Mosque turns green with efficiency

Al Tawba Mosque in Sharjah

Of the more than 5,000 mosques across the UAE, one in Sharjah has emerged from a six-month pilot project with impressive results.

In August 2015, Al Tawba Mosque was fitted with five energy saving devices designed especially for mosques for six months. By January 2016, there had been a cumulative energy saving of 37 per cent; a 778 kilowatt reduction in energy consumption. The highest savings were naturally in the hotter months.

These findings were announced on Monday by Honeywell - makers of the smart thermostat (called VisionPRO® 8000) that's been developed in the UAE over the last three years with local inputs.

Sharjah's Department of Islamic Affairs, which oversees mosques in the emirate - and had assigned an engineer to oversee the pilot project - has endorsed these findings, as has the Imam of Al Tawba. The results are a testament to how mosques in the Middle East can cut their energy consumption by one third just by installing 'smart thermostats.'

Mosque-goers often complain of it being too hot when they worship - a consequence of the AC not being turned on well in time. The smart device learns how long it takes for the mosque to cool down and adjusts its timing everyday (as prayer timings are different everyday and change with the seasons). So if today it takes ten minutes to cool down an entire mosque, for tomorrow's prayers, the device will 'remember' and work towards achieving the set temperature 10 minutes before prayer time when worshippers walk in. An 'auto azan' feature uses location coordinates to calculate prayer times and automatically adjusts temperatures.


Return on investment

At $200 (Dh734) a pop, not all mosque authorities will be keen to spend the money on green cooling, especially when you need a lot more than one device per mosque. But according to Dilip Sinha, general manager for Honeywell Environmental and Energy Solutions in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META), the return on investment is met in three months after installation of these devices, "after that," he says, "it's pure saving."

Have other emirates and other mosque authorities shown an interest in running similar pilot projects? Yes, according to Mohammed Eltaweil, product marketing manager. Eltaweil said they've kept the device simple to install, with no new wiring needed, just a basic going through of the manual, and a dual power supply. Older mosques can even use the thermostat operated with batteries.

More pilot projects are underway in Dubai. Later in the year there might even be smart adaptations for malls - always either over chilled or under - and schools that could well do with green and efficient temperature control.
nivriti@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE

Nivriti Butalia

nivriti@khaleejtimes.com