FRAMEWORK FOR RESIDENTIAL GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION

(A CASE STUDY OF KADUNA METROPOLIS)

By

Author

Presented To

Department of Environmental Design

ABSTRACT
There are concerns recently about the effects of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from operation of buildings on the global climate system. Activities related to energy consumption in buildings have been identified as offering the greatest opportunity to mitigation of GHGs. It is against this background that the study set out to develop a framework for mitigation of CO2 emissions from residential buildings in Kaduna metropolis. The methodology of the study is a field survey. It involved identifying the level of possession of electrical appliances by the 206 households surveyed, the extent of use of the appliances, behaviour of households in relation to energy consumption, determination of the amounts of fuel consumed by households and the calculation of CO2 emissions attributable to these activities. A structured questionnaire was used for this purpose while a CO2/Humidity/Temperature Recorder was used to measure the concentrations of the gas released during various domestic fuel-consuming activities. The convenience sampling procedure was adopted. The result shows that a large number of electrical gadgets are owned by the households and that food preparation (35%), lighting (26%) and cooling (18%) respectively consume the greatest quantity of grid electricity and also emit the most CO2. The direct emissions of CO2 (5660 kg) from the surveyed households are more than twice the indirect emissions (2063.83 kg). The mean outdoor concentration of CO2 during the operation of generators (1181ppm) is beyond the ASHRAE limit of between 300 and 400 ppm while the average indoor concentration (625ppm) is within the limit (not greater than 1050 ppm). In the case of cooking fuels, wood produced the greatest CO2 concentration (1133 ppm) at the source of the emission followed by kerosene (1002 ppm) and LPG (817 ppm). The result also revealed a low level of observance of energy efficiency measures amongst the households. A framework was developed which is aimed at reduction of CO2 emissions through good design of new buildings, efficient services design and behavioural adjustments by the building users. The study concludes that the relatively high population size of the households, ownership of a large collection of electrical appliances, inefficient operation of the appliances and consumption of large quantities of biomass and fossil fuels are responsible for the emissions of large quantities of CO2. The major recommendations from the study are the boosting of the generation and transmission of electricity by government, a shift towards renewable energy sources by the households and embracing of energy efficient measures. The study also recommends further studies into CO2 emissions from energy use in buildings to develop models that can be used to estimate possible emission reductions as well as determination of emission factors for the various processes in buildings and associated fuel types. The major contributions of the study to knowledge are the determination of average energy consumption and CO2 emission resulting from this which are respectively 992kWh/capita/year and 1292.52kgCO2/capita/year. The other major contribution is the framework suggested for CO2 mitigation in buildings in Kaduna metropolis.