If you want to go solar or buy water savers and more energy-efficient products, a newly launched online platform — that features these products and ‘easy on the budget’ with the help of bank financing — might be just what you need.

 

The Dubai Economic Department, in partnership with the Dubai Green Economy Partnership (Dubai DEP), on Tuesday launched the Green Deal Dubai (www.greendeal.ae), an e-commerce platform to serve as a one-stop shop for eco-friendly technologies such as solar panel kits, solar water heaters, water savers, and the like. The platform targets households to make transitioning to a greener home easy.

 

The portal will directly link suppliers with consumers on the green technologies available in the market. Using a crowdsourcing model, the Green Deal makes use of the power of collective bargaining that brings down prices of products.

 

Since budget is a major consideration for many residents in terms of switching to green technologies, Green Deal has tied up with Emirates Islamic to provide financing schemes to encourage users to buy green products.

 

Currently, two financing schemes are available using the bank’s credit card and personal financing at low interest rates, Faisal Aqil, Deputy CEO of Emirates Islamic, said.

 

Currently, four products are available through the platform: Air Conditioning Radiant System, rooftop solar panel kits, Cleanbot, Aircosaver, and water efficiency pack.

 

Due to the crowdsourcing scheme, some products are cheaper by 15 to 20 per cent compared to the market price, while solar photovoltaic kits are 35 per cent cheaper at Green Deal compared with the market price.