A comprehensive assessment of Dubai's green building rating system: Al Sa'fat

Highlights: • Dubai's Green Building Rating System, Al Sa'fat, is comprehensively assessed. • Comparative, energy modeling, and macro-economic analyses are conducted. • Observed energy savings range from 22% for hotels up to 63% to villas. • Macro-economic savings can reach USD 100 Billion over the next 25 years. • More differentiation is recommended between the current certification levels. In line with global trends towards energy efficiency, Dubai's Government introduced Al Sa'fat Green Building Rating System (GBRS) to reduce the energy intensity of its building sector. This study presents the first comprehensive evaluation of Al Sa'fat with emphasis on building energy performance, shedding light on its effectiveness, limitations, and techno-economic potential. Following a comparison of Al Sa'fat to international and regional GBRSs, a detailed energy-efficiency analysis is conducted using building performance simulations applied to local residential and commercial building archetypes. The benefits of adopting Al Sa'fat at the urban scale are then estimated using a macro techno-economic analysis. Results confirm the potential of Al Sa'fat in curbing current consumption patterns with energy savings ranging from 22% for hotel buildings to 63% for single-family villas. The anticipated monetary savings from adopting Al Sa'fat in Dubai are equally significant and could exceed USD 100 Billion over the next 25 years. Finally, recommendations are made to overcome critical limitations of Al Sa'fat, including the minimal emphasis on water efficiency measures and limited differentiation between its current certification levels (i.e., bronze, silver, gold, and platinum), which could discourage building owners and developers from pursuing high certification levels.