Bamboo bikes are export success for Ghana

February 6, 2011 by David Adadevoh

 

 

 

 

 

Ghanian football fans watch a televised match through a bamboo wall in a bar in Kumasi in 2008. The sight of tall, green bamboo stalks swaying above the dusty lands of his west African country led Ibrahim Djan Nyampong to an unusual conclusion: bicycles.

The sight of tall, green bamboo stalks swaying above the dusty lands of his west African country led Ibrahim Djan Nyampong to an unusual conclusion: bicycles.

Under the shade at a workshop in Ghana, young artisans are making them — from mountain racers to cargo bamboo bikes — to suit needs of customers, now as far afield as the United States and Europe.

“The beginning was not easy as people thought it was a joke to make bicycles from bamboo,” Nyampong said as he supervised work at the small factory outside Accra. “Now people are warming towards the bamboo bike.”

With bamboo a strong, affordable and environmentally friendly material readily available to manufacturers, African countries including Ghana, Uganda and Zambia have seen the start of production of such bicycles.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Ghana initiative is one of 30 recipients of the 2010 United Nations Environmental Programme SEED awards for projects that tackle poverty while promoting the sustainable use of resources.

American engineer Craig Calfee, among those credited with introducing the sturdy bicycles to Africa’s rugged terrain, said he developed the technique in 1995.

It was not until 10 years later that he perfected the art and got his first bamboo bike on the market.

The idea of joining bamboo tubes with epoxy-soaked fibre crossed his mind when he was thinking of a “fun bike to draw publicity at a trade show.”

“While I am not the first to make a bicycle from bamboo, I am the inventor of the most effective method that most people are using now,” he said.

Indian scientist Dr. R.A. Mashelkar (right) studies a bamboo bicycle at a technical festival in Guwahati in 2002.

Bamboo grows quickly and has been popular with furniture crafters, among other industries, but it is now winning the hearts of environmentalists seeking sustainable building materials. Bamboo bicycles can be designed to suit individual needs, including “school bus bikes” with multiple seats.

Able to handle shocks and vibrations as well as heavy loads, the bikes have been seen as a potential solution for rural farmers — though the $150 price for the labour-intensive product has limited sales locally.

“My friends have been using the bikes for a long time and they are still strong,” said 60-year-old farmer Kofi Kugbelenu, who travelled 320 kilometres (200 miles) from the Volta Region to place an order.

“I’m buying one for myself and one for my son.”

After harvesting, stalks are smoked and heat-treated to prevent splitting. The tubes are then tacked with adhesive and wrapped using epoxy-impregnated fibre.

While frames are moulded from bamboo, pedals, wheels and saddles are made of conventional materials. Nyampong said his organisation is trying to develop its own bamboo bike handles and crash helmets.

Thomas Finger rides a bamboo bike made by a university group in Berlin last year. The sight of tall, green bamboo stalks swaying above the dusty lands of his west African country led Ibrahim Djan Nyampong to an unusual conclusion: bicycles.

Export demand has surged since the bikes were exhibited during President Barack Obama’s visit to Ghana in 2009.

 “Business is now booming, especially in the area of export,” said Nyampong. He said his company expects to sell about 300 bikes this year, mostly for export to the United States and Austria.

After six months on a tour of east and west Africa, Calfee came away with the impression that bamboo bikes would succeed.

“I remembered that there was a lot of bamboo, people valued bicycles and there was a great need for jobs,” he said.

The price puts the bicycles beyond the reach of many rural farmers in Ghana, where about a third of the population lives below the poverty threshold.

But Nyampong, who has been making the bicycles since 2007, believes that with time the price will come down and demand for bamboo bikes will spike.

Producing the bikes does not require costly infrastructure, but takes a large amount of time and effort.

“You do not need to import the bamboo. There are plenty in the bush. Without electricity you can manufacture a bike,” said apprentice Prince Addo-Asante at the factory in Sowutuom, a small town on the fringes of the seaside capital Accra.

