A new technology that aims to make homes more comfortable has been unveiled, promising to improve the living standards of millions of urban dwellers.
A report by Daily Nation on Thursday, February 18, indicated that the new technology features a roof coating material that reflects light hence reducing the heat in the house.
The process including applying the coating, which contains highly reflective materials, on the roof as well as iron sheet-wall houses.
This process comes in handy especially with the extreme changes in temperature requiring families to adopt cooling systems.
The coated roofing absorbs minimal heat from the sun as opposed to corrugated roofing and the technology is mainly used in European countries.
Most of the homes targeted by the new technology are informal settlements and those neighbourhoods dominated by lower middle class.
Steam Plant Limited technical director Nguchie Gathongo noted that the technology was a cheaper option compared to electric cooling appliances.
"Using a reflecting coat is a cheaper and environmentally friendlier way of cooling houses as compared to buying and using an AC," she noted.
Steam Plant is the company introducing the coated roofing technology.
The technology was influenced by a 2017 study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University that found the temperature in informal houses was higher than those in the suburbs.
Kibra, Mukuru and Mathare recorded between five and 10 Fahrenheit higher than the other regions.
The study also found that the higher temperatures were caused by the choice of the construction materials, poor ventilation, lack of vegetation among others.
