Municipality to boost use of solar energy

Dubai Municipality has begun using solar energy systems in its operations and projects with an objective to saving up to one megawatt (MW) of electricity. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, said the municipality has introduced solar powered water heaters in residential villas, labour camps, hotels, and a number of schools to boost usage of solar energy in the local environment. Lootah said the municipality's buildings department provides technical guidelines for installing, maintaining and operating solar powered water heaters. He said the solar energy systems being used must be one that is approved by Dubai Central Laboratory, and should be used alongside an electric power heater in case the required solar energy is not available. "Another prerequisite of using the solar powered heaters is that they must at least provide 75 per cent of a building's hot water needs. A special water heating system must also be available in case a swimming pool is present, through which the heater is then required to supply 50 per cent of hot water needs," added Lootah. The municipality has used solar heating in projects such as the Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Sports Complex, where 81.5 per cent of required heating was provided through solar energy.