If electricity can be used even in the event of a power failure ... “Disaster prevention house” under development, November 16, 9:42

In September, when Typhoon No. 15 passed, we interviewed Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, where a large-scale blackout continued. While the heat remained, the power outage prevented us from using air conditioners, refrigerators and baths, and there were some inconveniences and fatigues that residents felt. On the other hand, I heard that a house with solar power generation could use electricity even during a power outage and helped neighbors by charging their mobile phones. I appreciate the benefits of lifelines such as electricity. How to prepare for disasters that do not know when and where. As one of them, “disaster prevention housing” is attracting attention.
(Ministry of Economics report Neil Kato)

Housing for “power outages”

Until a while ago, disaster prevention for homes meant “earthquake resistance” in preparation for earthquakes, but housing manufacturers are now developing housing for various disasters.

As the number of homes equipped with solar power generation facilities increases, Sekisui Chemical is focusing on “systems linked to weather information”.

Houses that use solar power often use the electricity stored in the daytime at night, especially in the morning. In the event of a disaster, if there is only a little remaining power, there is no point.

Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., in cooperation with electrical manufacturers, developed a system that links the meteorological warning issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency via the Internet with the storage battery.

Supports seven types of weather warnings, including heavy rain, floods, and storms. When an alarm is issued due to the approach of a typhoon, etc., power is automatically purchased from the power company and charged to the storage battery.

Even at night when solar power is not generated, the storage battery is full. Even when the storage battery is almost empty, it can be fully charged in 2 to 3 hours, and can be prepared for disasters.

Even with a conventional storage battery, if you operate it manually, you can switch to a setting to purchase electricity from an electric power company for full charging.

However, in Typhoon No. 21 that hit the Kinki region in September last year, there were voices from users such as "I don't know how to operate" or "I can't operate while I'm out."

In response to this voice, we developed a system that does not require manual operation. We are planning to build 4500 buildings annually, starting in October.

Ms. Sagara of Sekisui Chemical Industry said, “Even if there are only children and elderly people in the house, I think that the house will automatically recharge, which will increase the sense of security. I want to strengthen the function. "

Some houses are connected to electric cars

Some housing manufacturers use cars for power outages. The model house released by Toyota Home in November introduces a mechanism that can supply power from electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Even in the event of a power failure, you can continue your life with electricity by connecting your house and car with a dedicated cable. Plug-in hybrid vehicles can cover up to 4 days of electricity.

It also has a storage battery that can store the power generated by the solar panels on the rooftop, and a fuel cell that produces electricity by extracting hydrogen from the gas.

Toyota Home says, “We want to make further efforts to build disaster-resistant homes to meet the need to continue to live in our homes after a disaster.”

"Wells" attracting attention again

On the other hand, like water, water is indispensable for life. In Typhoon No. 15 in September, water outages occurred mainly in the southern part of Chiba Prefecture. At one time, a maximum of 89,000 households were shut down, and it took more than two weeks for the entire prefecture to stop.

In addition to power outages, prolonged water outages also prevented the use of toilets and baths in the homes, leading to delays in cleaning up damaged houses.

Under these circumstances, development of housing for water outages is also progressing. The Acura Home will focus on “wells”. Before building a house, you can investigate the water vein and install a well.

A traditional hand pump is used to pump water in a well. Although it is easier to pump out water using an electric pump, the electric pump may not move during a power failure.

If the water from this well is to be used as drinking water, it is necessary to periodically inspect the water quality. Even when it is not normally used for drinks, it can be used to drop toilet water or mud in the event of a disaster.

Houses equipped with “water storage tanks” have also appeared. The home that Panasonic Homes is focusing on has a water storage tank in the kitchen and is connected to the water pipe.

The tap water coming out of the faucet of the kitchen etc. comes out through this tank, but the water in the tank is always replaced with fresh water, so it can also be used as drinking water. The tank capacity is 43 liters. This is enough for a family of four to live for three days.

Houses prepared for flood

Development of housing for flood damage is also underway. In early October, Ichijo Construction Co., Ltd. released a housing experiment under development.

In the experiment, 300mm of heavy rain was reproduced per hour. In a normal house, water flows from the gaps in the windows and the ventilation openings under the floor. In addition, in bathrooms and the like, water flows backward from the pipes and flooding occurs.

To prevent such flooding, the manufacturer seals the windows by packing them. The window glass is tempered glass to withstand water pressure.

In addition, the vents use water pressure to close the lid, and the toilet and bathroom pipes have special valves to prevent backflow from the outside.

In the experiment, inundation did not occur in a house with such measures. In addition to the experimental data, the manufacturer analyzes the damage of Typhoon No. 19 in October, and examines whether countermeasures are sufficient, aiming for sales within the year.

Hiroshi Sugawara, development manager of the Ichijo Engineering Company, said, “House is an important asset, so we want to provide a house that can keep it even if a disaster occurs.”

How to prepare for disasters

In Japan, more severe disasters are expected to occur frequently in the future.

According to the forecast of the Japan Meteorological Agency, if the temperature rises twice due to global warming, the frequency of heavy rain once every 100 to 200 years will approximately double.

Until now, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has prepared the largest flood damage that occurred in the past as a standard for flood countermeasures. In the future, we will switch to measures that take into account global warming.

Of course, everyday preparations such as confirmation of evacuation routes and emergency food storage are also important, but how well a house is prepared for a disaster seems to be an important point in choosing a house.

Department of Economics Reporter Neil Kato Joined in 2010 Shizuoka Station, Osaka Station Currently in charge of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport