Month: March 2019

ESS – Energy Storage Solution
for power management on smart grid
While energy storage technologies do not represent energy sources, they provide
valuable added benefits to improve stability power quality, and reliability of supply.
One solution for different applications
PV plants
Manage the intermittence of
renewable energy production.
The device ensures the production
profile of an intermittent renewable
energy plant by:
• limiting the production to a
predefined value,
• injecting energy to compensate
solar variations.

Grid support
Meet the challenge of demand response
energy balance.
When directly connected to the grid, the
device improves the stability and the
management by grid operators thanks to:
• voltage & frequency regulation,
• load shifting,
• peak shaving,
• ancillary services for grid support.
Behind the Meter Energy
Storage
Reduce peak consumption and maximize PV
energy self consumption
The device can limit the impact of increases in
the electricity retail price by:
• supplying the load to cut peak demand:
peak shaving,
• maximizing the PV energy self consumption
at building or community level.
Any PV energy surplus is stored in battery
s
Product Range
q Modular design with different configurations
q Battery voltage range 450-850 V
q Designed to work ON or OFF grid with energy storage
q Monitoring and Control system via WIFI or LAN
From 33kW up to MW
LFP – Lithium Battery
From 66 up to MWh
q Compact dimension
q Battery module 32 V 148 Ah series connected
q Max charge/discharge capacity 1C
q 96% of efficiency;
q Life cycle 4000 with DOD 80 %;
q Internal BMS to control each internal cell temperature and working mode
2 years Warranty
q Possibility to increase the
total capacity adding in
parallel other modules
series.
q Operation temperature:
10 … 40 °C

Land for Sale. Tiekunu, Limuru. 1/8th acre. kes 1.4m

Near StepJoy Boys School.

2 km from Dagrotetti-Gikambura-Thogoto tarmac road.

40km to Nairobi CBD via Waiyaki way.

See map below

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d718.0750045541506!2d36.61500882912266!3d-1.1482416591118514!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0x0!2zMcKwMDgnNTMuNyJTIDM2wrAzNic1Ni4wIkU!5e1!3m2!1sen!2ske!4v1553682603735&w=600&h=450]

Call 0721410684 to view.

Architect Francis Gichuh kamau.

Flower pots. kes 2,500

<strong>house and the features it comes with.</strong>

The earthbag house is made up of soil stacked up in onion net type bags and walls plastered with cement. There is a dome shape which requires no roof and the vertical walls which have the normal type of roof with iron sheet roofs on timber trusses.

<strong>How long has it taken to construct? </strong>

Construction of a 3 bedroomed house ideally usually takes 12 weeks.

<strong>What makes this a viable method of construction(eg the cost aspect)?</strong>

The earthbag houses have a unique look and also save on costs since most of the building material is soil and the dome shapes usually require no roofs.

<strong>Is this the first of a kind architecture? </strong>

In Kenya, this is amongst the first earthbag houses. There are also a couple small ones built in the Maasai Mara .

<strong>Where is it borrowed from?</strong>

Earthbag housing is common in South America, Brazil, Equador etc. Also, In USA, California, this method is also growing in familiarity, spearheaded by Architect Khalili of the Cal Eath Institute  https://www.calearth.org/

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Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau

0721410684

Earthquake effect on Buildings.

Earthquake strength is measured according to the Richter scale, from 1 to 10.

Scale 1 to 5 usually dont cause any damage to buildings except for a few wall plaster chip offs, a few window glasses cracked. Its mostly felt in the upper floors of a building.

Scale 5 earthquake will cause significant damage and will unsettle and rattle furniture withing the building.

Scale 6 earthquake is especially fatal where it comes to buildings constructed several storeys high in a densely populated area with low enforcement of building standards by County/Local Authority planning departments eg Kayole, Mathare North areas of Nairobi.

Last year, August 2018, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit Lombok, Indonesia and caused a fatality of over 400. This was after another magnitude 6.4 earthquake in the same area a week before.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/13/asia/lombok-earthquake-intl/index.html

Aftershock earthquakes usually follow the 1st one within a couple of days and in some instances like in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami earthquake, 2 years.

1928 Magnitude 6.9 earthquake, Subukia, Kenya.

The 1928 Magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Subukia nearly 100 years ago is the largest to have affected Kenya in recent times. It was followed by a Magnitude 6.0 earthquake 4 days later in the same area.

Luckily, there were few high rise buildings in the region hence minimal injuries if any. A similar quake if it were to happen in the current times will cause a major catastrophe in Nakuru and Naivasha towns, where building construction for high rise apartments is not as regulated by local authorities to ensure quality standards are followed.

Magnitude 7 and above earthquakes usually cause ammagedon-like fatalities especially in towns where the County /Local Governments have been lax to ensure quality of buildings standards are followed.

The 2010 Haiti Magnitude 7.0 earthquake had a fatality of over 300,000 people.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Haiti-earthquake-of-2010

The initial earthquake was Magnitude 7.0 then it was followed by 2 aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 a few days later.

 

The Sumatra, Indonesia 2004 magnitude 9.1 earthquake Tsunami had a fatality of over 200,000 people.

Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau.