(c) 2011 AFP

  

Reference Link : http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-bamboo-bikes-export-success-ghana.html

Courtesy : PHYSORG 

Germany sells vision for 'green toys' to world

February 6, 2011 By MELISSA EDDY , Associated Press

 

  

 

 

 

A woman holds a toy helicopter made of biodegradable parts such as bamboo during a press preview on the eve of the opening of the international toy fair in Nuremberg, southern Germany, where high-tech green toys were on display, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. Germany, a pioneer in many renewable energy initiatives, is also at the forefront of creating environment-friendly toys aimed at making children think about where energy comes from and how much of it they can use, raising awareness through play. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

(AP) — The hottest “green” toy in Germany isn’t made of organic or recycled materials. That’s so 2010. This one has a solar panel and only runs if kids remember to insert bright red “energy stones” that power the rest of the space station.

Germany, a pioneer in many renewable energy initiatives, is also at the forefront of creating environment-friendly toys aimed at making kids think about where energy comes from and how much of it they can use, raising awareness through play.

A panoply of high-tech green toys are on display at this year’s Nuremberg toy fair, which runs through Sunday. Among them, hydroelectric-powered toy cars, and doll houses with wind turbines and rainwater catchers.

The bright green “Future Planet” space station features an inner atrium with a fan that is powered by a functioning solar cell. Its aim is to get kids to use their imagination about how energy will be created in the future.

Makers and retailers believe such toys will play an increasingly important role in their future – and that of our kids.

“Energy is the question of the future and we are definitely thinking about this as we move ahead,” said Judith Schweinitz, a spokeswoman for Playmobil, maker of the solar panel-fitted space station. “It is increasingly being brought into our play concept.”

Green toys – which range from those made of sustainable materials to ones like the space station that just raise environmental awareness – make up only a sliver of the nearly $84 billion international toy market, but their share is growing, studies indicate. Environmental research firm Earthsense, based in Syracuse, New York, predicts that green toys will account for about $1 billion, or 5 percent, of U.S. toy sales in the next five years.

Stacy Lu, a 46-year-old mother of twins from Allendale, New Jersey, is a self-described “rabidly eco-friendly” consumer who has researched toxins in the household – and is drawn to toys that make kids think about the planet’s future.

“In my mind, just knowing that there are alternatives to energy sources that involve environmentally disastrous digging and drilling is important,” said Lu, who recently bought her godson an alternative-energy electrical kit as a gift.

Eco-friendly toys were given a special section at the New York toy fair last year and organizers of the Nuremberg fair, Germany’s leading international gathering of toy makers and sellers, also highlighted green toys.

Robert von Goeben, co-founder of San Francisco-based Green Toys Inc., started making toys and other children’s products from recycled milk jugs in 2008. Since then, he said, sales have exploded, recording 80 percent growth last year as demand for the toymaker’s bright tugboats, pastel tea sets and colorful trucks surged.

“I think that the success of our company, shows that there is clearly a wide segment of the population that will pay a little more for environmentally friendly toys,” said von Goeben, whose toys cost roughly a third more than comparable playthings made from conventional materials.

But Wild Toys, makers of animal figures and exploration sets, said their experience had shown otherwise.

The company, which sells mainly to zoos and museum shops, jumped on the green bandwagon two years ago, bringing out a line of purely organic plush animals, even making sure the cotton for the stuffing was grown with organic fertilizer. The toys cost about 25 percent more than their conventional counterparts.

“They are still sitting in our warehouse,” said Wild Toys spokesman Valdemar Barde, adding that consumers are not yet ready to swallow the cost of going green in the toy box.

“We are still in that phase on toys that consumers say, ‘Yes, we want to be green, but no, we don’t want to pay for it.”

But according to a survey conducted by the Nuremberg toy fair, roughly a third of consumers in Germany said they would pay 10 to 20 percent more for playthings made from sustainable products, also with an eye to their longevity.

“Sustainable toys are also high-quality toys, meaning they last longer and then we also have the aspect that it is worth it to invest a few more euros,” said Rainer Weisskirch spokesman for Germany’s TUV quality control organization.

Von Goeben noted that safety concerns play a role and that recent scandals over cadmium in many Chinese-made toys and BPAs in conventional plastics have made parents more concerned about what goes into their kids’ toys.

“No longer can we have this anonymous plastic thing from someplace and give it to the child. Parents are smart and they want information about what’s in the product. That’s what’s really driving the market.”

