Mosques in the Middle East have the potential to cut their energy consumption by a significant amount through the use of “smart” thermostats, said Honeywell, announcing the results of a pilot programme in Sharjah, UAE.

Honeywell’s VisionPRO 8000 thermostat for mosques, designed with an auto-azan feature that uses location coordinates to calculate prayer times and automatically adjust temperatures, was piloted at the Al Tawba Mosque, Sharjah, over a period of six months between August 2015 and January 2016.

The results demonstrated year-over-year energy savings of 37 per cent, equating to 778 kilowatts in reduced energy consumption. The findings have been endorsed by the Sharjah government’s Department of Islamic Affairs, which oversees mosques in the emirate, a statement said.

Due to harsh climate conditions and subsidies on power and fuel, Middle Eastern states count amongst the world’s largest consumers of electricity per capita. Honeywell’s VisionPRO 8000 thermostat for mosques, which was launched in August 2015, was designed to supports energy conservation initiatives as well as sustainable development ambitions across the region.

Mosques often have large open spaces and with prayers taking place five times a day, the ability to provide a comfortable, yet energy efficient environment has distinct energy saving implications. With tens of thousands of mosques across the Middle East, Honeywell’s technology has the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption while maintaining optimal comfort for worshippers during prayer times.

“In line with our commitment to making the region’s buildings smarter, greener, safer and more productive, we’re very pleased to see energy savings being achieved as a result of our trial in the UAE,” said Norm Gilsdorf, president for Honeywell’s Middle East, Russia and Central Asia regions.

“The mosque thermostat is a clear result of our ongoing commitment to provide our customers in the Middle East with energy-efficient and locally relevant solutions. With this unique product, mosques in the region can be made more comfortable when required, while also providing an intuitive and sustainable solution for mosque caretakers during off-peak times.”

Dilip Sinha, general manager for Honeywell Environmental and Energy Solutions in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META), said: “This product is an example of how Honeywell works to develop and adapt technology to serve the needs of its customers. In this case we designed the auto-azan feature to enhance existing Honeywell programmable thermostat technology to meet the cultural needs of the region and to help support the Middle East’s sustainable development plans.”

Following the encouraging results of the Sharjah pilot programme, Honeywell is conducting other pilot studies at various mosques in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with more being planned in other Middle Eastern countries. The results of those studies will be announced in due course.

Honeywell’s VisionPRO 8000 for mosques features:
•    Effortless programming to automatically schedule optimal comfort during prayer times according to location and time of year.
•    “Holiday Mode” with override switch for special occasions such as Ramadan, Eid and other religious holidays.
•    “Adaptive Intelligent Recovery” – VisionPRO 8000 thermostat memorizes how long it takes the system to reach the desired temperature. It turns on the cooling system in advance to ensure the temperature reaches the optimal level at the desired time.
•    Easy to install and programme using the touch-screen interface.
•    Can be used in 2 heat / 2 cool DX units.
•    Keypad lockout to prevent unauthorized changes.
•    SD card slot for easy software upgrades.
•    Dual power supply allows flexibility and ease in installation for new or retrofit mosques. – TradeArabia News Service