OREANDA-NEWS. November 22, 2013. The Energy Efficiency exhibition at the iThra Knowledge Program in Dhahran has proven to be one of the most popular tents at this year’s event.

Created in collaboration with the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center, the exhibition prompts visitors to think about where current energy consumption trends are leading and what can be done to curb future demand. The exhibit’s methodology encourages youths and adults to answer questions concerning energy efficiency and conservation through an interactive series of activities, using hands-on education to persuade visitors to employ energy conservation measures.

One way the exhibit did this was through distribution of cards designed to raise awareness of energy efficiency of common electrical appliances. The cards included basic information and data concerning various products, device types, makes, models, brands and testing to show opportunities for ways to reduce consumption of electricity.

Among the cards was one highlight that washing machines are one of the biggest consumers of electricity among household appliances. The machines represent a whopping 53 percent of electricity consumption Kingdomwide.

Another pointed to the importance of insulation, noting that by employing simple tools as double glazed windows to maintain a normal temperature in the house, individuals could reduce energy use by 33 percent.

For Matteo Terrevazzi, an energy market analyst in the Global Economic and Energy Analysis Department, the Energy Efficiency tent was the most interesting aspect of the program.

“The most interesting for me, being an energy market analyst, was the Energy Efficiency tent, which was extremely well done, with a lot of technology and a lot of capital employed in this activity,” he said.

“I was impressed that, for Saudi Arabia especially, there are a lot of messages that are extremely interesting … Even if there are some things there that you already know, you can use the multimedia interactive technology. I mean, I really enjoyed the quiz, to understand if I was good and remembered the energy efficiency facts correctly from before.”

Wael I. Al-Mulla, administrator of the Energy Efficiency gallery, noted that the exhibition as a whole offers an awareness message that is meaningful for everyone in the Kingdom as the high level of energy consumption and growth represents one of the biggest challenges facing the country.

He added that perhaps the most important aspect of the exhibit, though, was the way it required visitors to rationalize energy conservation and consider effective ways to apply and practice it on a daily basis.