Energy and Low Income Tropical Housing (ELITH)
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. For tropical housing however, in which energy usage is not dominated by winter heating, very little has been done to improve energy-sustainability. Now, the consequences of often-poor housing design are beginning to bite – living standards and populations are rising and yet resources like land, timber and fuels are diminishing and the cost of housing and of energy imports is therefore rising as infrastructure is over-stretched and deforestation continues.
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.
Project activities have included household surveys, field experiments with minimising use of energy/emissions-intensive materials (e.g. cement), sensitisation of developers and civic authorities, training of architects and builders as well as research-skills development of (African) partners. 2-day workshops/conferences have been held in Bangkok (2014, 2016) and Kampala (2016).
Project Outputs To Date
Published Journal and Conference Papers by Year:
2015
Hashemi, A. & Cruickshank, H. (2015). Delivering Sustainable Low-income Housing in Uganda, Challenges and Opportunities, International Conference on Sustainable Development 2015, 2-3 September 2015, Athens, Greece.
Hashemi, A. & Cruickshank, H. (2015). Embodied Energy of Fired Bricks: The Case of Uganda and Tanzania, 14th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies, SET 2015, 25-27 August 2015, Nottingham, UK. ABSTRACT
Hashemi, A., Cruickshank, H. & Cheshmehzangi, A. (2015). Environmental Impacts and Embodied Energy of Construction Methods and Materials in Low-Income Tropical Housing, Sustainability, 7(6), 7866-7883. FULL PAPER
Cheshmehzangi, A., Gálvez, L., Hashemi, A. & Cruickshank, H. (2015). Housing and Energy: Review of Cases in China, ACSEE 2015, Kobe, Japan, June 2015. FULL PAPER
Cheshmehzangi, A. (2015). Towards Urban Energy Management in Developing World: The Case of China’s Urban Energy Demand (in press). ABSTRACT
Cheshmehzangi, A. & Galvez, L. H. (2015). Development of Rural Housing in China: Transitions in Housing Development Patterns, at the Rural Development Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, March 2015. FULL PAPER
Cheshmehzangi, A. (2015). Challenges and Opportunities of Rural Communities in Hong Kong: Comparative Analysis of Sai Kung and Tai O, at the Rural Development Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, March 2015.
Galvez, L. H. & Cheshmehzangi, A. (2015). Urbanisation Patterns for Poor Urban Communities: China and Venezuela, in Sino-Latino Symposium, Ningbo, China, March 2015. FULL PAPER
Cheshmehzangi, A. & Deng, W. (2015). Comparison Study of Key Performative Indicator (KPI) Systems in Chinese Eco-city Development, at Second International Conference on Sustainable Urbanisation, PolyU, Hong Kong, January 2015.
Cheshmehzangi, A. (2015). The Urban and Urbanism: China’s New Urbanization and Approaches towards Comprehensive Development, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, Volume 8, Issue 3-4, pp.1-12. ABSTRACT
2014
Tummu, P., Chirarattananon, S., Rakwamsuk, P., Chaiwiwatworakul, P. & Chuangchote, S. (2014). A Review of Housing Features of Medium and Low Income Earners in Thailand, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE2014), 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. FULL PAPER
Chuangchote, S., Chaiwiwatworakul, P., Chiarakorn, S., Rakkwamsuk, P. & Chirarattananon S. (2014). Reducing Energy Consumption Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emission for Tropical Low-income Housing: Thailand Contribution, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE2014), 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. FULL PAPER
Chirarattananon, S., Chaiwiwatworakul, P. & Rakkwamsuk P. (2014). Energy Consumption and GHG Emission of Thailand’s Residential Sector, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE2014), 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. FULL PAPER
Loyprakhon, H., Chiarakorn, S. & Rakkwamsuk, P. (2014). Greenhouse Gas Emission from Low Income House Construction: Case study in Baan Eua-Arthorn Project in Thailand, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE2014), 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. FULL PAPER
Chiarakorn, S., Rakkwamsuk, P., Aransiri, K., Aneksaen, N. & Parnthong, R. (2014). Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emission from Residential Buildings in Thailand, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE2014), 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand.
Mettanant, V., Chaiwiwatworakul, P. & Rakkwamsuk, P. (2014). An Enhancement of the Daylighting from Side-Window Using Two-section Venetian Blind, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE2014), 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. FULL PAPER
Taengchum, T. & Chirarattananon, S. (2014). Ray Tracing Method for Simulating Daylight Transmission through Tubular Light Pipes with Anidolic Concentrator, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE2014), 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand.
Supachart, W., Taengchum, T., Chirarattananon, S., Rakwamsuk, P. & Chaiwiwatworakul, P. (2014). A Study of Transmission and Illumination of Light through Rectangular Light Pipes with Bends, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE2014), 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. FULL PAPER
Cheshmehzangi, A. & Butters, C. (2014). The Effects of Improved Built Form on Urban Cooling: Review of Passive Strategies and Urban Design Case Studies, at 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE 2014): Science, Technology and Innovation for ASEAN Green Growth, 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. FULL PAPER
Thomas, T. & Cruickshank, H. (2014). Reducing the energy use and the carbon footprint of tropical housing, 5th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environment (SEE 2014): Science, Technology and Innovation for ASEAN Green Growth, 19-21 November 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. FULL PAPER
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