Background

The lack of access to energy for many people in Africa is a serious issue, which should be addressed to improve opportunities for development and poverty alleviation.

When considering this issue as well as the growing energy demand projected for the African continent over the next few decades, governments, energy providers and other major actors are posed with significant challenges in energy planning, providing secure and adequate energy supply and realising sustainable development.

The situation is complicated by the steady migration to cities - in part caused by limited resources available in rural areas - with an increasing need for resources in urban areas, especially in the areas of energy and housing. Many African governments are investing in this area, with low cost housing is regarded as one solution. However, the effective use of energy is another important element to be considered, to optimise available energy resources, reduce environmental pollution and save costs.

Energy Use in Buildings

During their life-spans buildings contribute significantly to energy waste and pollution, releasing harmful emissions and contributing to climate change. Thus the following needs to be addressed:

• poor building design,
• use of inappropriate materials,
• inefficient use of fossil fuels for electricity, heating and cooling,
• poor building management.

The use of environmental architecture - a combination of solar architecture strategies (e.g. daylighting, natural ventilation, passive heating or cooling), renewable energy (e.g. solar thermal systems) and energy efficiency (EE) technologies - can be very effective, especially for low cost, low energy housing. Policies, regulations and standards can support and guide successful implementation of environmental architecture measures. Effective basic designs can be replicated, using local resources and local expertise.

To achieve this, different actors need to be involved in developing appropriate policies, strategies and approaches. There has to be recognition that environmental architecture is a multi-sectoral impact, with both the government and the building industry required to support this and realise the potential energy savings and providing access to clean energy for the public.