0721410684

info@a4architect.com

 

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) belong to a very heteroge-neous group of chemicals characterized by their relatively highvapor pressures. Exposure to these compounds can bring abouta variety of adverse health effects, including asthma, headaches,mucosal symptoms (Steinemann, 2008) and, in some cases(e.g. benzene), an increased risk of cancer (Ott et al., 1978; Lyngeet al., 1997). In Europe, the only legally regulated VOC as regardsairquality is benzene (Directives 2000/69/EC and 2008/50/EC). The  indirect effects of VOCs on health are related to their role as precursors of ozone and other photochemical pollutants.In urban areas, the main source of VOCs is usually traffic. Additional sources are petrol stations and small-scale industries(paint,adhesives,etc.) which use organic compounds as solvents.PetrolstationsasemissionsourcesofVOCshavebeenthesubjectof considerable study, a particular interest being those related to thedesign and evaluation of control systems in an attempt to diminishemissions (Uren,1997; Ohlrogge et al., 2000),

Isabel et al., (2010) conducted a study on assessing the impact of petrol stations on their immediate surroundings in Spain. Their study found that when a petrol station is surrounded by roads with intense traffic, the emissions from the petrol station are not as important as those coming from vehicle combustion. If the petrol station emissions are mixing with relatively clean air the typical n-hexane/benzene ratio from these stations changes more slowly.

The research study showed that a “minimum” distance of 50 metres should be maintained between petrol stations and housing, and 100 metres for “especially vulnerable” facilities such as hospitals, health centres, schools and old people’s homes. “Ideally, the 100 metre distance should be respected in plans for building new houses.

The researchers proposed carrying out their study at new construction areas in which it is planned to build these kinds of facilities. However, they suggest that petrol stations are not the only source of emission of these pollutants. They recommend that other sources of emission (traffic and industries near population hubs) should be controlled or reduced.

References

Morales., I., Terrés, M., Miñarro, D. M., Ferradas, G. E., Caracena, B.E & Rico B. J. (2010). Assessing the Impact of Petrol Stations on their Immediate Surroundings. Journal of Environmental Management, 2010; 91 (12): 2754 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.08.009

Lynge, E., Andersen, A., Nilsson, R., Barlow, L., Pukkala, E., Nordlinder, R., Boffetta, P.,Grandjean, P., Heikkila, P., Horte, L.G., Jakobsson, R., Lundberg, I., Moen, B.,Partanen, T., Riise, T., (1997). Risk of cancer and exposure to gasoline vapors. American Journal of Epidemiolog.145, 449-458.

EC Directive, (2000). Council Directive 2000/69/EC relating to limit values of benceneand carbon monoxide in ambient air. Of ficial Journal of European Comunities L 313, 12.

EC Directive, (2008). Council Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality anda cleaner air for Europe. Official Journal of European Comunities. L 152, 144.

Teinemann, A.C., (2008). Fragranced consumer products and undisclosed ingredi-ents. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 29, 32-38.

Ott, M.G., Townsend, J.C., Fishbeck, W.A., Langner, R.A., (1978). Mortality amongworkers occupationally exposed to benzene. Archives of Environmental Health33, 3-10.

Uren,S., (1997). A pilotstudy toassess benzene concentrations in the vicinityof petrolstations.Croydon.AvailableontheInternet.UKDepartmentofEnvironment,UK.http://www.environmental-center.com/articles/article122/doebenv3.doc.

Ohlrogge, K., Wind, J., Hassel, D., (2000). New technology for emission reduction atpetrol stations. In:Czech Associationof IUAPPA(InternationalUnionof AirPollution Prevention and Environmental Associations) (Ed.), ConferenceProceedings of the 12th Regional Central European Conference IUAPPA and 4thInternational Conference on Environmental Impact Assessment, pp. 418-425.

 

Prevention of fires in buildings can be dome using a variety of methods.

Building Materials.

During Architectural design, the architect can deliberately specify building materials that are fire proof. Oil based paints in walls can be flammable and can cause a lot of damage during fires. Same to pvc floor , wall and ceiling finishes.

In the World Trade centre September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, the building came down after fire burnt down the steel support columns and melted them. If they were done using concrete, perhaps they could have withstood the fire for longer.

Doors.

Doors can also be specified by the architect to be fire proof and offer a specific time in case of fire before it burns out and lets fire spread to the next room. The doors are usually fire rated in 30/60/90 and 120 minutes , time taken before door is incapable of preventing fire spread. These have got a steel plate inside to aid in fire resistivity.

Windows.

Also, windows can be designed to have an openable grill from the inside where occupants can safely escape in case of fire.

Windows , doors and vents should also be architecturally well placed to allow for cross ventilation so that in case of fire, the smoke will flow out of the building easily.

Party Walls.

These are walls that separate one house from another in row housing types.

These help to contain the fire into the one specific affected unit to prevent spreading. The wall ideally should jut up past the roof cover to ensure fore doesnt spread from the roof.

Boundary wall.

For buildings constructed close to each other, a high boundary wall is also very instrumental in preventing the spread of fire to neighbouring buildings. The recent March 2019 fire at Mountain view estate area of Waiyaki way was contained thanks to high masonry boundary walls that ensured the fire did not spread to neighbouring buildings.

 

See how the Nairobi County Government fire department used excavators and bulldozers to create an empty space between the burning buildings and the non affected ones at the recent fire at Mountain view estate area.

 

Fire Escape stairs.

For highrise buildings, the architectural design should contain fire escape stairs located at the furthest end away from the main stair cases. If the building has a basement, fire escape stairs should terminate into the ground floor area and another stair that is not aligned with the fire escape stair installed from the basement upwards. This is to prevent people from missing the ground floor exit in case of fire when they are coming down the stair in a rush.

Fire Extinguishers.

These can be the portable types fixed on walls and also sprinkler systems constructed through the building Mechanical engineering works. The building water tank storages should always have reserve water to be used in case of fire. This is usually designed by the Mechanical engineers of Building services during the architectural design phase of the house.

 

Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau.

0721410684

info@a4architect.com