Browsing by Author "Niwamara, T"

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Embodied energy of low income rural housing in Uganda
(PLEA, 2016) Niwamara, T; Olweny, Mark R. O.; Ndibwami, Alex
Embodied energy is an important consideration in discussions related to the sustainability of the construction sector. As part of this dialogue, this paper presents a developing country context of how these can values of energy for construction. The study investigated different housing sizes and typologies. Data collected from various embodied energy databases was the basis of an initial investigation, followed by serve to enable a transition in energy related discourse. In East Africa, the energy related discourse is largely concerned with the reduction in the use of wood fuel, which is the predominant energy source for cooking, with little attention to the an in depth exploration of values for specific building materials used in a typical rural building, with two materials, fired clay bricks, and cement standing out. The investigation of the fired clay bricks current and future impact of the buildings themselves, that is, lifetime energy consumption. The primary goal of this study was to determine the embodied energy (EE) of low-income tropical housing to better appreciate the relative suggested slightly lower embodied energy values that found in the literature, although it is evident that the sources of energy used for the processing of the bricks is of concern for embodied carbon.
Rural (low income) housing: inspiring communities to shape their future: Paper presented at PLEA 2015 Conference
(PLEA, 2015) Ahimbisibwe, Achilles; Ndibwami, Alex; Niwamara, T
This paper details patterns of energy consumption for domestic buildings in urban areas of Uganda. The paper shows the range of energy sources employed by households, the level of consumption of energy, as well as common appliances and equipment in use. The findings suggest strong demand for energy, but largely from solid fuel sources with most households making use of firewood or charcoal for cooking. While currently low by world standards, electrical energy use was largely for lighting and entertainment. Efforts at increasing access to electricity to reduce pressures on dwindling forest resources, although a noble goal, has significant challenges, linked to limited and erratic availability of electricity, approaches to building design, as well as lifestyle transformations that contribute to a growth in energy demand. The study itself contributes to discourse on energy use and energy efficiency in buildings, filling the gap in the availability of information and geared to informing future policy and interventions.