ISSN (Online) 2456-1290

International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering

(IJERMCE)
Special Issue
.inSIGHT’18,4th National Level Construction Techies Conference
Advances in Infrastructure Development and Transportation Systems in Developing India.

Innovations in Transforming a Traditional

Building into Green Building
[1]
Aishwarya Kodnikar, [2]Sneha Hajare, [3]Shubham Thorat, [4]Shantini Bokil
[1]
Research Students, [2] Professor and Head
[1][2][3][4]
Department of Civil Engineering, MIT, College of Engineering,Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Abstract— Implementation of sustainable practices in construction sector is not new; this concept has already gained
tremendous importance worldwide. It includes many aspects such as environmental, social, economic etc. With the
increasing awareness of sustainable development in the construction industry, today’s market is full of innovative green
building materials and technologies. The rating systems like LEED are becoming universal so as to measure and verify
the sustainable practices employed in the design, construction, and operation of commercial real estate in the world.
Despite the increasing adoption of the LEED Rating Systems, the knowledge of how to “green” existing buildings through
the implementation of sustainable practices remains largely unfamiliar to the real estate industry. The driving force
behind implementing green practices in existing buildings is knowledgeable and diligent. Unlike fulfilling green building
requirements for new construction, converting existing buildings into green buildings requires an ongoing commitment to
monitor building systems, train staff, and keep up to date with certification requirements. By doing so, we can save up to
30-40% of water, 40-50% energy and 20-40% of construction material. While this may seem like added work with added
costs, the financial benefits of pursuing green practices are pronounced and long lasting.

Keywords: Sustainability, growing awareness, “green” existing buildings, financial benefits

I. INTRODUCTION
A green building uses less energy, water and other
natural resources, creates less waste & Green House
Gases and is healthy for people during living or
working inside as compared to a standard building.
Another meaning of Green Structure is clean
environment, water and healthy living. Green building
is not about a little more efficiency, it is about creating
buildings that optimize on the local ecology, use of
local materials and most importantly they are built to
minimize power, water and material requirements.
Thus, if these things are kept in mind, then we will
realize that our traditional architecture was in fact, very
green. Today, we have forgotten how to create a natural
environment, instead we are copying it from developed Green building in India is experiencing major growth.
countries. Buildings are a major energy consuming According to the World Green Building Trends 2016
sector in the economy. About 35 to 40% of total energy Smart Market Report, green construction in the country
is used by buildings during construction. The major accounts for 37 percent of respondents‟ total work.
consumption of Energy in buildings is during What‟s more, those surveyed estimate that by 2018, it
construction and later in lighting or air-conditioning will be 57 percent, the second highest among all
systems. This consumption must be minimized. countries taking part in the survey.
Possibly, this should be limited to about 80-100 watts
per sqm.

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MIT-ADT UNIVERSITY, Pune, India
13
 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Special Issue
.inSIGHT’18,4th National Level Construction Techies Conference
Advances in Infrastructure Development and Transportation Systems in Developing India.

Building O&M Rating System‟ to address the National

priorities. By applying IGBC Green Existing Building
O&M criteria, existing buildings can be sustainable
over the life cycle of the building. This rating program
enables the building owner / developer to apply green
concepts and criteria, so as to reduce the environmental
impacts, which are measurable.
Green existing buildings can have tremendous benefits,
both tangible and intangible. The most tangible benefits
are the reduction in water & energy consumption. The
operational savings through energy & water efficiency
could range from 15 - 30 %. The consumer waste
generated in the building can also be substantially
reduced. Intangible benefits of green existing buildings
include enhanced air quality, health & higher
satisfaction levels of occupants.