 ©2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

Reference Link : http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-germany-vision-green-toys-world.html

Courtesy : PHYSORG

Free public transport makes sense

By Ajai Sreevatsan

It will eliminate establishment cost and ensure better air quality

 

CHENNAI, INDIA : In light of Transport Minister K.N.Nehru’s announcement in the Assembly recently that the State Transport undertakings are set to incur a loss of Rs.1,000 crore this fiscal, the focus has shifted to defining this ‘loss.’

The Minister was essentially referring to the cash loss that is likely to be incurred, a little over one-third of which is due to the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, and the rest due to operational loss. Are there any grounds on which this cash loss can be translated into social profit?

Since the benefits of public transit are broader than are apparent with strict financial book-keeping, is there a rationale for universal free public transport?

Can Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses be made completely free for everyone to use? The idea might sound utopian, but experts point out that there is sound logic behind offering free public transit.

In fact, a number of mid-sized towns and cities across the world already have free public bus, train, or tram systems. The city of Hasselt in Belgium, for example, converted its entire bus networks to zero fare in 1997. Public transport ridership increased by as much as 13 times by 2006, according to a study done by the Belgian government.

Even while making the bus services free, the authorities through a combination of measures have made personalised transport expensive. This includes earmarking certain areas where entry of personal vehicles is by a fee and levy of a green tax.

The free bus service results in various benefits for the residents such as better air quality, lesser congestion and reduction in fuel consumption, a significant shift to public transit, fewer traffic accidents and increased access to work places for the poor.

According to an annual survey of air quality conducted by Simple Interactive Models for better air quality (SIM-air), an NGO based in New Delhi, the health cost of polluted air in Delhi in 2009 was Rs.2,450 crore.

A study by the Asian Development Bank in Bangalore shows that a 20 per cent increase in bus ridership reduces the city’s fuel consumption by 21 per cent. It frees-up road space equivalent to taking off nearly 4,18,210 cars.

Anumita Roychowdhury, Associate Director of the New Delhi-based Centre for Science & Environment, says: “If public transport is made free, more people would use it. Fewer automobile miles would be driven. Carbon dioxide emissions would drop. Everyone would benefit. It would be fair then that the cost is borne by everyone through a small tax.”

Subsidising public transport is fair, experts say, because personalised transport already receives hidden subsidies through investment on flyovers and broader roads, and free parking.

In the last four fiscal, the Corporation spent Rs.127.31 crore on six flyovers. According to the Chennai Comprehensive Transportation Study, the main beneficiaries of these facilities that were built using public money are car users, a segment which accounts for only 6 per cent of the city’s daily trips.

A senior MTC official said that free transit is a great idea as it would eliminate establishment cost, which amounts to a third of all expenses. There would be no need for conductors, ticket checkers, ticket printing or expenditure on revenue accounting. Excess manpower could be diverted to other activities that would increase overall efficiency.

“Every time the corporation incurs a loss, the government provides loans at 12.5 per cent to 15 per cent. It is almost impossible to pay back even the interest. When the transport corporation was incorporated in 1971, one of the object clauses was to ‘run it on sound commercial principles’ and hence zero operational subsidy. The primary reason for the MTC must be relooked,” he said.

Reference Link : http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/03/stories/2011020358140200.htm

Courtesy : The Hindu

The Science of Bike-sharing

TAU develops a high-tech tool to improve two-wheeled public transportation

The new environmentally-friendly concept of municipal “bike-sharing is taking over European cities like Paris, and American cities like New York are also looking into the idea. It allows a subscriber to “borrow” a bike from one of hundreds of locations in the city, use it, and return it to another location at the end of the journey. It’s good for commuters and for running short errands.

While the idea is gaining speed and subscribers at the 400 locations around the world where it has been implemented, there have been growing pains — partly because the projects have been so successful. About seven percent of the time, users aren’t able to return a bike because the station at their journey’s destination is full. And sometimes stations experience bike shortages, causing frustration with the system.

To solve the problem, Dr. Tal Raviv and Prof. Michal Tzur of Tel Aviv University‘s Department of Industrial Engineering are developing a mathematical model to lead to a software solution. “These stations are managed imperfectly, based on what the station managers see. They use their best guesses to move bikes to different locations around the city using trucks,” explains Dr. Raviv. “There is no system for more scientifically managing the availability of bikes, creating dissatisfaction among users in popular parts of the city.”

