UAE national family to move into the property in April 2017

Masdar to monitor building's energy, water and waste performance

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 19, 2017 

Masdar City’s Eco-Villa, a pilot project incorporating water and energy-saving technologies, has been completed and a UAE national family will soon live in the prototype sustainable dwelling, it was announced today at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017.

The Eco-Villa was launched in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Dhiyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Excellency Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy; His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar; His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Head of the Energy Council and Member of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Council; and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company.

The 405 square-metre Eco-Villa is the first villa to achieve a 4 Pearl rating according to the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council’s Estidama Pearl Building Rating System. It will use around 72 per cent less energy and 35 per cent less water than a typical comparably sized villa in Abu Dhabi, displacing an estimated 63 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

The cost of construction is similar to that of a conventional home of the same size; its energy and water efficiency will also reduce running costs substantially. The four-bedroom property is expected to consume just 97 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per square metre.  

Fully equipped with 87 rooftop solar panels, the prototype is capable of supplying as much as 40,000 kWh of electricity to the national grid. A suite of passive energy and water-saving design features further reduce its impact on the environment.

“People expect a sustainable design option to be more expensive, but our Eco-Villa concept challenges this misconception,” said Yousef Baselaib, Executive Director of Sustainable Real Estate at Masdar.  

“The Eco-Villa stays true to Masdar City’s principles of sustainable urban development in that it is cost-efficient, environmentally sensitive and culturally appropriate in both its design and function. Because of its energy and water-efficient design, residents of the Eco-Villa will receive significantly reduced power and water bills.”

Once a family moves into the property, Masdar’s sustainability team will monitor the villa’s energy, water and waste management performance. The data collected will enable the design of the Eco-Villa to be further refined, supporting the eventual commercialisation of the building concept.

“Our Eco-Villa prototype shows that sustainable design can be implemented according to the specific environmental, social and economic demands of the Gulf region,” added Masdar’s Baselaib.

The Eco-Villa is located in Masdar City, one of the world’s most sustainable urban developments.

Today, Masdar City is home to around 300 full-time students of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. Around 2,000 apartments are either under construction or in design through Masdar or third-party investors. This will bring the residential population at Masdar City to more than 3,500 people over the next three years.

-Ends-

About Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
The annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), hosted by Masdar, is an Abu Dhabi government initiative that aims to address the interconnected challenges of clean energy, water and sustainable development. Anchored by the World Future Energy Summit, ADSW features a series of complementary conferences, exhibitions and events, including the general assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency, the Award Ceremony of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, the International Water Summit, EcoWASTE and The Festival@Masdar City. ADSW is the largest gathering on sustainability in the Middle East, attracting global policy makers, industry thought-leaders and clean-tech innovators among 38,000 attendees representing around 175 countries in 2017.

About Masdar
Masdar is Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company which works to advance the development, commercialisation and deployment of clean energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between today’s fossil fuel economy and the energy economy of the future. Wholly owned by the Mubadala Development Company PJSC, the strategic investment company of the Government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the United Arab Emirates’ long-term vision for the future of energy and water.

About Masdar City
One of the world’s most sustainable urban developments, Masdar City in Abu Dhabi is enabling innovation in sustainability and clean technologies by integrating education, research & development, investment and business opportunity. It is an innovation ecosystem: a thriving community, a business and investment free zone, and a hub for knowledge creation and R&D realising pilot projects in the commercialisation of clean technologies. The nucleus of Masdar City is the Masdar Institute of Science & Technology (MI), the region’s first graduate-level university researching real-world technologies and solutions at the energy and water nexus. Through initiatives such as Masdar City, Masdar is helping to realise a template – or ‘green-print’ – for sustainable urban development in the UAE and potentially other countries.

Contacts:
E-mail: press@masdar.ae
Tel enquiries in Arabic: +971 2 653 3333
Tel enquiries in English: +971 2 653 6014

For more information please visit: http://www.masdar.ae  and connect: www.facebook.com/masdar.ae and www.twitter.com/masdar

© Press Release 2017