Browsing by Author "Abu-Hijleh, Bassam"

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    Energy and economic impact of the new Dubai municipality green building regulations and potential upgrades of the regulations
    (Elsevier, 2019) Abu-Hijleh, Bassam; Jaheen, Noha
    Dubai government has shown great interest in integrating sustainable principles into the different phases of construction. In 2011, the Green Buildings Regulations and Specification (GBRS) were issued to form a market shift toward a Green Economy for Sustainable Development. This research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the different building regulations in effect in Dubai, as well as assessing the benefits of raising the bar to the PassivHaus (PH) standards. The thermal impact of the building envelope on the energy performance and cooling load reduction are the core focus of this study. Hence, a case study villa in Jumeirah Park was selected to be analyzed, modified and simulated using the IESVE energy modeling software. The impact of each building envelope element was assessed individually based on current Dubai regulations, as well as the PH specifications. Cooling load savings of 5.9%, 8.67%, 1.55%, 11% and 20% were achieved when using the new Dubai GBRS glazing, roof, floor, green roof specifications and the best combination of all three elements, respectively. Upgrading the design to the PH specifications resulted in a 48% reduction in the cooling load. The addition of Monocrystalline and Thin Film PV systems reduced the electricity consumption from the grid by 73% and 57%, respectively. Enhancing HVAC efficiency was also identified as a potential approach to save on the electricity used to provide the required cooling load, around 30% reduction when increasing the HVAC′ EER from the minimum current value of 8.53–12.2 (at T1 conditions). The economic analysis showed that the only viable solutions, based on simple payback period analysis, are upgrades to the floor (case 17 and SPP of 6.5 years) and windows (case 24 and SPP of 7 years). The results of this study could help in future development of Dubai's GBRS based on the technical, as well as the economic, viability of upgrading different building elements. .
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    Feasibility analysis of implementing an On Bill Financing program to promote energy-efficiency in Dubai-UAE
    (Elsevier, 2022) Zulfiquar Kamal, Hasan; Abu-Hijleh, Bassam
    In this paper, we examine the factors that may influence the implementation of an OnBill Financing (OBF) program for promoting energy efficiency in Dubai. The data was collected using a semi-structured expert on expert interview method. Interviews were conducted with institutional stakeholders involved in OBF program implementation. A forcefield diagram was created from the interview responses to understand better the iden tified conducive and deterrent forces that must be considered when implementing an OBF program locally. The main finding of the qualitative review suggests that an OBF program could be implemented locally in Dubai. The findings also show that implementation is not without challenges. A tailored OBF program that addresses the repayment model and covered equipment/projects under the program can mitigate these hurdles.
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    Increasing efficiency of atriums in hot, arid zones
    (Elsevier, 2019) Vethanayagam, Vijayantha; Abu-Hijleh, Bassam
    This research evaluated the efficiency of Atrium in hot, arid regions and investi gated the parameters influencing the total energy consumption of an existing shopping mall in Dubai, UAE using the IES-VE energy modeling software. The parameters tested included: Roof profile, Roof ventilation, Number of floors, glazing’s Light to Solar Gain ratio (LSG) and the Thermal insulation of the building envelope. The impact of using light sensors was also studied. The light sensors and the roof’s thermal insulation resulted in the highest reduction of the atrium’s energy, 8.5% and 7.5%, respectively. Increasing the number of floors reduced the energy consumption by 5% per unit area. The roof profile, external wall’s thermal insula tion and height of the atrium resulted in similar energy reductions of 3.5% each. The external glazing’s LSG reduced the energy consumption by 3.25% while the roof ventilation resulted in a reduction of 1.3%. The internal glazing’s LSG did not affect the atrium’s total energy consump tion. An optimal combination of the parameters studies resulted in an energy reduction of about 20%. Thus, this paper presents the optimal design configuration to reduce the energy consumption of an atrium located in a hot and arid climate. ª 2019 Higher Education Press Limited Company. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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    Potential for retrofitting a federal building in the UAE to net zero electricity building (nZEB)
    (Elsevier, 2019) Alkhateeb, Enas; Abu-Hijleh, Bassam
    Demand Side Management of the building sector has attracted great attention in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, the challenge lies in the existing buildings that form the majority of the built environment. Therefore, retrofitting the existing stock has become a priority and many initiatives have emerged to speed up the pace within the retrofit market. This paper aims to assess the potential of retrofitting an existing federal office building to a net zero electricity building through a holistic retrofit approach. Several passive and active measures are implemented in order to achieve this goal including the integration of different grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems. The commercially available Integrated Energy Solution – Virtual Reality (IES-VE) building energy simulation software is used to evaluate the impact of all the implemented strategies on reducing electricity consumption in order to highlight the optimal scenario prior to introducing the PV systems. In this particular study, the imple mentation of active measures has proven to be more effective in reducing energy demand than passive measures. The passive strategies reduced electricity demand by 14.7%, whilst active measures reduced electricity demand by 63.2%. A PV system was able to cover the reduced energy demand resulting in a net Zero Electricity Building (nZEB).
