A team of enterprising students is sending a message on sustainable living by setting up residence in a net-zero house in Dubai.
The eco champions, from universities in Dubai, Palestine and France, helped to design the 100 per cent solar-powered property, known as BaityKool.
It is designed to cope with the hot desert climate, using the power of the sun to cut energy use as part of a mission to save the planet.
Built in 2018, the innovative home won third place in the Solar Decathlon Middle East, a contest that challenges student teams to design and build sustainable homes.
Recently, the home was dismantled and reassembled at its new base in Sustainable City in Dubai and the very students that helped bring the concept to life are now residents.
“We have students like myself living in the house so we can experience what it is like to live in a truly sustainable home,” said Axel Bule, a mechanical engineering student from the University of Bordeaux who helped to design and construct BaityKool.
Living the green dream
“Our mission is to bring forward our recommendations on how to improve the project for future use.
“Myself and my classmate Noemie Jaupart arrived in Dubai on June 11 and we will be living in the house until the end of August before new students arrive to take over the residence.
“During our time here we have to evaluate the comfort of the home and the systems in it, such as the water filtration and the aquaponics, where we grow produce.”
More than one month into his stay, Mr Bule said the list of recommendations so far includes keeping windows, doors and blinds closed as much as possible “to reduce the solar radiation inside the house”, improve thermal insulation and exterior air inlets and create air movement inside the house using portable fans.
He said temperatures inside the property in the daytime can reach about 26ºC, which can be uncomfortable at times.
Pressing need to boost sustainability
The environmental case for more sustainable living is clear.
As the world’s demand for energy increases, homes are one of the biggest culprits when it comes to energy waste.
In the UK, more than 20 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions come from homes.
Old appliances, setting thermostats too high or low and leaving lights on are all habits that contribute to energy waste.
But by coupling design and technology improvements, household emissions can be significantly reduced, saving on bills and reducing harmful effects on the environment.
Smart by design
To achieve net zero, BaityKool was designed to reduce heat gains and cooling demand and was equipped with 8KWp of photovoltaic panels.
The house also has a wastewater recycling system, where water used in showers and washing up is filtered using lumbrifiltration and bio solar purification methods to kill bacteria.
The water is then reused for other uses in the house, such as watering plants.
The house, made from natural clay bricks, is also adaptable to humidity. The communal area is around a central courtyard, modelled on the ancient ways of life that help to generate air flow.
Inside the house, a vertical aquarium aquaponics wall has been created to grow vegetables including tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant and herbs using recycled water.
“In the future features like that could be used to harvest between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of a small family’s food produce,” said Vidya Mohanan, a civil engineering lecturer at Amity University in Dubai, who has been overseeing the project.
“We rotate students living in the house so they can understand the behaviour of it and understand how they need to change their habits to live more sustainably.
“Dubai has a hot and humid climate so to provide comfort in our prototype, while acting efficiently and ecologically, the team developed the Radiative Sky Cooling system, which is the property’s main thermal innovation.”
Baitykool was reassembled in The Sustainable City on a 20 metre by 20 metre plot and its built-up area is 90 square metres.
Salah Habib, chief executive of Diamond Developers in TSC, said it will be hosting the property in the city for three years.
“During this time the innovative technologies used in the infrastructure of BaityKool will be tested and monitored, and the team will be working closely with our engineers and researchers on different research projects on homes within our development,” he said.
“The whole project uses modern technology and generational knowledge to make the most energy efficient dwelling in the arid desert climates.
“The students living on site also host educational tours for visitors and residents in The Sustainable City.”
The project chimes with the country’s broader energy and emissions goals.
Last year, the UAE made a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050, becoming the first Arabian Gulf state to make that pledge. The UAE will also host the UN Cop28 global climate talks next year.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
