Methodology to determine housing characteristics in less developed areas in developing countries: A case study of Quetta, Pakistan

peer reviewedThe province of Balochistan is one of the least developed areas of Pakistan, facing problems of energy shortage and rapid urbanization. On the other side the region has great potential for renewable energy sources and the development of sustainable housing concepts. However, a first barrier is the lack of data on the existing housing stock. This paper will discuss the methodology and results of collecting housing data in this context for Quetta city. Considering unsatisfactory law and order situation, a survey was conducted to identify safe areas for housing survey. More areas were included to make the survey more representative. In total 215 houses in 32 residential areas were then surveyed. It is found that housing in Quetta can be divided in 3 main types; i.e. R.C.C frame, brick masonry and sundried bricks and that the energy consumption is mainly determined by area of the house and household size.Methodology for the design of climate-responsive houses for improved thermal comfort in cold semi-arid climate

Methodology for the design and development of sustainable house concept for Quetta, Pakistan

Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, Pakistan, is facing problems due to increasing population and shortage of energy and water. The aim of this PhD is to develop a methodology for the design of sustainable houses in Quetta, taking into account the best possible solutions for the energy and water shortage and maximizing the use of local materials. In the first phase of the PhD, an inventory of the existing housing stock is made. Due to the unsatisfactory law and order situation, a safety questionnaire was distributed online to identify the safe areas for the housing survey. The areas identified as safe were complemented with areas in which university students and staff, who helped with the housing stock survey, live, to get more representative data. Then 215 houses were surveyed in 32 residential areas of Quetta by filling in the questionnaire, taking pictures and drawing sketches. In the survey, demographic information, data on the energy consumption and systems, construction types and material use is gathered. Three common structural systems are identified, i.e. R.CC frame, brick masonry and sundried bricks. For each structural system, the main materials for the construction and finishing of walls, roof and floor are inventoried. The most common housing type is R.C.C frame structure for all income groups, with a plot size depending on household size and income. In phase-II, this type of houses will be further analyzed in detail for their energy performance, environmental impact, construction patterns, water and energy consumption and the household characteristics. In phase-III, a sustainable house concept has to be developed taking into account all the information collected in phase-I & II. It will be further validated by simulations of energy, comfort and water performance and discussion with experts and future occupants.Methodology for the design of climate-responsive houses for improved thermal comfort in cold semi-arid climate

Polymer film formation in mortars modified with water-soluble polymers

©2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The modification of cement mortars with small amounts of water-soluble polymers (polyvinyl alcohol-acetate, methylcellulose and hydroxyethylcellulose) is studied. During hardening, two processes can take place, i.e. cement hydration and polymer film or bridge formation. Due to the very low polymer contents, the formation of polymer films is generally not considered. In this paper, evidence is given of the presence of polymer films or bridges in mortars modified with 1% of polyvinyl alcohol-acetate or methylcellulose. A contribution to the flexural strength of these mortars is found. By means of SEM investigation, polymer bridges are detected between the layered Ca(OH)2 crystals. Additional bonds are created which strengthen the preferential cleavage sites. Furthermore, polymer films or bridges are intergrown within the cement matrix on a submicron scale.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Polymer film formation in cement mortars modified with water-soluble polymers journaltitle: Cement and Concrete Composites articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2014.11.015 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Potential of spatial use patterns for developing localized conditioning systems to reduce energy consumption

In this paper, the spatial use of three underused semi-detached dwellings in Belgium is discussed. The exact user patterns of residents within rooms have been monitored during one week. In the analysis, a distinction has been made between spaces where people move through and have a higher metabolic rate and places where residents stay or sit for a longer time. The analysis shows that residents use some of the rooms only partially and others only for circulation. Furthermore, residents stay only at particular places in the room for a longer period of time. These zones or places are linked to the common activities. Nowadays, most dwellings are heated by a single-zone heating system that heats multiple rooms completely at the same time. However, the spatial use of residents not only shows that particular places in a room are used, but also that they are used at different times. This research illustrates the potential of spatial use patterns for the development of heating systems that are better adapted to the effective spatial use, the activity patterns and corresponding required temperature in residential buildings. This could result in a lower overall ambient temperature and an improved energy efficiency of the building

Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study Research

Despite the efforts to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, the actual energy consumption decreased much less than expected in recent years. Therefore, energy sufficiency is gaining attention as a complementary approach to energy efficiency. It aims to reduce the actual energy consumption of buildings by providing thermal comfort to residents in a sufficient way. This demands for alternative heating practices, such as the application of personal heating systems. Although a review of past studies shows that, in office buildings, thermal comfort can be provided with less energy by using personal heating systems, the application in a residential context is much less explored. Our hypothesis is that an innovative, energy-sufficient personal heating practice also has potential to reduce the overall energy consumption in dwellings. Therefore, this paper presents the results of a one-week case study on personal heating as an energy-sufficient heating practice in three dwellings. During the case study, the ambient temperature was reduced to 18 °C, and residents were allowed to use active and passive personal heating systems to make themselves as comfortable as possible. They were also asked to evaluate their thermal sensation and thermal comfort. The results show that, despite a lower indoor temperature, residents are able to achieve thermal comfort by using personal heating at the locations where they effectively reside. Additionally, a significant energy saving potential was found. The case study proved our hypothesis, leading to the conclusion that an innovative, sufficient personal heating practice in dwellings can be a supplementary step to reduce the energy consumption to meet the global challenges

Existing databases as means to explore the potential of the buildingstock as material bank

Awareness of the huge environmental impact of buildings has created more interest in resource efficiency and in the potential of circular economy. This is not only relevant for new buildings. Also the existing building stock represents a great amount of building materials, which could become available for reuse and recycling in the future. Currently, there is no database in Belgium that reflects the potential of existing buildings as material banks. Nevertheless, existing databases, e.g. the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) database of the Flemish Energy Agency (VEA), contain valuable information on the material content in the existing building stock. Therefore, this paper explores the possibility of combining existing databases to reflect the (future) potential of the existing building stock as material bank. The two main databases under study are: 1) the EPC database of VEA which contains general building characteristics, such as building volume, building typology, floor area and information on the building envelope of more than 1 million buildings in the Flemish region and 2) the database of Essencia Marketing, a marketing agency specialized in the construction sector, which contains general building characteristics as well as geometrical and material data on almost 6000 new residential buildings spread all over Belgium (constructed between mid-2010 and mid-2017). The data in the databases are discussed and possible methods to combine data from both databases are explored