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    Review of museums' indoor environment conditions studies and guidelines and their impact on the museums' artifacts and energy consumption
    (Elsevier, 2018) Sharif-Askari, Hawra; Abu-Hijleh, Bassam
    Museums are the main link between the past, the present and the future. The presence of ancient historical artifacts is the main factor differentiating museums' environment from the environments of other types of buildings. This review paper, is focused on the indoor environment quality of the exhibition halls in the museums. The information presented is based on three main aspects. Gathering the required indoor environmental parameters related to the indoor exhibition spaces in the museums then discuss in terms of temperature, relative humidity, lighting, and indoor air quality (air pollutants and ventilations); this is done while considering the museum's artifacts, visitors and personnel. The second aspect focuses on the different researches carried out within the museum indoor environment focusing on temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), lighting (artificial lighting and daylight) as well as the studies conducted within the subject of indoor environment quality of museums (IEQ). The third aspect focuses on studies and guidelines designed for upgrading existing museums into more sustainable projects by focusing on energy efficiency part of museums. This review paper provides a rich guide of all the needed information in terms of museums indoor environments parameters for the museum officials to implement strategies and enhance the current conditions of the museums. It also highlights some of the remaining issues that researchers can look at in the future.
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    The effect of building height diversity on outdoor microclimate conditions in hot climate. A case study of Dubai-UAE
    (Elsevier, 2020) Shareef, Sundus; Abu-Hijleh, Bassam
    Urban geometry and buildings' morphology affect the thermal behaviour of the spatial en vironment. Urban compactness is a key variable that affects thermal performance in hot climates. Previous studies focused on traditional methods of increasing the shading effect, e.g. buildings' height/canyon width (H/W) ratio. This research looks at alternative methods to increase the shading effect by changing the block's orientation and buildings' height diversity within the urban block. ENVI-Met 4.1 software is used to predict the outdoor thermal performance of a base case urban configuration then used to evaluate several proposed urban configurations and compare their thermal performance to the base case configuration. Orientation was the most influential factor in the outdoor air. For the base case, a reduction of 1.8 °C degree was noted between the N-S and NE-SW orientations. An urban configuration with significant variation in the buildings' height resulted in more reduction in outdoor air temperature compared to a config uration with gradual variation in the buildings' heights. Orienting the significant variation in buildings' heights along the short axis of the urban block resulted in a reduction of the air temperature in NW-SE orientation by 1.1 °C.
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    The impact of global renewable energy demand on economic growth – evidence from GCC countries
    (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2023) Lahrech, Abdelmounaim; Abu-Hijleh, Bassam
    Purpose – This study aims to examine the relationship between global renewable energy consumption and economic growth in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from 2001 to 2019. Design/methodology/approach – This paper used a panel regression model to study the six GCC countries over the period from 2001 to 2019. Findings – As expected, the findings indicated a significant and negative relationship between global renewable energy consumption and GCC economic growth. Additionally, there was a positive and significant relationship between GCC economic growth and the control variables, specifically labor, capital, CO2 emissions and non-renewable energy production. Practical implications – The results are of great importance to policymakers in GCC oil-exporting countries, as expected growth in renewable energy consumption will lower their economic growth in the future. Hence, they should first diversify their economy and lower their dependence on oil. Second, these countries can invest in solar energy through international joint ventures, especially with North African countries in close proximity to Europe, to become leaders in solar energy production. Originality/value – How global energy consumption is related to GCC countries’ economic growth remains unclear, not only in GCC countries but also in many oil-exporting countries around the world, so future studies are needed. Furthermore, GCC governments will be able to create appropriate policies for the green economy and achieve their objectives if they have a comprehensive understanding of how global growth in renewable energy demand affects GCC economies. Keywords Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Global renewable energy, Non-renewable energy, Economic growth Paper type Research pape