Life Cycle Energy Analysis of a House in UAE

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about 70% of total energy produced is consumed by building sector, and this compares with the global average of about 40%. Energy usage in buildings has often been discussed from the standpoint of operational energy, mainly used for purposes of heating or cooling. In recent times the discussion on building energy consumption has also raised the need for investigating the energy embodied in the construction of buildings and manufacturing of their constituent materials and components. This reorientation of energy consciousness in the construction industry is of critical importance in efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of the built environment. In United Arab Emirates, significant efforts have been made in recent times to reduce the operational energy consumption; however, embodied energy consumption is nearly unaddressed. The challenge this paper addresses is the need to review not only the operational (OPE) energy of a building but also its initial (IEE) and recurrent embodied energy (REE). The aim of this paper, therefore, is to calculate the energy consumption of a residential building over its life in UAE, and to identify the significance of embodied energy. A case study residential building in the UAE was selected as a representative example of government-built homes for UAE citizens for the purpose of this investigation. Using an input-output hybrid approach to calculate the energy required at the time of its construction and REE value calculated over a period of 50 years, the study compares the IEE, OPE and REE for the case study to extrapolate comparative data. Results from this study suggest the importance of including the initial and recurrent embodied energy of buildings in building life cycle energy analyses, which in this case represented 18% and 17% of the life cycle energy of the building. The anticipated merit of this study to building professionals is an appreciation and holistic consideration of the life cycle embodied energy of building design towards promoting a reduction in total building energy consumption.