Eco Friendly Building

INTRODUCTION

We are now entering the era when the universe is facing an additional challenge
how to build structures that are environmentally more sustainable. Buildings ,as
they are designed and used today contribute to serious environmental problem
because of excessive consumption of energy and other natural resources. Most of
the building in India use high energy consuming material like bricks,RCC and glass.
With increasing energy prices, diminishing conventional source of energy and
increased production of Green house gases,Green or Eco-friendly or sustainable
building are the need of the hour.

Ecp-friendly building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which

buildings use resources (energy,water and materials) while reducing building
impacts on human health and the environment during the building’s life cycle
through better design, construction, operation, maintenance and removal.

Objectives of Eco-friendly building :

1. Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources.

2. Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity.

3. Reducing waste, pollution, and environment degradation.

4. Reducing operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy.

NEED OF ENERGY CONSERVATION

Since 1990, India has emerged as one of the wealthiest economies in the developing world.
During this period, the economy has grown constantly with only a few major set backs. With 35
cities with populations in excess of 1 million, and more cities joining the list, investments in
urban infrastructure for the provision of services are projected to be higher than ever before. In
order to sustain its GDP growth at the projected average of around 7-8%, one needs to ensure a
sustained energy supply and increased energy security. Be it problems of shortages of fuels or
consumption of electricity we need to work out every detail to fight with the scarcity of sources
of energy. Since the building sector is inextricably connected to nearly all over energy demands
whether it be agricultural, transportation, industrial or residential & commercial, it is of prime

NEED OF ENERGY CONSERVATION

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Since 1990, India has emerged as one of the wealthiest economies in the developing world.
During this period, the economy has grown constantly with only a few major set backs. With 35
cities with populations in excess of 1 million, and more cities joining the list, investments in
urban infrastructure for the provision of services are projected to be higher than ever before. In
order to sustain its GDP growth at the projected average of around 7-8%, one needs to ensure a
sustained energy supply and increased energy security. Be it problems of shortages of fuels or
consumption of electricity we need to work out every detail to fight with the scarcity of sources
of energy. Since the building sector is inextricably connected to nearly all over energy demands
whether it be agricultural, transportation, industrial or residential & commercial, it is of prime
importance that all possibilities towards energy efficiency and conservation in this sector be
looked at in depth and put to use as soon as possible.

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Green building in India

The Energy and Resource Institute plays a very important role in developing green building
capacities in the country. TERI came up with a rating system called GRIHA which was adopted
by the Government. of India as the National Green Building Rating System for the country.
GRIHA aims at ensuring that all kinds of buildings become green buildings. the strengths of
GRIHA lie in the fact that it rates even non-air conditioned buildings as green and puts great
emphasis on local and traditional construction knowledge. THE CESE building in IIT Kanpur
became the first GRIHA rated building in the country and it scored 5 stars, highest in GRIHA
under the system. It has become a model for green buildings in the country. It has proved that
with little extra investment, tremendous energy and water savings are possible. There are various
projects which are the first of their kinds to attempt for green building ratings like apartment
residential buildings and non-air conditioned buildings. Measures are being taken to spread
awareness about the GRIHA-National Green Building Rating System of India.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) plays an active role in promoting sustainability in the
Indian construction sector. The CII is the central pillar of the Indian Green Building Council or
IGBC. The IGBC has licensed the LEED Green Building Standard from the U.S. Green Building
Council and currently is responsible for certifying LEED-New Construction and LEED-Core and
Shell buildings in India. All other projects are certified through the U.S. Green Building Council.
There are many energy efficient buildings in India, situated in a variety of climatic zones. One of
these is RMZ Millenia Park, Chennai, India's largest LEED gold-rated Core & Shell green
building.[1]

The Reserve Bank of India's buildings in Delhi and Bubaneshwar in Orissa have already been
rated 4 star and 5 star respectively.

