Demand for energy-efficient appliances on the rise

Increased industrial growth and urbanization has seen energy consumption in the UAE quadruple in the last 20 years.

With the UAE ranked as the highest consumer of energy per capita in the world, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai announced in 2007, a decree stating all new projects are required to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards.

"The LEED certification scheme establishes a common standard of measurement for energy efficient, environmentally friendly buildings,"

said Ajai Kumar Dayal, General Manager - Retail and Marketing, Easa Saleh Al Gurg, distributors for high-end appliances including Siemens, Electrolux, Fisher and Paykel, Zanussi, and Vestfrost.

"The new laws state that all new building projects in the UAE must be LEED certified, and to obtain certification, developers are required to gain a certain number of points so energy efficiency obviously plays a part," added Dayal.

"We have seen a substantial increase in interest of our environmentally-friendly products, and at least 25% of our orders are based on these qualities. We can see that this is going to be an increasingly important factor in our sales, as awareness among customers grows," concluded Dayal.

A report issued by the World Energy Council stated that the energy consumption rate in GCC countries is estimated at 10% in the UAE, 7% in KSA, and between 4% and 6% in other GCC countries.

The high levels are a result of accelerated economic growth in the real estate and industrial sectors at the forefront of this boom. These sectors are supported by government for the key role they play in diversifying the economy away from oil revenues.