Did you know that you could make your home green by simply applying a few techniques? NJOKI CHEGE finds out how

The world is continually experiencing environmental and climatic changes, hence the demand for eco-friendly properties, which is now a growing trend in the real estate industry.

Like a wheel with many cogs, eco-friendly housing cannot be effected in isolation as several aspects come into play at the different levels of developing your home.

This is why you need to make a choice to embrace green housing in its totality to enjoy the benefits of an eco-home. An eco-house is built in such a way that it reduces energy consumption and waste.

Having your own eco-home has never been so easy, that is if you get it right from the beginning of the project.

Musau Kimeu, an environmental design expert and a lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s Department of Architecture, says Kenya is  slowly embracing eco-friendly housing.

“More people are now aware of green housing, which is simple to effect provided you get it right,” he said.

Below is a checklist with simple environmental sustainable design principles that you might want to refer to once you are ready to start building your eco-home.

Materials

 One of the tenets of eco-friendly housing lies in using locally available materials with as low embodied energy as possible. Embodied energy refers to the sum total of energy spent in manufacturing the materials and transporting them to where they will be used. Locally available building materials tend to have less embodied energy compared to imported materials.

Your choice of materials should also be; sustainably harvested, non-toxic with minimal internal pollution and can be recycled and re-used.

Heat management

“For people in the tropics (like us), the biggest challenge is having a comfortable building with proper heat management,” says Kimeu.

One of the hallmarks of eco-friendly housing is that there should be no artificial systems to achieve human comfort. Take for instance the traditional hut. It uses no air conditioning yet the heat management is superb. It is possible to have a building that does not rely on artificial air-conditioning.

“Our climate, particularly Nairobi, is so good that we need not use air conditioning to cool our buildings,” says Musau.

To create a natural mechanism to counter the heat in the tropics build your house on a narrow plan. 

“Ensure that the long axis is along the east-west axis to allow maximum lighting into the building,” says the architect.

In simple terms, when building ensure the length of your house is in the orientation of the sun movement. This will allow you to achieve maximum penetration of light as well as aid aeration. Local buildings built in this orientation include Harambee House (Office of the President), The Office of the Prime Minister and Treasury.

Make good use of  your windows

Kenya’s position in the tropics comes into play again when it comes to the size and position of your windows. Here are some basics: According to Kimeu, glass windows are not the best because the sun will strike the glass, thereby causing the ‘green house effect’, which needless to say is only good for flowers, not humans.

However, if you must have glass windows, ensure the glass is protected from direct sunshine throughout the day. Eco-friendly architecture dictates that you place your windows on the north and south direction — facing the walls to ensure minimum heat build up.

Also maintain minimal window openings since larger windows allow more heat to the building.

“The ideal window should be approximately 40 per cent of the wall, if you are living in the tropics,” says the architect.

Ensure you have open-able windows on both sides, and to achieve that natural ventilation, keep your windows open through out the day.

Thicken your walls, paint them bright

Thicker walls tend to allow less heat into the building compared to thin walls. Concrete, natural stone and brick walls work best for two reasons; they are locally available and they are thicker. In painting your walls outside, use external finishes (such as paint) with a smooth and light colour. Think whites, creams and light blues.

Renewable energy

Renewable energy occurs at different categories, the most common being solar energy. While Kenyans have adopted the use of solar panels for water heating, we are yet to adopt solar as a means of generating electricity, which could save us millions.

“It is about time we moved in the direction of using photovoltaic panels for generating electricity because we have so much potential — the sun,” says Kimeu.

Biogas, wind and geothermal energy are also other unexplored viable options.

“If we can maximally tap energy from sun, wind and geothermal sources, and move away from using coal and nuclear power, it would be ideal for our environment. The amount of waste generated from using coal and nuclear power eventually causes serious damage to our environment,” says Kimeu.

Rainwater harvesting  and landscaping

Quit complaining about the water shortage in the city and start harvesting your own water. As you embark on this do not collect the water that falls in the first week of the rainy season as it may contain toxic fumes from the atmosphere. You do not also want to harvest a pool of acidic rain, so wait till week two.

On the second week of rain, tap as much as possible, but remember to purify it for drinking/cooking purposes.

In matters landscaping, ensure the plants in your compound are native as opposed to exotic. Native plants tend to consume less water and resources, they survive in harsh conditions, are pest resistant and do well in manure.

Exotic plants on the other hand require artificial manure/fertiliser (an environmental no-no) and cannot survive in harsh conditions.

Sanitation

The buzzwords here are bio-digesters and oxidation ponds. At the moment, our sewer systems are not eco-friendly because the waste in most cases seeps into rivers.

Bio-digesters are systems with a chamber like a normal septic tank where enzymes are introduced to consume the toxic materials. Oxidation ponds are normal ponds with reed beds to absorb toxic material from the waste matter.

In Kenya, these systems have been successfully affected in Catholic University of East Africa, St Thomas Aquinas Seminary and the Carnivore among others.

Solid waste management

This entails sorting out the biodegradable and non-biodegradable refuse, after which the biodegradable is used to produce biogas while the non-biodegradable is recycled.

Ideally, your household should work with a system where refuse is separated at source; the plastics are separated from the paper and plastic bottles separated from glass bottles in order to develop a recycling culture.

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