed to investigate first, nationals’ behavioral patterns and second, its consequent impact on
energy consumption in their detached houses (villas) in
the city of Al Ain (Abu Dhabi Emirate). The methodology is based on semi-structured interviews, addressing
occupants’ daily energy usage patterns, cultural aspects
and their awareness level of energy consumption in their
homes. Housing data and electricity bills have also been
considered. An exploratory pilot study with a small
number of units was carried out in the month of June.
This paper presents preliminary results of this investigation, expected to contribute to a better understanding of
Emirati energy consumption patterns in relation to their
culture, way of life, and potentially established appropriate venues to address energy use reduction in the
residential sector of the UAE.
Keywords
Occupants’ behavior Á Household energy usage Á
Villa Á United Arab Emirates
1 Introduction
Since the discovery of oil and gas in the mid-twentieth
Century, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced rapid
economic development and massive urbanization, resulting
in an excessive consumption of natural resources. It resulted
in overall better quality of life, making the UAE a popular
migrant destination, leading to an extraordinary population
increase, ranging from an estimated half a million in 1975 to
more than 9 million inhabitants in 2018 (United Arab
Emirates Population 2018). These factors have resulted in
high-energy consumption per capita, ranking the country
as one of the highest per capita ecological footprints
in the world (https://www.foxnews.com/story/report-unitedarab-emirates-has-highest-per-capita-ecological-footprint).
In 2010, the UAE ranked sixth in the world in terms
of carbon dioxide emissions and seventh in electricity
consumption per capita (KWh/person) (https://www.index
mundi.com/map/?v=81000). In fact, the electricity demand
has increased 6-fold from 2001 to 2018 to reach around 110
billion KWh (https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=
81&c=tc&l=en) (Fig. 1). The UAE residents consume a
larger amount of energy than commercial and residential
sectors, with almost 225% more than the energy consumed
by European counterparts (Khawaja 2012).
A. A. Ameri (&) Á K. T. Aoul
Architectural Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates
University, Al Ain, UAE
e-mail: 200610470@uaeu.ac.ae
K. T. Aoul
e-mail: kheira.anissa@uaeu.ac.ae
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. Mateev and J. Nightingale (eds.), Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility—Volume 1,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32922-8_12
125