Fig 2: Level of Green Building Activity II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Despite of the increasing demand of green building 1. IGBC Green Existing Buildings O&M Rating
concept in India, the knowledge of how to convert System-Pilot Version
existing buildings into green building through various IGBC Green Existing Building O&M is the first rating
sustainable practices remains largely unfamiliar to the program developed in India, exclusively for existing
real estate industry. The real estate industry lacks the building stock. It is based on accepted environmental
data of how to “green” an existing building by principles and strikes a balance between known
implementing sustainable practices.While the LEED established practices and emerging concepts. The
Rating System for New Construction was launched in system is designed to be comprehensive in scope, yet
2000, the Rating System for Existing Buildings was simple in operation. Green existing buildings can have
only introduced to the market in late 2004. As of tremendous benefits, both tangible and intangible. The
February 2007, there were a total of 715 LEED most tangible benefits are the reduction in water &
certifications, 550 of which represented new energy consumption. The operational savings through
construction, while only 45 represented existing energy & water efficiency could range from 15 - 30 %.
buildings. Of the existing buildings rated, almost all The consumer waste generated in the building can also
were single tenant buildings. Education, training, and be substantially reduced. Intangible benefits of green
experience remain barriers to implementing green existing buildings include enhanced air quality, health
practices in existing buildings. The USGBC now offers & higher satisfaction levels of occupants.
training and exams for LEED Accredited Professionals
working with existing buildings. National Priorities Addressed-
●Water Conservation: Most of the Asian countries are
Green practice in the existing buildings can help water stressed and in countries like India, the water
address national issues like water efficiency, energy table has reduced drastically over the last decade. Green
efficiency, reduction in fossil fuel use in commuting, Existing Buildings O&M Rating System encourages
handling of waste and conserving natural resources. use of water in a self-sustainable manner through
Most importantly, these concepts can enhance occupant reducing, recycling and reusing strategies. By adopting
health, happiness and well-being. this rating program, green existing buildings can save
potable water to an extent of 15 – 30%.
Against this background, the Indian Green Building ●Handling of Consumer Waste: Handling of waste in
Council (IGBC) has launched „IGBC Green Existing existing buildings is extremely difficult as most of the

All Rights Reserved © 2018 IJERMCE

MIT-ADT UNIVERSITY, Pune, India

14
 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Special Issue
.inSIGHT’18,4th National Level Construction Techies Conference
Advances in Infrastructure Development and Transportation Systems in Developing India.

waste generated is not segregated at source and has a help of this data we calculated the energy and water
high probability of going to land-fills. This continues to consumption of the building by implementing the green
be a challenge to the municipalities which needs to be concepts like solar photovoltaic panels, rain water
addressed. IGBC intends to address this by encouraging harvesting and WTP. Also, we suggest some green
green existing buildings to segregate the building waste. concepts to convert the existing traditional building to
●Energy Efficiency: The building sector is a large green building. These are as follows:
consumer of electrical energy. Through IGBC Green
Existing Building O&M rating system, buildings have ENERGY CONSERVATION:-
scope to reduce energy consumption through energy 1.Energy conservation through lighting systems:
efficient-lighting, air conditioning systems, motors, 1.Use compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) in place of
pumps etc. The operational energy savings that can be incandescent lamps.
realized by adopting this rating program can be to the 2.Commonly T12 fluorescent tube is used which
tune of 15 – 30%. consumes 40W power by tube plus 10-18W power by
●Reduced Dependency on Virgin Materials: The rating electromagnetic ballast. Replace these lamps with more
system encourages projects to use recycled materials, efficient T8 or T5 lamps.
and discourages the use of virgin wood during 3.Use of metal halide lamps in place of LPMV or
renovation, thereby, addressing environmental impacts HPSV lamps.
associated with extraction and processing of virgin 4.Use LED lighting.
materials. 5.Proper installation of luminaries.
●Health and Well-being of Occupants: Health and well- 6.Improving lighting control (Occupancy Sensors).
being of occupants is the most important aspect of 7.Use maximum daylight.
Green Existing Buildings. IGBC Green Existing 8.Proper maintenance.
Buildings O&M Rating System ensures minimum 9.Energy management systems.
ventilation aspects, occupant well-being facilities which
are critical in a building. The rating system also (B)Solar photovoltaic system:
recognizes measures to minimize he indoor air In solar photovoltaic system solar energy is directly
pollutants. converted to electric power. This makes the system far
more convenient and compact compared to thermal
2. Jigneshkumr R. Chaudhari1 and Prof.Keyur D. methods of solar energy conservation. It uses the
Tandel‟s paper “Energy saving of Green Building energy of visible and infrared regions of the solar
Using Solar Photovoltaic Systems”states the idea of radiations for conservation into electric power.
green buildings promotes use of renewable energy, Approx.Wo Energy
Watta No
recyclable & recycled products Green building design Items
ge s.
rking hours consumption(w
reduces energy consumption over its lifetime. Green per day h/day)
building has to save water 36-40%, save energy 30- Incandes 60 21 7 8820
40% and save material 25-40% compared to cent
conventional building. Green building is which one lamps
high thermal insulations, Rain water harvesting, terrace Fluoresc 40 24 7 6720
gardening, ventilation and energy efficient appliances. ent tubes
in Flats
III. METHODOLOGY Fluoresc 40 15 10 6000
ent tubes
We have carried out analysis of green retrofitting in in
existing residential building; and for that purpose we common
have selected a residential building- Swami Krupa, area
Pune, India. In this survey we have analyzed the Fan 70 21 5 7350
existing energy and water consumption of the total 6 Compute 100- 6 3 2700
flats - 3 flats of 2BHK and 3 flats of 1BHK. With the rs 200

