Retrofitting residential buildings in hot and arid climates

Retrofitting old residential buildings with energy conservation measures leads to significant savings in energy consumption. Usually, energy savings are coupled with financial savings, however, this is difficult to achieve in countries where energy prices are highly subsidized. This paper addresses the situation in such countries and attempts to justify the cost of implementing effective retrofitting schemes. The analysis revealed that substantial savings could be achieved at the national level even if the implementation cost was fully borne by the government. The estimated annual consumption savings that can be achieved by retrofitting 42,403 old residential buildings residing in Kuwait were 3.25 million MW h. In 10 years, the government will earn $577 million (179 million KD) from energy savings revenue. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.