Below are some comments I have reposted from Ghanaweb.com and Myjoyonline.com, where this article was also posted.
I have not altered the comments in anyway.
Comment: GOOD IDEA BUT EXPENSIVE
Comment: Re: GOOD IDEA BUT EXPENSIVE
Comment: Re: GOOD IDEA BUT EXPENSIVE
Comment: OUR HOMES SHOULD BE ECO-FRIENDLY
Comment: Green Roof
Comment: Ecotropic
Comment: glass windows
Comment: Re: Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in
Comment: Visited your web site
Comment: Re: Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in
Comment: Re: Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in
Comment: PKA Keep Communicating Ur Ideals to Us
Comment: GREAT IDEA
Comment: my ideal home
Comment: PATRICK ECONOMIC HOUSES
Comment: GLASS WINDOWS; SENSELESS STATUS SYMBOL
Comment: Mr. Ampadu, slow down, please...
Comment: Tropical house
I have noted Patrick's crave for eco-friendly lifestyle in Ghana that could save us energy and water, while at the same time, guaranteeing serene environment and comfortable living. We have the best of natural resources but we are not using them profitably to our advantage. The Ministry of Works and Housing, in collaboration with private real developers should come out with model designs for Ghanaians to adopt. I have personally been dreaming of a picturesque GREEN VILLAGE with all the eco-friendly settings in an attractive area in Ghana to serve as a model. Who will help?
I have not altered the comments in anyway.
Comment: GOOD IDEA BUT EXPENSIVE
Author:
HOT DOG, USA
Date:
2011-08-23 01:52:58
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
GOOD IDEA BUT THIS TYPE OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION IS GOING TO MAKE HOUSING CONSTRUCTION VERY EXPENSIVE IN GHANA. I DON'T THINK AVERAGE GHANA MAN WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD THIS TYPE OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.ACCORDING TO YOUR DESIGN AND SPECIFICATION, WE HAVE TO MAKE ALOT OF ADD UPS AND MODIFICATION TO MEET YOUR SPECIFICATION. THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS WE CAN REDUCE ENERGY BILLS.MY SUGGESTION IS THAT WE NEED TO USE 100 PERCENT LOCAL MATERIALS IN HOUSING CONSTRUCTION THAT WILL REDUCE THE PRICE OF HOUSES IN GHANA BY 25 PERCENT.MATERIALS SUCH AS CLAY BRICKS, CLAY ROOFING TILES,TERAZZO FLOORS ARE GOOD TO MINMIZE HEAT, LET ME NAME FEW.WE NEED TO USE MATERIALS WHICH SUITE OUR WEATHER.
GOOD IDEA BUT THIS TYPE OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION IS GOING TO MAKE HOUSING CONSTRUCTION VERY EXPENSIVE IN GHANA. I DON'T THINK AVERAGE GHANA MAN WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD THIS TYPE OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.ACCORDING TO YOUR DESIGN AND SPECIFICATION, WE HAVE TO MAKE ALOT OF ADD UPS AND MODIFICATION TO MEET YOUR SPECIFICATION. THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS WE CAN REDUCE ENERGY BILLS.MY SUGGESTION IS THAT WE NEED TO USE 100 PERCENT LOCAL MATERIALS IN HOUSING CONSTRUCTION THAT WILL REDUCE THE PRICE OF HOUSES IN GHANA BY 25 PERCENT.MATERIALS SUCH AS CLAY BRICKS, CLAY ROOFING TILES,TERAZZO FLOORS ARE GOOD TO MINMIZE HEAT, LET ME NAME FEW.WE NEED TO USE MATERIALS WHICH SUITE OUR WEATHER.
Comment: Re: GOOD IDEA BUT EXPENSIVE
Author:
jcoolman
Date:
2011-08-23 09:58:56
Comment to:
GOOD IDEA BUT EXPENSIVE
Average Ghanaman cannot afford nothing, not even three meals a day. So we are talking house building we are talking about the borgers and the politico who are currently using the glass sliding doors as the writer indicated.
Average Ghanaman cannot afford nothing, not even three meals a day. So we are talking house building we are talking about the borgers and the politico who are currently using the glass sliding doors as the writer indicated.
Comment: Re: GOOD IDEA BUT EXPENSIVE
Author:
Nemi Kwesi Nemi
Date:
2011-08-23 11:50:31
Comment to:
GOOD IDEA BUT EXPENSIVE
There is nothing in the article which adds on to cost. The article just states these design approaches which will wean you off cooling costs.
On the clay bricks and tiles that you suggested, they reduce heat significantly. However they are relatively expensive in Ghana becasue of limited manufacturing (supply & demand) and unavailability of well trained artizans to install them. When it comes to wood materials, they are poorly treated resulting in decay, warping, insect infestation and eventaul replacement over very short spans of time.
