Taqeef has announced that it has created an Energy Solutions Division to support UAE’s building-retrofit initiatives. The division was developed with the aim of helping existing buildings achieve energy savings, said Luay Ghussein, Head of the Engineering Centre, Taqeef. “We are calculating the possibilities in terms of energy savings,” he said, while speaking to Climate Control Middle East.

According to Taqeef, the new division will support DEWA’s Etihad ESCO programme, which is set to address 30,000 buildings-retrofit projects, and ADWEA’s TARSHEED programme, which is looking to address 3,000 building-retrofit projects. Through those, the two bodies are targeting energy savings of 30%. Taqeef said it also aims to share in-house knowledge and to actively participate in the energy-saving initiatives of other private building end-users.

Ghussein said the UAE is home to a large number of buildings with old systems, which were installed at a time when everyone could buy whatever air conditioning system they preferred. “There was no limitation or regulation on energy consumption,” he explained. This, he said, means that there are many systems that are not consumer-friendly and which require a lot of electricity. As a result, the company is proposing to replace existing systems with VRF technology, promoting it as a possible solution by calculating the savings building owners will achieve through doing so.

The department, said the company, will have a dedicated team conducting comprehensive energy surveys to identify the energy profile of the assets and to propose customised techno-commercial solutions with the aim of providing savings of up to 50% and with pay back periods down to less than three years. Taqeef also said it will provide cooling solutions as “value engineering for new constructions” and adequate energy conservation measures, in line with LEED and Estidama requirements and measurement and verification.

Ghussein added that every customer has different expectations with regard to what could be considered a ‘reasonable payback period’, following investment on upgrades, but that Taqeef is committed to studying the possibility of the system. Ghussein said the first trial of the VRF system has confirmed that there is a lot of savings possible in existing buildings. Retrofitting them, he emphasised, can be a significant factor in helping them slash energy consumption.

Taqeef noted that the company has a number of retrofit case studies and operational experience, and that it aims to increase awareness in the market and utilise technologies like VRF systems to “provide optimised efficiency, greener technology, environmental friendly refrigerant and flexibility in design”.