GREEN BUILDING RATING SYSTEM

Greenness of a building is actually determined on the basis of the energy saving achived during
its construction and operation. Rating to a building as regard to the Greenness can be done by
using LEED India adopted by the IGBC and GRIHA developed in TERI based on certain present
norms.the aim of green building design is to uses natural environment friendly materials, utilizes
natural renewable resources for lighting, heating and cooling and to achieves energy
conservation.
The IGBC has licensed the LEED Green Building Standard from the U.S. Green Building
Council and currently is responsible for certifying LEED-New Construction and LEED-Core and
Shell buildings in India. All other projects are certified through the U.S. Green Building Council.

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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED)

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally recognized green

building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was
designed and built using strategies intended to improve performance in metrics such as energy
savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and
stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED is intended to provide building
owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and
measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) was established by USGBC to provide a
series of exams to allow individuals to become accredited for their knowledge of the LEED
rating system. This is recognized through either the LEED Accredited Professional(LEED AP)
or LEED Green Associate (LEED GA) designation. GBCI also provides third-party certification
for projects pursuing LEED.

LEED principles looks into five aspects of building. They are:-

1. Sustainable site selection and planning.

2. Water efficiency.

3. Energy efficiency.

4. Material efficiency and waste management.

SUSTAINABLE SITE SELECTION & PLANNING

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a) General climatic data ( temperature, humidity and wind patterns ) should be analysed in
conjuction with specific site elements ( topography, vegetation, water condition on site,
existing buildings and natural drainage system).
b) Should be well connected to public transport and supports transportation alternatives.
This will reduce the use of private transportation.
c) Should be oriented to take advantages of natural day lighting and natural ventilation.
d) Should protects nad retains the existing landscaping and natural features. Replant trees
on-site in the ratio 1:3 to those removed during construction.
e) Preserve soil conservation ( erosion and sedimentation sontrol ) to maintain the adequate
fertility of the soil to support vegetative growth and to reduce negative impacts on water
and air quality.
f) Selected site should not fall within the disaster control zone as specified by the local
authority.
g) Ensure that basic amenties such as bank, post-office, primary school park, convience
grocery, clinic and childcare etc. are near or within the site premises.
h) Should provided at least the minimum level of sanitation/safety facilities.

WATER EFFICIENCY

A green building requires the need for efficient and reduced water use in buildings. Saving in
water are not only due to conservate use of water but also through waste water reduction and
treatement of waste water for reuse. Green building achieve reduction of water consumption by
20-30% vs. conventional building through:
a) Promoting Recycle, Recharge and Reuse of water.
i. By waste water treatment for reuse
According to the BIS IS:1172-1993 norms for urban water supply, the average
water supply in urban cities is taken as 200 liter per capita per day(lpcd).
Discharged house water is divided into two parts .
Grey water and black water.grey water is shower, hand basin, kitchen tap,
dishwasher discharge. Black water is toilet discharge. We found mathematically
that even if 60% of grey water is treated for reuse; it will meet about 50% of
water requirements of the person.

ii. By rain water harvesting.

Remaining 50% demand of water of the person can be met through pumping
ground water.

b) Reducing building water use.

i. Using controlled flushing system.
ii. Using bathtubs if family member is more than five.

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c) Reducing water losses.

i. Identifying and checking leakages in distribution lines.
ii. Installing a water meter to estimate water consumption.

d) Efficient water use during construction.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Energy consumption represents about 25% of a building total operating cost, making its
conservation is not only an environmental concern but alos an economic one. Green
building can achieve 30-35% reduction in energy consumption vs. conventional buildings
through;

i. Design orientation of the building to get maximum day-lighting.

ii. Use Green roof and Green wall to avoid heat gain into the building.
iii. Use of energy efficient goods.
iv. Use zero CFC base refrigerants in refrigeration and air-conditioning system.
v. Utilizing Renewable Energy.(Biomass , solar, wind).

MATERIAL EFFICIENCY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

Material efficiency can be achieved by

a) Select materials such that a major portion of the building is recyclable during renovation
and re-construction.
b) Use materials having longer life .
c) Allocate separate space for sorting and storing waste disposals.
d) Design waste bin which allows for easy cleaning and thereby and avoid health hazards.

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

a) Indoor air quality refers to the presence or absence of air pollutants in

buildings.
b) Tobacco smoke control.
c) Use low or no VOC paints.
d) Providing better ventilated space.

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