Ghanaians are therefore compelled to use the CMU (sandcrete) blocks which store a lot of heat during the day.
There is nothing in the article which adds on to cost. The article just states these design approaches which will wean you off cooling costs.
On the clay bricks and tiles that you suggested, they reduce heat significantly. However they are relatively expensive in Ghana becasue of limited manufacturing (supply & demand) and unavailability of well trained artizans to install them. When it comes to wood materials, they are poorly treated resulting in decay, warping, insect infestation and eventaul replacement over very short spans of time.
Ghanaians are therefore compelled to use the CMU (sandcrete) blocks which store a lot of heat during the day.
Comment: OUR HOMES SHOULD BE ECO-FRIENDLY
Author:
MARCUS AMPADU
Date:
2011-08-23 02:41:32
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
After reading your interesting piece, I still couldn't decipher the meaning of the term ecotropic building design.
Please help me out.Unless you were using the prefix eco- to mean green or environmentally friendly.
My roof will be solar panelled to generate my own electricity, instead of a concrete roof that has an aluminum roof above it. Wouldn't the heated aluminum roof transfer the heat through conduction to the pack of storage materials, which in turn would transfer the heat to the concrete roof, again through conduction? Some environmentally conscious people have started planting heat absorbing vegetation on top of their roofs, claiming that it really cools the whole building.
For the floor, I suggest well-polished bamboo, which you could also use to panel your walls, which have the dual effect of keeping the house cool and blocking out incoming noise.
I love your idea of a garden. I can't live without my vegetable, herb and flower garden. It's one way to keep the ubiquitous dust away.
Somewhere in the house you should have beautiful works of art, either paintings or carvings.
PKA, enjoy your ideal home in tropical Ghana.
After reading your interesting piece, I still couldn't decipher the meaning of the term ecotropic building design.
Please help me out.Unless you were using the prefix eco- to mean green or environmentally friendly.
My roof will be solar panelled to generate my own electricity, instead of a concrete roof that has an aluminum roof above it. Wouldn't the heated aluminum roof transfer the heat through conduction to the pack of storage materials, which in turn would transfer the heat to the concrete roof, again through conduction? Some environmentally conscious people have started planting heat absorbing vegetation on top of their roofs, claiming that it really cools the whole building.
For the floor, I suggest well-polished bamboo, which you could also use to panel your walls, which have the dual effect of keeping the house cool and blocking out incoming noise.
I love your idea of a garden. I can't live without my vegetable, herb and flower garden. It's one way to keep the ubiquitous dust away.
Somewhere in the house you should have beautiful works of art, either paintings or carvings.
PKA, enjoy your ideal home in tropical Ghana.
Comment: Green Roof
Author:
iCON Real Estate
Date:
2011-08-23 03:37:13
Comment to:
OUR HOMES SHOULD BE ECO-FRIENDLY
Green roofs are used to:Reduce heating (by adding mass and thermal resistance value) The main point about temparatures below ground is that they are relatively stable or constant compared to the daily and seasonal variations of above ground temperatures because of the insulating
effect of the ground itself. (Very slow to warm up and very slow to cool down.)
Green roofs are used to:Reduce heating (by adding mass and thermal resistance value) The main point about temparatures below ground is that they are relatively stable or constant compared to the daily and seasonal variations of above ground temperatures because of the insulating
effect of the ground itself. (Very slow to warm up and very slow to cool down.)
Comment: Ecotropic
Author:
PKA
Date:
2011-08-23 04:34:06
Comment to:
OUR HOMES SHOULD BE ECO-FRIENDLY
Dear Marcus,
I coined the term to mean exactly what you tried to explain. "Eco" to mean green and "tropic" to mean design suitable for the tropics.
Best
PKA
Dear Marcus,
I coined the term to mean exactly what you tried to explain. "Eco" to mean green and "tropic" to mean design suitable for the tropics.
Best
PKA
Comment: glass windows
Author:
Santanhene
Date:
2011-08-23 03:21:37
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
I think it depends on the type of glass. Infact windows with low SHGC values are desirable in tropical buildings.
I think it depends on the type of glass. Infact windows with low SHGC values are desirable in tropical buildings.
Comment: Re: Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in
Author:
www.aedhotep.com
Date:
2011-08-23 03:37:38
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
Answer on www.aedhotep.com
Answer on www.aedhotep.com
Comment: Visited your web site
Author:
MESE BRA HA
Date:
2011-08-23 04:06:35
Comment to:
Re: Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in
I visited your web site. Well done. Good to see many working hard to help others and themselves as well in the result.
Will bear the site in mind when I am ready to develop a plot in Accra.
Once again, well done and thanks for pointing me to the website.
