Residents of the artificial Jumeirah Island villas in Dubai face cooling bills of up to $1,600 a month – almost double last year’s price, according to The National. So British national and long-time Dubai resident Tony Caden decided to install an array of 38 solar panels and a giant 20 tonne chiller. Now completely independent of Nakheel’s district cooling service, the head of an oil and gas industry service company says that he is ecstatic to have re-gained control over the quality of his own life.
The right to solarize
The National reports that Nakheel – the developers behind such irresponsible projects as The World artificial islands and Palm Jumeirah – declined to comment about Caden’s decision to reject their costly cooling service, but property lawyers from a local firm told the paper that he is well within his rights.
With help from Solar Sun 4 Life, the certified UK solar company that installed the first Jumeirah Island solar array, Caden was very careful to respect local planning laws even though this limited the amount of energy he could derive from the sun.
Instead of using terra-cotta panels that would have generated all 90 kilowatts of the home’s energy requirement, which are not permitted by Nakheel’s restrictions, he had to settle for a system that provides about 70 kilowatts, and the remaining power is derived from Dubai Electricity and Water (DEWA).
The chiller absorbs a great deal of the home’s power, but on cooler days, the rooftop array generates enough energy to run the home’s lights, cooker, fridge and other electronics.
Caden expects a return on his $48,000 investment within the next five years given the price of Nakheel’s district cooling.
And if that seems hefty, bear in mind that some of the Jumeirah Island villas are nearly 15,000 square feet – far larger than the average home – such that they require a pile of energy to stay cool. But the sun shines long and hard in Dubai and us mere mortals are no match for its infinite power.
:: The National
More on Jumeirah and Solar in Dubai:
More Signs of Dubai’s Foul Ecology at Jumeirah Islands
Dubai to Invest $3 Billion in 1,000 MW Solar Farm
Dubai Might Buy Solar off Roofs
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
i ‘m very surprised by the huge expenses these houses need for air-conditioning! the tens of houses(150-350 sq.m.) i’ve designed in israel’s desert region(including mine),hardly spend 5-10% of this money ($1600)!!! before you turn to solar energy for electricity you should upgrade the energy efficiency of the buildings,in order to decrease the electricity demands using passive solar bio-climatic strategies!
hi,
this is a great initiative not only to save cost but use renewaeable energy. it is environment friendly and a long term solution. i am sure if we replace the use of lighting up the common areas of the building, it will have a long term psotive benefit.
is there anyone who can help with a solution, please contact me, i am on the board of one of the buildings and would like to suggest the same if it is viable for our building.