Energy Crisis-Architect’s to take lead Rethinking Design

This article is intended to galvanise public thinking particularly persons involved in the design, procurement, delivery and use of buildings in Ghana.

It seeks to initiate a dialogue amongst technical experts’, policy maker’s, city councils, urban and town planning and city managers. Under sec C of the UN Habitat Agenda a broad base and wide range cross sectional consultation with government and her people is advised.
Ghana has been fortunate; we had a head start with naturally clean generated energy from Akosombo as the bedrock of our post independence economic resurgence. This vision of Nkrumah has kept Ghana pristine from associated environmental degradation and health related respiratory problems resulting from powering with coal or diesel generated electricity.

The reality is in whatever form, buildings envelopes a wider and substantial portion of the population and activities spectrum and often when I have written or presented on energy I have been asked similar questions; Electricity!! What’s that got to do with an architect?

As always, my answer has been- Everything, for just a moment look around you,

Think of any building;
universities, polyclinics, training colleges, schools, hotels, guest houses, beach resorts, estates houses, private homes, factories, hospitals, clinics, health centres, shops, supermarkets, police stations, military barracks, offices, churches what makes our built environment, you should arrive at the same realisation that I have, that is, all these buildings use varying degrees of electricity and begun with the architect’s design stroke.
The stated thrust of this article is to inform a sustainable solution to reduce the high dependency for electricity in buildings with a resolve to start with energy conservation at the conception of the design brief development.

The electricity load sharing that has persisted in the country and the supplementary generators underline a simple truth which is; the current national electricity demands have long outstripped Akosombo’s output.
Akosombo can no longer sustain any anticipated future growth trends in the country.

Buildings are major consumers of electricity, and with the current pace of national development, buildings will place exacting demands on the national grid. It is urgent for key industry players and government to address the energy supply capacity and plan on future demand trends now.

To assist the process we advocate a complete rethink of building design led by architects and constructors to inform clients to increase utilisation of natural forms of energy as an alternative source to provide sustainable cooling, light and heated water.

The inadequate supply of electricity nationally has serious strategic implications, and an overall impact for maintaining and sustaining national development.

The demand for electricity in buildings will continue to spiral upwards as Ghana raises her pace to achieve its development aspirations and with the welcome provision of 250,000 units in 5 years on the STX national housing agenda the impact on electricity is going to be enormous and unsustainable.
What needs to be addressed is for government to take the lead now, requiring the development to incorporate renewable energy provision to reduce total dependency on the national grid. It is a golden opportunity as in oil and gas, to develop a whole new national skills base in renewable energy training and reduce youth unemployment in the country. Government should embrace this opportunity to drive the renewable energy agenda particularly in STX housing development and reduce dependency on the nation provision for electricity.

If our stride for national development has taken less than 40 years to outstrip the supply capacity at Akosombo, what will be the impact when we become industrialized or develop an effective and efficient service sector in our stride for accelerated growth?

This total dependency of buildings on the national grid is unsustainable and should move the will in government to address comprehensible the need to significantly reduce such total dependency by debating a national and sustainable way forward.

Awareness for the reduction on energy guzzling buildings is a challenge primarily for Architects to rethink design and use of construction materials. It is for government to engage with Real Estate Developers, Contractors and Energy suppliers, VRA and with manufactures and importers of home appliances, namely white goods a significant sector, if a holistic approach to energy conservation is to be sustained.

Raising the specification on white goods used in homes to a triple ‘AAA’ energy efficient rating should be agreed as part of the measure to reduce considerable overall electricity use in households.

The real time issues on building energy conservation should include energy efficient appliances in the debate, and a consensus for capturing the technology for renewable energy sources in all new and most exiting building stock retro fit in the country as an effective and concerted way to reducing total national grid dependency.
The good news is, this can be done, the technology to do that is available now.

In today’s macro climate, the pace of global development is so fast and the span shorter, nations with a functional infrastructural base amongst others create a competitive edge for growth and development opportunities, and can attract a steady stream of inward investment. These investments targeted to key sectors could catapult a Ghana in her development aspirations.

Nations that can pace the speed of development opportunities will remain globally competitive.
What took previous generation’s decades to achieve can now almost happen instantly so quick are these shifts by the time nations gear themselves ready development opportunities have been missed. Instead of leading they trail behind.

It therefore becomes imperative that the national vision or her road map for development is dynamic and able to adjust to the quick movements of the global environment.

These sand dunes of the macro landscapes fuelled by the connectivity opportunities created by the rapid advancement in information technology places untold challenges on national policy makers in reacting quickly to the new macro environments.

The narrowing or breaking down of boundaries has generated the quick movement of information and people to areas of growth and opportunity, and an unparalleled opportunity to capture internally what countries development potentials are to create a competitive edge in response. This evolving global connectivity has brought with it untold opportunities as well as defining many challenges for many emerging economies.

In this drive for middle income status, Ghana’s response to meet these ever changing and ever evolving global landscapes creates real challenges, the need for a stable and reliable energy supply will be paramount for our national development, but this must be bridged with a good and secure political environment, these have been Ghana’s Achilles heels, however mastering this balance is crucial in generating the development momentum needed in our micro economic environment.

With the right mixes present Ghana can and will explode her development pace. The sudden surges in our accelerated development will place a greater strain again and again on our energy supply, and as the macro climate shifts and adjustments are made in our micro environment to harness opportunity or meet challenges a sustainable energy supply will be paramount in our country’s development aspiration.

A strategic energy policy should be a key segment in the formulation of Ghana’s road map for achieving middle income status. It should also seek to reduce internal demand with supplementary renewable energy agenda particular for the housing stock with reserves fuelling growth of industry or a resale for export.

As demand has outstripped Akosombo and the new supplies from the Bui dam and the Thermal plants comes on stream this new enhanced development optimism will expend the additional supplies quicker, probably even faster than it did for Akosombo.

The drive now is for a seismic shift in building design where architects, developers and contractors adapt a radical sustainable approach to building design to reduce substantially the demand on the national grid while engaging with and incorporating renewables in architectural design. The percentage of renewables should be mandatory for all new buildings if we are to develop an alternative energy sector and a new skills base for employment in the country.

In meeting our energy supply needs for our accelerated development objectives sustainable energy capturing should drive fundamental building design and construction materials use as key drivers for that change from a total dependency on the national grid for the supply of electricity to a sustainable alternative for the building stock.
Ghana has the experience in harnessing and capturing natural sources for energy use, Akosombo hydropower and the Thermal plants are good examples, we have adequate renewable sources Sun, Wind and Rain (SWR’s), a natural national endowment yet to be harnessed effectively in buildings in a Strategic Energy Reduction Strategy in Buildings (SERSIB). We have to explore and capture our naturally endowed energy sources with the technology now available for wind, sun, rain and geo thermals as on site supplements.

The urgent need today is for an overarching strategic energy policy as central in setting the road map to achieving our development goals.
Conversely, a failure to address our energy needs now can and will further weaken our Achilles heels and stall our development stride for middle income status.


Bob Osei
Contact/Comment at:
http://alphagreenpartnerships.com/contactus.aspx