I visited your web site. Well done. Good to see many working hard to help others and themselves as well in the result.
Will bear the site in mind when I am ready to develop a plot in Accra.
Once again, well done and thanks for pointing me to the website.
Comment: Re: Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in
Author:
e b wundowa
Date:
2011-08-23 03:52:14
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
In the first place, not all buildings in Ghana are designed by architects. Secondly, the idea of the varendah, shading devices(solar incidence and heat transfer in buildings)and cross airflow in buildings (in the tropics) is part of the environmental science course of the architect's training in the school of architecture, KNUST and such issues are not new.
Most would-be builders are unprepared to pay for the services of an architect and will rather engage the serices of draughtsmen or such similar qualified people to copy or generate plans for them on account of cost.
Most would-be builders see 'beautiful buildings' abroad or in magazines and literally lift the apperance of such buildings on to their plots of land in Ghana.
In the first place, not all buildings in Ghana are designed by architects. Secondly, the idea of the varendah, shading devices(solar incidence and heat transfer in buildings)and cross airflow in buildings (in the tropics) is part of the environmental science course of the architect's training in the school of architecture, KNUST and such issues are not new.
Most would-be builders are unprepared to pay for the services of an architect and will rather engage the serices of draughtsmen or such similar qualified people to copy or generate plans for them on account of cost.
Most would-be builders see 'beautiful buildings' abroad or in magazines and literally lift the apperance of such buildings on to their plots of land in Ghana.
Comment: Re: Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in
Author:
Bubaspax
Date:
2011-08-23 06:07:56
Comment to:
Re: Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in
U absolutely right.Most houses are not designed by architects and thats why we don't get the benefits of a true tropical house.
U absolutely right.Most houses are not designed by architects and thats why we don't get the benefits of a true tropical house.
Comment: PKA Keep Communicating Ur Ideals to Us
Author:
Conventional Youth
Date:
2011-08-23 07:00:17
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
APK Wrote:
“Aluminium roofing sheets and plastic ceiling are another heat generating ideas as well as a bare concrete roof”. I certainly agree with you on this one.
You also wrote, “Clay tile roofing will be best to reduce heat but I personally prefer a concrete roof that has an aluminium roof above it with a pack of storage materials in between”.
CY’s Take
1. What pack of storage material are you recommending in-between a concrete and aluminium roof?
2. Is it a kind of insulation or padding? Loft has been part of most standard buildings, some are used for storage facilities, such as water for indirect heating systems for domestic purposes etc, etc.
APK Wrote:
“Ideally, the room height should be meters, with long under-roof windows that allow hot air collecting under the roof to escape. This way the cool air comes in through the regular windows and the hot air leaves through the windows under the roof”
CY’s Take
3. How would these windows be regulated?. I been picturing how this innovation could be demonstrated with respect to positioning of the sun, eg. in dry seasons. This is because, I personally have problems with, where and how living rooms and bed rooms are located in some conventional building structures.
I understand your choice of aluminium and glass for your cabinets in Bathroom and kitchen, however, there are treated and coated wood good for kitchen units and worktops, which can resist humid conditions. I would also prefer ceramic washbasin to a concrete sinks and probably manage a well coated metal /tin baths or shower trays in a bathroom, excepts where designs, of vanity sinks available are suitable with concrete doors. Ceramic pedestal and wall mounted washbasins looks sustainable and cost effective in bathrooms. Your choice of aluminium kitchen sink is excellent, and will look better with chrome taps.
I would like the hardware industry to promote polypropylene material in building structures , because, it offer a combination of outstanding physical, chemical. Mechanical, thermal and electrical properties not found in any most thermoplastics. Well done and keep inspiring us by such innovative writings. This what STEMIC Education is all about.
STEMIC:
Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathematics
Innovation
Communication
APK Wrote:
“Aluminium roofing sheets and plastic ceiling are another heat generating ideas as well as a bare concrete roof”. I certainly agree with you on this one.
You also wrote, “Clay tile roofing will be best to reduce heat but I personally prefer a concrete roof that has an aluminium roof above it with a pack of storage materials in between”.
CY’s Take
1. What pack of storage material are you recommending in-between a concrete and aluminium roof?
2. Is it a kind of insulation or padding? Loft has been part of most standard buildings, some are used for storage facilities, such as water for indirect heating systems for domestic purposes etc, etc.
APK Wrote:
“Ideally, the room height should be meters, with long under-roof windows that allow hot air collecting under the roof to escape. This way the cool air comes in through the regular windows and the hot air leaves through the windows under the roof”
CY’s Take
3. How would these windows be regulated?. I been picturing how this innovation could be demonstrated with respect to positioning of the sun, eg. in dry seasons. This is because, I personally have problems with, where and how living rooms and bed rooms are located in some conventional building structures.
