Growing concerns about the need to conserve resources and limit the wasteful use of energy in our consumption-driven world, has led to increasing interest in innovative methods that promote optimal use of resources.
Building and home automation systems which drastically bring down high energy bills without affecting overall efficiency are among the increasingly popular developments that have been taking the world by storm recently. According to recent research, the world market for home automation is expected to be worth a stunning $2.8 billion by 2015.
While North America and Europe lead the world in installing home automation systems, ongoing developments in offices and homes regionally has also driven demand for these systems in the Middle East. Additionally, cities the world over are increasingly using smart control systems for public spaces, particularly when it comes to lighting applications.
These and other innovations that promote green energy use are expected to be under the spotlight at Light Middle East 2011, the region’s premier conference and exhibition for lighting design and technology.
“Currently, the relatively affluent societies of the Middle East are one of the highest energy consumers in the world, thanks to the extreme climatic conditions that prevail here for most of the year,” said Ahmed Pauwels, Chief Executive Officer of organiser, Epoc Messe Frankfurt.
“Climate control and cooling systems are the heaviest users of energy regionally. However the drive to attain green building standards and environmentally responsible development that has been put in place by government authorities, is expected to spur demand for home and building automation systems,” he added.
Automation systems work by regulating the flow of energy to lighting and heating systems, appliances and other installations according to when they are needed. Lighting and heating systems can be controlled and switched on and off as required either through a remote control or over the internet. This makes it easy to turn off these systems or appliances when not required and adjust levels to use less energy. The use of these automation systems can bring about considerable savings in the overall energy bills for the consumer.
The drive to implement green building standards is ongoing in the countries of the GCC which can be seen in cities such as Abu Dhabi who recently introduced the Estidama Pearl Rating System to assure sustainability is continually addressed within the city. Governments around the region are spearheading the drive to increase the use of automation and smart technology in their ongoing efforts to conserve energy and promote responsible development.
Light Middle East 2011, which will run from September 12th to 14th, 2011 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, will focus interest on energy-efficient and environmentally friendly lighting solutions and design.