Their research was presented in November 2010 at the INFORMS 2010 annual meeting in Austin, Texas.

Biking with computers

An environmentalist, Dr. Raviv wants to see more cities in America adopt the bike-sharing system. In Paris alone, there are 1,700 pick-up and drop-off stations. In New York, there soon might be double or triple that amount, making the management of bike availability an extremely daunting task.

Dr. Raviv, Prof. Tzur and their students have created a mathematical model to predict which bike stations should be refilled or emptied — and when that needs to happen. In small towns with 100 stations, mere manpower can suffice, they say. But anything more and it’s really just a guessing game. A computer program will be more effective.

The researchers are the first to tackle bike-sharing system management using mathematical models and are currently developing a practical algorithmic solution. “Our research involves devising methods and algorithms to solve the routing and scheduling problems of the trucks that move fleets, as well as other operational and design challenges within this system,” says Dr. Raviv.

For the built environment

The benefits of bike-sharing programs in any city are plentiful. They cut down traffic congestion and alleviate parking shortages; reduce air pollution and health effects such as asthma and bronchitis; promote fitness; and enable good complementary public transportation by allowing commuters to ride from and to train or bus stations.

Because of the low cost of implementing bike-sharing programs, cities can benefit without significant financial outlay. And in some cities today, bicycles are also the fastest form of transport during rush hour.

The city of Tel Aviv is now in the process of deploying a bike sharing system to ease transport around the city, and improve the quality of life for its residents. Tel Aviv University research is contributing to this plan, and the results will be used in a pilot site in Israel

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For more transportation news from Tel Aviv University, click here.

Keep up with the latest AFTAU news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AFTAUnews

Reference Link
http://www.aftau.org/site/News2/1039511600?page=NewsArticle&id=13823&news_iv_ctrl=-1

Courtesy
American Friends of Tel Aviv University

 

Forest loss slows as Asian nations plant

 By Richard Black  ,  Environment correspondent, BBC News

 

The giant redwoods of California are among the iconic species protected, and yet at risk

 

Forest loss across the world has slowed, largely due to a switch from felling to planting in Asia.

China, Vietnam, the Philippines and India have all seen their forested areas increase in size.

There are also gains in Europe and North America, but forests are being lost in Africa and Latin America driven by rising demand for food and firewood.

The findings come in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) State of the World’s Forests report.

Environmental groups are warning that priority needs to be given to old forests and the biodiversity they maintain in the face of climate change and growing demand for resources.

Rise of Asia

The FAO report’s formal launch at UN headquarters in New York co-incides with the start of the UN’s International Year of Forests.

The initiative aims to raise awareness of conservation among governments and other stakeholders.

The FAO is urging governments to explore ways of generating income from forests that do not depend on chopping trees down.

Forests now cover about 40 million sq km – just less than one-third of the Earth’s land surface.

Although 52,000 sq km were lost per year between 2000 and 2010, that was a marked improvement on the 83,000 sq km annual figure seen during the previous decade.

Europe traditionally has been the region with the biggest increase; but now, Asia has overtaken it.

A net loss of forest in Asia during the period 1990-2000 has been transformed into a net gain in the decade since.

“China has increased its forest by three million hectares (30,000 sq km) per year – no country has ever done anything like this before, it’s an enormous contribution,” said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, assistant director-general of the FAO’s forestry department.

Madagascar’s forests have been hit hard by illegal logging following political unrest

“But we can also highlight the case of Vietnam, a small and densely populated country that’s implemented very smart and comprehensive forest reform – or India, which has not controlled its population as China has and where standards of living are even lower.

“Nevertheless India has achieved a modest growth of its forest area, and the Philippines has turned things around as well – so we’re seeing improvement across Asia except in the weakest states,” he told BBC News.

Dr Rojas-Briales suggested Latin American countries where forest loss continues could learn from East Asian policies, in particular the adoption of land use planning.

The report cites agriculture as the leading cause of deforestation in South and Central America and the Caribbean.

In Africa, the need for firewood is the key factor.

Conservation call

In Asia, South America and Africa, the area covered by deliberately planted forests is increasing, which could mean that old-growth forests continue to disappear while plantations spread.