I understand your choice of aluminium and glass for your cabinets in Bathroom and kitchen, however, there are treated and coated wood good for kitchen units and worktops, which can resist humid conditions. I would also prefer ceramic washbasin to a concrete sinks and probably manage a well coated metal /tin baths or shower trays in a bathroom, excepts where designs, of vanity sinks available are suitable with concrete doors. Ceramic pedestal and wall mounted washbasins looks sustainable and cost effective in bathrooms. Your choice of aluminium kitchen sink is excellent, and will look better with chrome taps.
I would like the hardware industry to promote polypropylene material in building structures , because, it offer a combination of outstanding physical, chemical. Mechanical, thermal and electrical properties not found in any most thermoplastics. Well done and keep inspiring us by such innovative writings. This what STEMIC Education is all about.
STEMIC:
Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathematics
Innovation
Communication
Comment: GREAT IDEA
Author:
RESPECT
Date:
2011-08-23 07:08:37
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
Brilliant idea. I always say we must as a ppl, define ourselves by doing things our own way instead of copying blindly from the west.
Brilliant idea. I always say we must as a ppl, define ourselves by doing things our own way instead of copying blindly from the west.
Comment: my ideal home
Author:
mike
Date:
2011-08-23 07:18:54
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
great and brilliant ideas
great and brilliant ideas
Comment: PATRICK ECONOMIC HOUSES
Author:
ZION AYARIGA
Date:
2011-08-23 07:30:02
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
Please Ghana is bankrupt in housing and we need economic housing ie apartments to house the millions in the gettoes first ,please os bring your ideas on that.
Please Ghana is bankrupt in housing and we need economic housing ie apartments to house the millions in the gettoes first ,please os bring your ideas on that.
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Comment: GLASS WINDOWS; SENSELESS STATUS SYMBOL
Author:
Frank Mensah, Tikobo No. 2
Date:
2011-08-23 08:19:19
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
My brother, you hit the nail right on the head. In appears the glass windows use is just an in appropriate and senseless status symbol in Ghana - a country with a 60 percent power availability. It is not only about the availability of power but also affordability. I know a lot of guys and gals who would never leave on their airconditions because of the high cost of energy in Ghana. What this means is that they have a white elephant in front of them - useless and unusable. Sometimes, these just depict the foolish ostentations of the newly rich.
My brother, you hit the nail right on the head. In appears the glass windows use is just an in appropriate and senseless status symbol in Ghana - a country with a 60 percent power availability. It is not only about the availability of power but also affordability. I know a lot of guys and gals who would never leave on their airconditions because of the high cost of energy in Ghana. What this means is that they have a white elephant in front of them - useless and unusable. Sometimes, these just depict the foolish ostentations of the newly rich.
Comment: Mr. Ampadu, slow down, please...
Author:
JK
Date:
2011-08-23 08:32:35
Comment to:
OUR HOMES SHOULD BE ECO-FRIENDLY
Marcus,
I see that you have already started interior decoration.
hahahaha
Patrick has some great ideas, and so do you.
So much of the slidng glass usage in Ghana is the result of attempts to keep out dust, and the stench from indiscriminate burning of waste and brush. Planting and good vegetation around will reduce this.
I don't know what one has to do about the neighbour's house-help burning brush that may have been cleared a week earlier. It drives me nuts!
There are good preservation methods for wood, if the contractor does not cut corners. Bamboo is certainly good.
I also like your idea of solar energy.
Thank you both for your suggestions.
Marcus,
I see that you have already started interior decoration.
hahahaha
Patrick has some great ideas, and so do you.
So much of the slidng glass usage in Ghana is the result of attempts to keep out dust, and the stench from indiscriminate burning of waste and brush. Planting and good vegetation around will reduce this.
I don't know what one has to do about the neighbour's house-help burning brush that may have been cleared a week earlier. It drives me nuts!
There are good preservation methods for wood, if the contractor does not cut corners. Bamboo is certainly good.
I also like your idea of solar energy.
Thank you both for your suggestions.
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Comment: Tropical house
Author:
KRYSTYNA from France
Date:
2011-08-23 16:12:02
Comment to:
Ecotropic Building Design" - My Ideal Home in Trop
I sugest you take a look at Quinsland AU architecture.They have very similiar climat to Ghana but you have less rain and no flooding;I find your obsarvations very interesting.Include inside the house heat absorbing plants and insect repelant like easy growing beautiful CITRONELLA
I sugest you take a look at Quinsland AU architecture.They have very similiar climat to Ghana but you have less rain and no flooding;I find your obsarvations very interesting.Include inside the house heat absorbing plants and insect repelant like easy growing beautiful CITRONELLA
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Aug 25, 2011 7-02 GMT |
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