Discussing promising future of zero energy buildings in Oman at Gulf Eco Conference 2013

The concept of a zero energy building encompasses zero net energy consumption annually.

Diving into the subject, the Eco House team of the German University of Technology in Oman, will venture into the concept of zero energy building in Oman and the promise it holds for residential purposes through a case study of The First Zero Energy Building for Oman at the Gulf Eco Conference 2013.

The Gulf Eco Conference 2013 will take place from 21st-22nd January 2013 at the Golden Tulip Hotel from 8:00am onwards alongside the Gulf Eco Expo 2013 taking place from 20th-22nd January, 2013 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre.

The basic concept for the GUtech Eco Haus design was initiated by second year students of the Department of Urban Planning and Architectural Design at GUtech from the viewpoint of how the next generation of architects envisioned architecture should be and presented at the Oman Eco House Design competition by The Research Council (TRC) and a model of the design was exhibited to the public at Muscat City Center, the prototype of which the GUtech Eco Haus will be based on.

Although the construction of Eco Haus will be adapted to site location and climatic conditions, the designs for the same may be applied to any building in Oman. A building of such calibre will serve as a future point of reference, learning and research into how we can improve and develop a sustainable living environment for the citizens of the country.

At the Gulf Eco Conference 2013, the GUtech Eco House team will highlight the finer points of what a zero building house will entail with respect to adaptability to climatic conditions, comfort designs, function, energy saving strategies applied to the design, orientation, materials used (including solar thermal panels), ventilation process and effective use of natural sources of energy like solar energy, wind energy, hydro-energy etc as well as the positive benefits of such houses by way of cost effectiveness, achieving energy efficiency, generating electricity from renewable energy sources and bringing about sustainability.

The GUtech Eco Haus will be constructed throughout 2013 and will be operational in 2014. The project leading to this result has received Project Grant Funding from the Research Council of the Sultanate of Oman Grant Agreement.