Human Settlements Review - Parliamentary Monitoring Group

Human Settlements Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 2010
4.1 Background of the case study
A study was undertaken in Kuyasa to assist
in establishing the baselines for three
technological interventions in low cost housing
units and; to define and determine anticipated
consumption levels of energy services by low
income households in Kuyasa.
Type II. E. Energy efficiency and fuel
switching measures for buildings, paragraph
66 of Appendix B of Simplified baseline and
monitoring methodologies for selected smallscale
CDM project activity, states: “The energy
baseline consists of the energy use of the
existing equipment that is replaced in the case
of retrofit measures ….”
This baseline methodology does not expressly
take into account suppressed demand and we
will discuss how it can be interpreted to do so.
These households were be retrofitted with
renewable and energy efficient technologies
which include energy efficient lighting,
solar water heating and improved thermal
performance as part of a small-scale CDM
project activity. These interventions all fit within
the small-scale project activity size limit under
the typologies of the registered small-scale
methodologies, AMSIC, AMSIIC and AMSIIE.
The approach is readily being translated
into regular size bottom-up methodologies,
currently under development, in solar
water heating and thermal performance
improvements, applicable to programmes of
activities.
Baseline methodologies for these project
activities have been described in the UNFCCC
Kyoto Protocol simplified modalities and
procedures for small-scale CDM project
activities, Paragraph 27, generically as
“The baseline for a CDM project activity is
the scenario that reasonably represents
the anthropogenic emissions by sources of
greenhouse gases that would occur in the
absence of the proposed project activity”.
4.2 Thermal Performance Baseline
Development
In this case study, a sample of 10 households
chosen by the community has been the basis
for the baseline study and to create early
profiling of the technologies. The sample
was selected based on the preferences of
the local community and the\need for the
energy; and not selected with reference to
energy service stratifications therefore it is
not necessarily statistically relevant to all
households in Kuyasa for any specific energy
services, in fact if anything, the sample was
selected on the basis of need. The sample
comprises households populated by elderly
people, those with disabilities and households
operating part-time crèches. These low cost
housing units are 30m2 in size and have
neither ceilings nor fixed water heaters.
Lighting is provided by incandescent bulbs.
Energy service benchmarks such as thermal
comfort and warm water on demand are not
met. During the project pilot, outside lighting
has been added, on request of the household,
extending the household security through
lighting service.
Currently, a primary research-based study is
being conducted on the thermal performance
component, and this is described below. A
parallel approach to water heating using solar
1
The requirement of a statistically relevant sample was not required as the baseline study was principally required to provide information that referred to the thermal
performance of the structures, which were identical in size, shape and materials. The characteristics of each house (e.g. orientation, heating loads, occupancy etc.)
were gathered and inserted into the predictive tool for calibration purposes.
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