Exergy and Economic Analysis of Energy Consumption in the Residential Sector of the Qassim Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is considered one of the countries with the highest consumption of electric energy per capita. Moreover, during the period of 2007–2017, the consumption rate increased from 6.9 MWh to 9.6 MWh. On the other hand, the share of residential electricity consumption in the KSA constitutes the biggest portion of the total electric consumption, which was about 48% in 2017. The objectives of this work were to analyze the exergy and assess the economic and environmental impacts of energy consumption in the residential sector of the Qassim region to determine potential areas for energy rationalization. The consumption patterns of 100 surveyed dwellings were analyzed to establish energy consumption indicators and conduct exergy analysis. The performances of different consuming domestic items were also examined, and energy efficiency measures are proposed. The average yearly consumption per dwelling was determined, and the total energy and exergy efficiencies are 145% and 11.38%, respectively. The average shares of lighting, domestic appliances, water heaters, and air conditioning from the total yearly energy consumption were determined.