The report does not distinguish between the two kinds; but Dr Rojas-Briales said plantations overall were not expanding at the expense of old-growth forests, at least not in Asia.

This is supported by the report’s conclusion that in the Asia-Pacific region, the area of forest designated for production has fallen since 2000, with an increase in lands set aside for conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

However, as old-growth forest continues to disappear in some parts of the world, Conservation International is one of several environment groups pressing for increased attention on these areas and their special importance for nature.

“Forests must be seen as more than just a group of trees,” said Olivier Langrand, the organisation’s head of international policy.

“Forests already play an enormous economic role in the development of many countries as a source of timber, food, shelter and recreation, and have an even greater potential that needs to be realised in terms of water provision, erosion prevention and carbon sequestration.”

Conservation International is highlighting 10 places in the world where forests of iconic importance are under threat, including the banks of the Mekong River and the wildlife it supports, the lemur-rich jungles of Madagascarm and the Californian Floristic Province, home of the giant sequoia.

All currently cover less than 10% of their original range.

There are concerns in some quarters that the UN scheme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (Redd) may lead to forests being conserved simply because they store carbon, without taking account of their immediate benefits to wildlife and local people.

Reference Link : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12336689

Courtesy : BBC News

Solar Powered Wheelchair Sets World Records

Haidar Taleb, a 47 year old man from UAE, displayed a rare combination of human spirit and willpower when he took up a 200-mile long journey on a wheel chair that he has built for himself which runs on solar power. Being a person with polio since the age of 4 has not stopped him from taking up this challenge on this wheelchair, a piece of technological innovation.

World Records In Haidar’s Name.
Since this is not the first time Haider has taken up such journey on his solar powered wheel chair, he will have more than one record in his name once he finishes this tour. These include,

• Entering Guinness Book of World Records by traveling 80 miles during a 14-hour trip from Abu Dhabi to Sharjah at a speed of 12 mph on a solar-powered wheelchair.
• Making his own record better by 200 miles, mentioned above on the same wheel chair.

Aim of the journey
Haider says, “By taking-up this journey, I want to raise awareness about disability and tell people that we, despite our disability can achieve anything as an individual, if we are determined to try and have courage to do so.” With this journey Haider also wants to send out a message to other persons with disabilities like him, who have mobility problem. He wants to tell them, “There are no obstructions because you can do as you think. Given a chance, persons with disabilities can perform miracles.”

During the course of his journey, Haider will share the above message to inspire everyone when he talks to both disabled and non-disabled people in schools, colleges and centers working for the disabled.

Promoting eco friendly wheelchairs
With this journey, Haidar has helped to promote eco friendly wheelchairs. He says, “This journey was important in the sense that through it, apart from encouraging persons with disabilities in general, I have shown the world that solar-powered wheel-chair are important and they can change the lives of persons with mobility problems.”

The journey that Haider took on with the help of the eco-friendly device was sponsored by Masdar. It is a project to encourage detailed research into alternative energy solutions. It is hoped that the invention of solar-powered wheelchair and the message Haidar has given, will have a far reaching effects.

Reference Link
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/solar-powered-wheelchair/

Courtesy
AE News Network

'Road train' technology trials get rolling

By Mark Ward

Technology correspondent, BBC News

 Legal hurdles could prevent the technology being adopted any time soon

Technology that links vehicles into “road trains” that can travel as a semi-autonomous convoy has undergone its first real world tests.

The trials held on Volvo’s test track in Sweden slaved a single car to a lorry to test the platooning system.

Trains of cars under the control of a lead driver should cut fuel use, boost safety and may even cut congestion.

Project researchers believe platoons of cars could be travelling on Europe’s roads within a decade.

Highway code

The road train test was carried out as part of a European Commission research project known as Sartre – Safe Road Trains for the Environment.

Video of the trial shows the test car travelling behind a lorry and then handing over control to that leading vehicle via in-car controls.

Drivers join and leave vehicle platoons via in-car controls

Once the lead vehicle is in charge, the driver of the car is seen taking his hands off the wheel, reading a newspaper and sipping coffee as the journey proceeds.

This is because commands to steer, speed up and slow down all come from the driver of the lead vehicle. Cars also keep an eye on their position relative to other vehicles in a platoon to ensure they keep a safe distance.

