Energy and Low Income Tropical Housing

这一研究方案旨在确定并开始推广减少热带国家低收入住房能耗的方法。自1990年左右以来，“节能”、“可持续”或“生态”住房的话题在欧洲和富裕国家引起了极大的兴趣。这导致了新的设计、材料、出版物和法规。然而，对于热带住宅来说，其能源使用并不是由冬季供暖主导的，几乎没有采取什么措施来使它们更具能源可持续性。然而，现在，其经常糟糕的设计的后果开始产生影响。生活水平和人口在提高，而土地、木材和燃料等资源却在减少。因此，住房和能源进口的成本正在上升，基础设施过度扩张，森林砍伐仍在继续，大气二氧化碳水平继续危险地上升。从最近的欧洲经验、热带乡土建筑和建筑物理学入手，将对许多设计进行评估，对入围的设计进行更详细的分析，并选择少数设计进行更详细的测试和传播/演示。能源用于建造房屋，并再次用于占用房屋。因此，该计划被分成几个独立的研究项目，分别研究好的设计如何减少“使用”能源和减少“体现”能源。能源节约反过来又产生成本节约(穷人特别感兴趣)和温室气体节约(全球受益)。减少能源使用的研究将具体审查改善(室内)热舒适性和应对偶尔出现的高温危机的低成本方法。全球变暖和快速城市化都可能加剧经济过热。四个热带伙伴之一(泰国)的湿润热带气候特别严重。这项计划将集中研究良好的建筑设计如何实现“被动”冷却或减少“主动”冷却所需的能源。在研究体现能源时，该计划将确定通过改变建筑材料的生产方法来降低其能源强度的空间。这在非洲尤其需要，因为有两个合作伙伴位于那里。因此，在那里，该计划将以试点培训手工制造商生产建筑材料的能耗较低的方法为结束。当地建筑商还将接受更好的组装方法和在材料使用方面更加节约的培训。因此，例如，可以通过改变建筑、创新制砖以及使用联锁而不是水泥来组装墙体，从而降低能源密集度。手工培训的目标是大幅降低低成本住房的成本和体现的能源。这反过来可以改善人们获得住房的机会，增加建筑业的就业。我们将探索其他三个提高住房能效的渠道，即更新有时适用于廉价住房的建筑法规，更新建筑教育，以及提高住房部门政策制定者对可持续发展的理解。项目伙伴关系包括中等繁荣的东亚国家的两个机构、较贫穷的东非国家的两个机构和英国的两个机构，这些机构长期参与国际发展的技术。五个机构是大学，一个是建筑研究机构。积极的合作伙伴拥有住房建设、建筑、城市规划、工程和政策制定方面的技能。

This research programme is intended to identify, and then begin to propagate, methods of reducing the energy consumption of low-income housing in tropical countries. The topic of 'energy efficient', 'sustainable' or 'eco' housing has attracted huge interest in Europe and rich countries generally since about 1990. This has lead to new designs, materials, publications and regulations. However for tropical housing, whose energy usage is not dominated by winter heating, very little has been done to make them more energy-sustainable. Now however the consequences of its often-poor design are beginning to bite. Living standards and populations are rising yet resources like land, timber and fuels are shrinking. The cost of housing and of energy imports is therefore rising, infrastructure is over-stretched, deforestation continues, the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide continues to rise dangerously.Starting with recent European experience, tropical vernacular architecture and building physics, many designs will be assessed, short-listed ones analysed in greater detail and a few selected for more detailed testing and dissemination/demonstration.Energy is used in creating houses and again in occupying them. The programme is therefore divided into separate studies of how good design can reduce 'use' energy and reduce 'embodied' energy. Energy savings in turn generate cost savings (of particular interest to the poor) and greenhouse gas savings (of global benefit).Included within the study of reducing use energy will be a specific examination of low-cost ways of improving (indoor) thermal comfort and combating occasional heat crises. Global warming and rapid urbanization are both likely to exacerbate overheating. One of the four tropical partners (Thailand) has a particularly severe humid-tropical climate. The programme will concentrate on how good building design can achieve 'passive' cooling or reduce the energy needed for 'active' cooling.Within the study of embodied energy, the programme will identify scope for reducing the energy intensity of building materials by changes in their method of production. This is particularly needed in Africa, where two of the partners are located. So there the programme will conclude with piloting the training of artisanal manufacturers in less energy-intensive methods of producing building materials. Local builders will also be trained in better methods of their assembly and of being more sparing in their use of materials. Thus for example walling can be made less energy-intensive both by changes in architecture, by innovations in brick-making and by use of interlocking rather than cement to assemble them. The artisanal training has the objective of substantially reducing the cost and the embodied energy in low-cost housing. This in turn can improve access to housing and increase employment in building.Three other channels for improving energy efficiency in housing will be explored, namely the updating of Building Codes which are sometimes applicable to cheap housing, the updating of architectural education and improving the 'sustainability' understanding of policy makers in the housing sector.The project partnership comprises two institutions in moderately prosperous East Asian countries, two in much poorer East African countries and two in UK with long-term involvement in technologies for international development. Five institutions are universities, one is a building research agency. The active partners have skills in housing construction, architecture, town planning, engineering and policy formulation.