Waseel Tower to be first green office building in Riyadh

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order to implement KNX smart building technology in the 21-storey Waseel Tower. The tower, which is set to open soon, will be the first office building in Riyadh to deploy a complete suite of energy-efficient KNX smart building solutions from ABB.

ABB's KNX technology will allow both tenants and the building's facilities management staff to control all the applications inside their offices, including lighting, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning, as well as room access and shading. The system also detects the occupancy of each office suite using a presence detector and implements an occupancy dependent lighting control system to ensure energy savings.

"The ability to control energy-intensive functions, such as air conditioning and lighting in each room, will reduce power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by more than 40% in Waseel Tower," revealed Ali Nazzal, senior sales and operation manager, Smart Home and Intelligent Building Controls, ABB Saudi Arabia. "This will translate into lower energy bills and greater comfort for Waseel tenants as well as lower operating costs for the tower's owners, thus creating a win-win situation.”

Waseel Tower has a built-up area of more than 63,000 square meters and rises to a height of 163 meters. Situated on King Fahd Road in the center of the capital's financial and commercial districts, the tower is designed to offer the very latest services to tenants, including an international conference center, business center, restaurants and a fitness center.

"When we first thought of the concept for Waseel Tower, our aim was to deploy the most modern building solution to benefit our tenants," said Abdul Majeed Al Sultan, executive manager at the building's owner, the Consolidated Brothers Company. "ABB's smart building technology will enable our tenants to lower their energy costs while also automating many office functions at the touch of a button. Given that energy presents as much as 30% of a building's operating costs, we've taken a decision for our office buildings to be energy-efficient and we hope that other building owners in Riyadh will follow in our footsteps."

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people.