In the final system lots of cars could be slaved to a lead vehicle and travel at high speed along specific routes on motorways.

The successful test was a “major milestone” said Tom Robinson, Sartre co-ordinator at engineering firm Ricardo.

Trial participant Eric Coelingh, an engineering specialist at Volvo Cars, said: “We are very pleased to see that the various systems work so well together already the first time.”

He said Sartre brought together technology from seven firms in four different countries.

The technology behind the Sartre system could be in use in a few years, however, it may take much longer for European member nations to pass laws that allow it to be widely used.

Reference Link : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12215915

Courtesy : BBC News

India unveils coastal saline crop initiative

By P Sivaramakrishnan

BBC Tamil

A pilot project to see if cash crops can be grown in the salty ground of India’s coastal areas has been launched.

The area in Tamil Nadu state will house dozens of species of halophytes – or salt-loving plants – that can be used for producing cash crops.

Halophytes can be used to produce edible oils, medicines, vegetables, and cattle and fish feed.

Halophytes can be found throughout the coastal areas of India.

A pilot project to see if cash crops can be grown in the salty ground of India’s coastal areas has been launched.

The area in Tamil Nadu state will house dozens of species of halophytes – or salt-loving plants – that can be used for producing cash crops.

Halophytes can be used to produce edible oils, medicines, vegetables, and cattle and fish feed.

Halophytes can be found throughout the coastal areas of India.

         Halophytes could transform coastal areas of India and the wider South Asia

Marine biologists involved in the project say that salt-resistant plants are important for people living in coastal areas, where vast tracts of land have turned saline and unsuitable for any other form of cultivation.

In recent years, river water and groundwater supplies have depleted rapidly, principally because of increasing irrigation.

Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has called the project – which is funded by the Indian government – a historic step towards eco-conservation.

Backers of the scheme say it could transform agricultural production in coastal areas which are becoming increasingly saline not only in India but in other parts of South Asia as well.

“Global warming causes sea waters to rise and as such inundated areas will increase substantially in years to come, turning large amount of coastal land saline and unfit for regular crops,” said the project’s director, V Selvam.

Dr Selvam – who works for the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, which runs the project – said the aim was to see whether sea water could be considered a social resource, and if so in what way it could be used to increase food production.

Saline water plants can also be used to produce fine chemicals, biofuels and even building materials, Dr Selvam said.

Field studies conducted in the US and East Africa have suggested that halophytes such as sea asparagus can be grown as commercial crops.

Reference Link : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12162964

Courtesy : BBC News

Harvesting energy: body heat to warm buildings

By Xanthe Hinchey

Technology of business reporter, BBC News

 

About 250,000 people pass through Stockholm’s Central Station each day

Body heat is not an energy source that normally springs to mind when companies want to keep down soaring energy costs.

But it did spring to the mind of one Swedish company, which decided the warmth that everybody generates naturally was in fact a resource that was going to waste.

Jernhusen, a real estate company in Stockholm, has found a way to channel the body heat from the hordes of commuters passing through Stockholm’s Central Station to warm another building that is just across the road.

“This is old technology being used in a new way. The only difference here is that we’ve shifted energy between two different buildings,” says Klas Johnasson, who is one of the creators of the system and head of Jernhusen’s environmental division.

“There are about 250,000 people a day who pass through Stockholm Central Station. They in themselves generate a bit of heat. But they also do a lot of activities. They buy food, they buy drinks, they buy newspapers and they buy books.

Excess body heat

All this energy generates an enormous amount of heat. So why shouldn’t we use this heat. It’s there. If we don’t use it then it will just be ventilated away to no avail.”

So how does the system work in practice?

Heat exchangers in the Central Station’s ventilation system convert the excess body heat into hot water.

That is then pumped to the heating system in the nearby building to keep it warm.

Not only is the system environmentally friendly but it also lowers the energy costs of the office block by as much as 25%.

“This is generally good business,” says Mr Johansson. “We save money in energy costs and so the building becomes worth more.

“We are quite surprised that people haven’t done this before. For a large scale project like Kungbrohuset (the office block) this means a lot of money.”

Over the next 40 years, most experts agree that the supply of oil and gas will become less abundant.

There will be strong competition and higher prices for the resources that remain. Given the abundance of human body heat worldwide and the growing need for renewable energy to replace costly fossil fuels – is this Swedish idea going to catch on?

