Questions worth a straight answer.
Most of what is written about cooling costs in this city is written to sell something. These are the answers we give people on site, with the arithmetic left in. A new one every week.
8 min read
Get your villa ready for summer
Three quarters of a villa's cooling savings land April to September. Free checks, what to book before April, and the measures not worth buying for the summer bill.
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7 min read
Window film vs blinds in Dubai
Curtains, internal blinds, external shutters or solar control film: where each stops the sun, what film saves on a Dubai villa, and when blinds you already have make film a weak buy.
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7 min read
District cooling bills explained
How a district cooling bill is built: capacity charge per RT, consumption per RT·h, why half the bill ignores what you use, and why contracted capacity is the first line to check.
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7 min read
Does insulating paint work?
Why a coat of paint cannot carry a real R-value, what reflective coatings actually do on a Dubai roof, and where they pay: savings by roof insulation level, walls included.
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7 min read
How is a savings guarantee checked?
What a real energy savings guarantee measures: the surveyed figure, twelve months before and after on the DEWA meter, tariff changes priced out, exclusions listed, shortfall refunded.
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8 min read
Single or double glazing?
How to tell single from double glazing in thirty seconds, what the second pane does in Dubai heat, and what window film is worth on each type of villa glass.
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7 min read
How big an AC does a villa need?
Why floor-area rules of thumb fail for Dubai villas, what a room-by-room load calculation actually looks at, and what to ask a contractor before you buy a bigger unit.
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8 min read
What a Villa Costs to Own in Dubai
What actually goes into a Dubai villa's running costs each year: the service charges we cannot quote honestly, and the DEWA electricity line we can, size by size.
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8 min read
Why your DEWA bill suddenly doubled
Eight causes of a DEWA bill that jumps, in the order worth checking them — estimated readings, water leaks, thermostats, timers, ageing AC — and how to tell a fault from the house itself.
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8 min read
What snagging misses in a villa
A snagging report lists defects, not running costs. Seven checks — glass, roof, AC, seals, thermostats, bills — that decide what a Dubai villa costs to cool.
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6 min read
Will my community allow window film?
What community handbooks actually say about window film in Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills, Springs, Meadows and Damac Hills — and which films get queried.
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7 min read
What is a normal DEWA bill for a Dubai villa?
Typical monthly electricity bills by villa size, how much the summer peak adds, and how to tell whether yours is high for the house you live in.
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The longer guides
Three pieces we keep up to date rather than publish and forget. They carry the numbers everything else on the site refers back to.
How to cut a DEWA bill on a Dubai villa
Every measure we offer, ranked by payback, with AED figures.
Before you buy a bigger air conditioner
Four free checks that tell you whether the unit or the building is losing.
You just bought a villa. The first ninety days.
What to do in which order after handover, and what to leave alone.
Get the number for your villa.
A free survey takes about forty-five minutes. You get the exact saving, the exact price and the payment schedule — usually within forty-eight hours.