Relevant government agencies continue to work on implementing thermal insulation measures in all buildings across the Kingdom, particularly residential buildings, given their significant impact on reducing household electricity consumption resulting from the continuous use of air conditioners during the summer, as well as heating systems during the winter.
Specialists are working within a coordinated framework through a national energy efficiency program being developed by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center. The Center is intensifying its efforts in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization, and the Saudi Electricity Company, to implement mandatory thermal insulation for residential buildings in 23 major cities across the Kingdom as a first phase, paving the way for its implementation in all cities at a later stage.
These cities account for approximately 90% of building electricity consumption and include Riyadh, Al-Kharj, Makkah, Jeddah, Taif, Madinah, Yanbu, Dhahran, Al-Khobar, Dammam, Al-Qatif, Al-Ahsa, Hafar Al-Batin, Buraydah, Unaizah, Hail, Sakaka, Arar, Tabuk, Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Al-Baha).
For its part, the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization, in cooperation with the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center, has worked to issue and update standard specifications for thermal insulation products, and to adopt new specifications to be applied as mandatory technical regulations for all domestic and imported thermal insulation products.