Costs and benefits

Stockholm’s Central Station is one building reusing heat from passengers passing through

“People are now starting to think about urban heat distribution networks everywhere,” says Doug King, a consultant specialising in design innovation and sustainable development in construction.

“But the financial costs and the benefits will depend very much on the climate and the pricing of energy in a particular country.”

He explains that harnessing body heat works particularly well in Sweden because of their low winter temperatures and high gas prices.

Spin offs

“It means a low-grade waste heat source, like body heat, can be used advantageously. It’s worth them spending a little bit of money on electricity to move heat from building to building, rather than spending a lot on heating with gas.”

Mr Johansson is hoping there will be a lot of spin offs from their idea at Stockholm Central Station: “To get energy usage down in buildings what we need to do is use the energy that is being produced all around us.

“We own both Central Station and Kungbrohuset along with the land in between. So we are in charge of all of it and that has made it easier for us. But this doesn’t mean that it cannot be done otherwise. It just means that real estate owners have to collaborate with each other.”

He also advocates sustainability. “It’s important in Sweden. But it should be important everywhere. Sustainability is the key ingredient to the future of mankind. We need to get sustainable with energy if we are supposed to live on this planet for a long time to come.”

But what about the Swedish commuters in the station – will they be the ones left out in the cold?

“The commuters won’t get chilly because we don’t steal energy from Central Station we use excess heat that was already there before,” says Mr Johansson.

So, with its freezing winters, green credentials and high energy costs, Sweden takes a creative approach to heating.

To stay warm all they need to do is keep the heat on. And, if Stockholm’s Central Station stays busy then for one building at least it is well on the road to a low carbon and energy secure future.

Reference Link : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12137680

Courtesy : BBC News

"Architecture must go back to being more honest and more direct"

The Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich is rethinking sustainable architecture: the intention in future is to focus on CO2 emissions during construction and operation rather than exclusively on energy consumption. Marc Angélil explains in an interview why the time is ripe for a paradigm shift in architecture.

Marc Angélil, Head of the Department of Architecture, breaks with conventional sustainability standards in construction and lobbies for less consumption of materials and reduced CO2 emissions. (Photo: Hannes Huebner)

Professor Angélil, on Friday your department will present the basic principles of “Towards Zero-Emission Architecture” to experts in construction and architecture. This means that the professors are unanimously demanding a shift away from focusing on energy consumption and thick insulation as advocated by standards such as “Minergy”. Why should emissions become the new target parameter in architecture?
The building stock generates around half of today’s total energy expenditure and CO₂ emissions nationwide. With “Towards Zero-Emission Architecture” we are striving towards the ideal of the 1-ton-CO₂ society, as anchored in the ETH Zurich energy strategy. Everyone should reduce their annual per capita CO₂ emissions to one ton; the amount of energy they consume in doing so is not significant. There is no point in saving energy ad absurdum without taking total emissions into account at the same time. Contributions from all sides, including from architecture, are needed to realise the aims of the 1-ton-CO₂society.

In the past many architects have deplored the stylistic constraint of sustainability standards. Doesn’t your initiative primarily strike a blow for greater design freedom?
Of course, because it is our fight-back against one-sided standards. The architect is in a straitjacket if all buildings must be wrapped up in an outer shell 50 centimetres thick. With thinner walls, based on more intelligent heat flows, we will regain greater freedom in design.

What does low-emission construction actually look like in practice?
With “Towards Zero-Emission”, we also need less material. I can give you an example: I am currently planning to build 60 apartments in Esslingen. A central cluster of ground probes 300 metres deep will be used to air-condition the entire residential development. We store surplus heat in the ground during the summer, and we re-use it for heating in winter. This means the building will produce a heat surplus and we no longer need any thick insulation. Thus we can reduce the wall thicknesses from 50 centimetres, as is usual for the “Minergy” standard, to 30 centimetres. As a result we save 340 square metres of area and 1000 cubic metres of materials across the entire housing development. The construction therefore already entails less grey energy due to transport and material production.

