Effective tools toward electrical energy conservation in Saudi Arabia

The electrical energy consumption in Saudi Arabia has increased sharply in the past few years, and modern energy efficient technologies are desperately needed for the national energy policy. Such technologies are investigated in this paper and categorised in three main groups; electrical equipment, energy conservation in buildings, i.e, about 50% reduction in the annual energy consumption can be achieved by adding thermal insulation to the building envelope, and energy conservation supporting tools, i.e. public awareness and information. It has been found that a considerable saving in the investments of constructing new power stations could be attained. Consequently, the energy conservation policy will be seriously improved in the forthcoming years. It is estimated that 25% of the new energy generating capacity will be reduced accordingly. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.