Category Archives: Green Building

Are Green Roofs a Viable Option for the Middle East?

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Urban green roofs have long been promoted as an easy and effective strategy for beautifying the built environment and increasing investment opportunity. The building roof is very important because it has a direct impact on thermal comfort and energy conservation in and around buildings. Urban green roofs can help to address the lack of green space in many urban areas. Urban green roofs provides the city with open spaces that helps reduce urban heat island effect and provides the human population on the site with a connection to the outdoors. However, we must differentiate between two types of urban green … Continue reading →

Sustainability In Tourism: How To Choose Energy-Efficient Hotel Lighting

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With sustainability becoming today’s main concern, the tourism industry must learn to prioritize sustainable practices, including the thoughtful use of lighting solutions. Often overlooked, hotel lighting is a subtle source of unmanaged energy consumption and carbon emissions. As eco-consciousness increasingly influences travelers’ decision-making, balancing aesthetics, functionality, and consumption has never been more critical. This article explores the contribution power-saving lighting has to sustainability in the tourism sector. By carefully selecting lighting solutions, hotels can reduce their carbon footprint and enhance their overall sustainability profile. The article also highlights the multifaceted benefits of resource-efficient alternatives. You’ll find practical pointers for choosing … Continue reading →

Progress of Green Building Sector in Qatar

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There has been rapid progress in green building sector in Qatar with the emergence of many world-class sustainable constructions in recent years. With the fifth-highest number of LEED-registered and certified buildings outside the U.S., Qatar has valuable experience and inputs to offer on the system’s local relevancy and application. Various countries in the Middle East have been accredited with regards to the LEED system. Of these buildings, 65 per cent (802) are located in the UAE. Qatar is ranked second on the list, with 173 green buildings, followed by Saudi Arabia (145), Lebanon (25) and Egypt (22). Qatar’s Green Building Rating … Continue reading →

Things You Should Know About Wood Wool Cement Board

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Wood Wool Cement Board (WWCB) is a versatile building material made from wood wool and cement where each fiber is coated with a thin film of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) that, when cured, partly petrifies the wood. In that way the fiber will last indefinitely as long as the cement film is not damaged. Environmentally speaking, cement has a negative CO2 signature and therefore both the wood and cement, when decomposed, are harmless to nature and as a result all homogeneous Wood wood cement board products have green labels in Europe. It combines the advantages of both wood and concrete … Continue reading →

The Benefits of Green Roofs in Urban Centers: Perspectives

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Green roofs has many positive aspects, ranging from physical health to mental well-being to recreation to reduction in energy bills. Research says that just having a view of trees and bushes from the house window contributes to overall well-being and work performance. Another study says that spending 120 minutes a week in nature contributes to well-being while also slowing down the progression of serious diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. But not all city dwellers have the time or prioritize spending time in nature. The initial cost investment along with the annual maintenance costs of green roofs can discourage … Continue reading →

Going Green to Save Money: The ROI of Green Homes

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For many reasons, green homes are more and more popular, yet eco-friendliness can be a complex topic in the housing market. Of course, the reasons are simple enough: green homes have a smaller footprint through sustainable materials and energy efficiency, so are better for our damaged environment; going green lowers energy costs over time; and going green can increase a home’s market value, bringing Return on Investment to sellers. Yet achieving the ROI of an eco-friendly home can be complicated, because it depends on a number of factors, including location, the age of the home, and how soon the owner … Continue reading →

Trends in Sustainable Housing to Lookout For

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There has been large-scale proliferation in construction of buildings worldwide due to population growth, economic development, urbanization and migration. There has been a rapid migration of the world’s population from rural areas to cities or semi-urban areas. In fact, this trend is expected to continue and cities within the developed as well as developing nations are expected to grow in terms of population. As a result all forms of construction activities are expected to become more intense than ever in the years to come. Usually the development of urban areas suffers from weak process of planning and control which lead … Continue reading →

Build Your Tiny Home From Recycled Materials

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People are turning to tiny living in order to save money. Living simply is about getting back to the earth, leaving a smaller footprint on the planet, and also, for many people, about being frugal. Why create a mountain of debt when you can build a home from recycled materials that can be found for free? Building your tiny home from recycled materials is not as difficult as you may think. In fact, when you learn what to look for, it’s actually not hard to find the materials and put your imagination to work. Image Source: https://tinylivinglife.com/2019/05/how-much-do-tiny-houses-cost-are-they-worth-the-investment/ What Materials Do … Continue reading →

4 Effective Tips For An Eco-friendly Home Renovation

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Renovating your home sounds like a great choice for when you need to make your home more functional, comfortable, spacious, and efficient. What is even greater is taking the step to renovating your house with a green viewpoint. This kind of perspective can help your house become more sustainable and also reduce the negative impact on the environment. In this article, we will discuss a few useful tips for a green home renovation: 1. Maximize Your House’s Efficiency First of all, if you need your house design to be more sustainable, then you must start increasing its efficiency. You can … Continue reading →

Sustainability and Energy Efficiency: Key to Affordable Housing

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To be affordable, houses must be designed and built embracing strong principles of sustainability. Ensuring houses are energy-efficient may increase upfront construction costs a bit, including the costs of superior tools and equipment and professional architectural and mechanical engineers services, but the long-term benefits and future cost-efficiency are what matters. Non-believers think that it is an oxymoron to combine the idea of sustainability and affordability. But, the fact is that when homeowners are able to spend less on their energy bills they can budget better for repairs and maintenance, which intrinsically improves the durability and longevity of their houses. In … Continue reading →

Energy-efficient Building Envelopes in Oman – A Study

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In Oman, extreme hot weather conditions and thermally inefficient building envelopes have led to high cooling loads in residential units. Residential buildings serve a smaller number of occupants per unit, when compared to other sectors in the building industry. Also, mechanical, electrical and other energy-intensive equipment are relatively lesser in quantity and complexity. Yet, as per statistics, the residential sector is the largest consumer of electricity in the industry. In Oman, the residential sector consumes most of the electricity produced, with over 70 % of the load contributed by cooling using air conditioners (Zurigat et al., 2003). A major reason … Continue reading →

8 Top Trends Driving the Modern HVAC Industry

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Like other industrial sectors, the HVAC industry is going through a rapid transformation. The development of modern HVAC systems are driven by technological advancements, human-centric design, and sustainable living. In this post, excellencehvac.com will discuss the emerging trends driving the development of modern HVAC systems, and how they are impacting homeowners as well as businesses. 1. The Home Automation Revolution Modern HVAC systems have emerged as the main component of an automated home. Nowadays, heating and cooling systems can decode user preferences and daily regimen to automatically set optimum room temperature for resident’s comfort. Home assistant integrations, such as Amazon … Continue reading →