Housing Design Practice and Energy Efficiency Consideration in Nigeria (P1)

Written by Administrator | 24 January 2012

The growing concern on the reduction of energy consumption in the residential sector of national economies rests on some parameters and issues that deserve to be resolved. Fundamental among these issues are the architectural concern, the appliances/services efficiency issue; and most recently the human behavioural dimension. This study focuses on the architectural issue with the objective of determining the level of energy efficiency consideration in housing design practice by the housing stakeholders in Nigeria, with a notion that arousing the professional cultures of the stakeholders, particularly architects and building service engineers in the direction of efficiency can help improve energy efficiency design practice. This is in recognition of the fact that more than one third of the world’s energy is used in buildings; and a majority in houses and apartments (Wulfinghoff, 2003) [1].

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Housing Design Practice and Energy Efficiency Consideration in Nigeria

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Madinah: “The Watered Land, Rich in Date Palms”

Written by Spahic | 24 January 2012

The first phase of the Prophet Muhammad’s mission took place in Makkah, his birthplace. It lasted about 13 years and was not as fruitful as coveted. Having almost given up his hopes of making any further progress in Makkah, under the existing circumstances and by applying the current preaching methods, the Prophet (pbuh) started to mull over the prospect of shifting to another locality which will be more responsive and conducive than Makkah and, as such, will serve as a base for his arduous tasks as a prophet. He gave his thoughts to more than one urban settlement. However, it could be deduced that some heavenly elements presided over determining the place of the Hijrah (migration), as once disclosed by the Prophet (pbuh) to his companions before the Hijrah had even been planned. He told them: “I have been shown the place of your emigration: I saw a well watered land, rich in date palms, between two tracts of black stones.”[1]

Towards Reviving Islamic Architecture

Written by Spahic | 24 January 2012

Islamic architecture is not concerned about the form of buildings only. Islamic architecture signifiesa process where all the phases and aspects are equally important. It is almost impossible to identify a phase or an aspect in that process and consider it more important than the others. The Islamic architecture process starts with having a proper understanding and vision which leads to making a right intention. It continues with the planning, designing and building stages, and ends with attaining the net results and how people make use of and benefit from them. Islamic architecture is a fine blend of all these factors which are interwoven with the treads of the belief system, principles, teachings and values of Islam.

A SURVEY Of ENERGY-EFFICIENCY PRACTICES IN NIGERIAN HOUSEHOLDS

Written by Administrator | 10 January 2012

The global economies of the developed and developing worlds have acknowledged the need for energy conservation and are beginning to put in place strategies for its realization because of circumstances surrounding energy sustainability in the built environment. Many researchers, including M. Hegger et al. and D. Wulfinghoff, have noted that ‘‘no other sector of the economy uses more materials and energy, produces more waste and contributes less to material recycling than the building industry’’ with almost ‘‘50% of the total invested capital in developed nations tied up in the housing sector; and approximately 70% in existing buildings.’’1 However, the energy demand in Nigeria—as in most of the developing world—is on the rise as households increase their appliances and equipment use with improvements in their economic and social status. At the same time, many of these countries have constrained national power supplies that cannot meet demand and suffer from frequent outages. This phenomenon, in addition to the global ‘‘energy scarcity,’’ has led to a greater awareness of the need to make fundamental changes in the patterns of consumption. Furthermore, the question of inefficient housing and the associated human problems that are likely to be responsible for this inefficiency has given rise to the push to study individual houses and the disposition of their occupants. This study therefore focuses on the human dimension of energy use, which can provide a significant boost in the more efficient use of all energy resources if well understood and if behavior patterns can be shaped accordingly, as noted by K. Ehrhardt-Martinez. The role of human social behavior and its potential impact on energy conservation often has been overlooked in energy analysis in spite of the fact that it can significantly amplify or reduce the effects of technology-based efficiency improvements. This viewpoint is buttressed by the statement of L. Schipper, as cited in L. Lutzenhiser, that ‘‘those of us who call ourselves energy analysts have made a mistake. . . we have analyzed energy. We should have analyzed human behavior.’’  This underpins the adoption of the behavioral approach as the economy or technology-based models have offered limited contributions to policy makers and politicians on how to initiate enduring developments toward energy conservation.

Attachments:

A SURVEY Of ENERGY-EFFICIENCY PRACTICES IN NIGERIAN HOUSEHOLDS

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