A high-performance demonstration home built by Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has earned Platinum certification from the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) rating system.

The home was built to serve Sabic’s Home of Innovation growth initiative.

It is the first single-family home in the Middle East region to earn Leed-Platinum, the highest possible rating under the USGBC’s Leed for Homes International Pilot program. The 800-sq-m home also is designed and built to generate as much electricity as it consumes (a so-called “net-zero” energy balance) in a 12-month period.

“This is a good achievement for Sabic and Saudi Arabia,” said Awadh Al Maker, Sabic executive vice president, Technology and Innovation. “It is a significant, tangible proof point of the collaboration we will facilitate and enable through our Home of Innovation initiative.”

The Demonstration Home is part of a three-building, 7,900-sq-m complex that also includes a two-building Collaboration Centre that recently earned Leed-Gold certification from the USGBC’s Leed for New Construction rating system.

Like the Demonstration Home, the centre's buildings feature an engaging and informative visitor experience, but also include office and meeting spaces for Home of Innovation staff and guests. Seven of Sabic’s facilities have now achieved Leed certification since 2012.

“This facility will help promote more sustainable home building around the region,” said Mohammad Abdullah Al Aboudi, operations manager, Home of Innovation. “We hope it inspires and leads the construction industry to incorporate these innovative yet proven technologies, materials, products and systems toward improving building performance.”

The home and centre showcase a full complement of the latest commercially available materials, products and integrated systems to yield at least 40 per cent reductions in overall energy and potable water use compared to other homes in Saudi Arabia.

The buildings also feature environmentally responsible building materials and techniques, including paints and finishes with low or no volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions; controlled ventilation, filtration and pollutant mitigation measures for clean indoor air; and durable, low-maintenance interior and exterior finishes.

“These accomplishments prove that we can achieve the highest levels of building performance in one of the harshest climates in the world,” said Abdullah Al Refaie, program director, Home of Innovation, Sabic. “Such an accomplishment can only be achieved through collaboration among all members of the project team.”

Other examples of the facility’s energy and environmental features include: an insulated and air-sealed thermal structure to reduce overall energy needs; a 28 kW rooftop solar array on the home that enables a net-zero energy balance; energy-efficient space cooling design and systems; long-lasting, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, controls and sensors and energy-efficient solar hot water, among others.

Home of Innovation combines marketing, innovation and technology to create demand and promote downstream industry development. It offers a platform to showcase global innovation while identifying and developing new market opportunities and solutions. – TradeArabia News Service