How does the more economical use of materials affect the design?
Optimised material flows call for a change in attitude, a new aesthetic form and a different way of handling materials. We are returning to the basic structure; architecture must go back to being more honest and more direct. As I understand it, this also involves doing without multiple layers; we do not need immaculate claddings and coverings everywhere. It is more important for each component to have multiple uses. A concrete slab can also be a heat store, while at the same time performing fire safety and acoustic functions in the building.

In addition to reduced material flows during the manufacturing and waste disposal processes, the strategy also envisages emission-free running of the building. Where is the energy for this supposed to come from?
There is more than enough emission-free energy, we just need to use it intelligently. For that we must properly understand the energy context of a building and tap into all the emission-free sources. The temperature of human excrement, for example, is approximately 37°C, but we only need 18°C for heating. So it would make good sense to utilise this waste heat – initial test installations for heat recovery are already in operation. The same is true for the heat constantly emitted by our body.

But you cannot heat a ten-storey commercial building with that alone.
No, but a surplus of solar energy is also available, and the technologies at our disposal today to use and store this are much better than those of 15 years ago. We also need an “orchestration of technical systems”. There must be better networking of heat pumps, ventilation and heating systems, and sensors distributed throughout the whole building must ensure that equipment only runs when it is really needed. Nowadays we have small decentralised systems instead of enormous ventilation systems in the basement. The ventilation in a room, for example, does not start up until a carbon dioxide sensor detects that someone has entered it.

That all sounds very high-tech.
No, high tech is used only where it makes sense. A simple sun-shade on the façade is preferable to an elaborate control system indoors. Above all, using ground probes to store heat in the earth and re-using it later via heat pumps requires good networking, not high-tech equipment.

Technical control systems and heat pumps need additional electricity. Although representatives from the world of politics and economics warn of an electricity shortfall, the strategy also expressly excludes nuclear energy as well as fossil energy sources. Why?
The problem of waste from nuclear fission is still unsolved. Waste is a pollutant emission. Atomic energy is therefore incompatible with emission-free architecture.

Don’t you see any contradiction in the fact that nuclear energy research is also taking place at ETH Zurich?
No, there is room for different opinions at our University.

Don’t the demands of “Towards Zero-Emission Architecture” stretch far beyond the expertise of an architect?
At ETH Zurich we always imagine architecture in an urban development context as well. Power structures, conflicts of interest, cash flows and the participation of the residents play a decisive role in this. In this respect, every new building is also a political statement. Thus the part played by “Towards Zero-Emission Architecture” clearly extends into the political and economic spheres as well.

To what extent is your initiative integrated in a larger international trend?
Our strategy is unique and “very Swiss”. Architecture at ETH Zurich, in contrast to many American universities, has never lost its relationship with practice. Our research and education are highly oriented towards practical considerations. Moreover, a university of applied sciences like ETH Zurich has a huge amount of technical expertise available in-house, which is necessary for sustainability in the construction field. The engineers collaborate closely with architects and town planners. It is also a fact that the discussions about sustainability are already much more advanced here in Switzerland than in other places.

This raises the question: even if politicians and architects here in Switzerland support “Towards Zero-Emission Architecture”, wouldn’t that be just a drop in the ocean from a global perspective?
Every year we bid farewell to around 250 students whose education doesn’t mention oil-fired heating systems at all. Many of these students subsequently move to other countries where they put our ideas into practice and integrate them into new contexts. This also creates an understanding of sustainable building in Latin America or Africa from the bottom up in the long term.

Towards Zero-Emission Architecture

In a position paper, the professors in the Department of Architecture unanimously call for a paradigm shift in architecture: away from saving energy and towards freedom from emissions. Zero-emission architecture relates to a building’s entire life cycle – from construction through operation to disposal. The basic principles are just as applicable to new buildings as they are to the redevelopment of the existing building stock. A heat storage system in the form of ground probes, solar technology and heat pumps is an important component in this. Considerable savings are possible compared to conventional building methods as a result of the significantly reduced use of materials and the utilisation of self-produced heat. A large part of the “Science City” campus is being built and redeveloped in accordance with the rules of “Towards Zero-Emission Architecture”. A new building for the Institute of Technology on the “Science City” campus and a new building in the “Future Cities Laboratory” in Singapore are also planned according to the same basic principles.

Reference Link
http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_articles/101118_Interview_Zeroemission_Angelil/index_EN

Courtesy
ETH Zurich