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MIT-ADT UNIVERSITY, Pune, India

15
 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Special Issue
.inSIGHT’18,4th National Level Construction Techies Conference
Advances in Infrastructure Development and Transportation Systems in Developing India.

Refrigera 225- 6 10 21750 (C) Eco-friendly refrigerants and halons - To encourage

tors 500 the use of eco-friendly refrigerants and halons in the
T.V. 210- 9 10 27450 facility, thereby minimizing leakage in the atmosphere
400 and the resultant impact on the ozone layer.
Microwa 800- 5 1.5 6750
ve 1000 (D) On-site renewable technologies- Encourage the use
Heater/ 1000- 5 1.5 9375 of on-site renewable technologies to minimize the
Geyser 1500 environmental impacts of generating energy through
Mixer 150- 6 0.5 900 fossil fuels and demonstrate renewable energy
450 generation for at least 2.5% of total annual energy
Iron 40-60 6 0.5 150 consumption of the building.
Washing 600- 6 2 8400
Machine 800 (E) Energy metering and monitoring - Encourage
Radio 50- 4 2 1000 continuous energy monitoring to identify improvement
200 opportunities in energy performance of building
DVD 80-85 3 2 495
WATER CONSERVATION:-
Principles of Conservation: While talking about any
If in place of Incandescent lamps, we use CFL lamps of conservation, we should remember the basic principles
15 watts then we can save up to 205.065 KWh per as shown below:
month and in place of Fluorescent tubes if we use LED
tubes of 18 watts then we can save up to 216.876 KWh
per month. That is a total of about 422 KWh/month and
around 10-12% of total energy consumed in the
building.

If we use a solar system of 5kW as a renewable source

of electricity, we will need 20 solar panels (250W
panel). The panel will be about 1.6m x 1m, so you'll Fig 4: Basic principles of conservation
need at least 32m² of roof space, to giveyou a feel for
how big 32m² is, this picture may help(fig 1). This 5kW Methods for water conservation may reduce input,
solar system will generate approximately 23kWh per output, or both. Here it is shown how water changes its
day, depending on the location and a variety of other form after getting used in buildings.
factors. This will further save approximately 18-20% of
the building electricity consumption.

Fig 5: Input & output process of water in buildings

Reduce Consumption
Fig 3: 5kW solar panel- using 250W panels

All Rights Reserved © 2018 IJERMCE

MIT-ADT UNIVERSITY, Pune, India

16
 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Special Issue
.inSIGHT’18,4th National Level Construction Techies Conference
Advances in Infrastructure Development and Transportation Systems in Developing India.

A cursory look at the statistics of water consumption in buildings can be classified as two types:
different types of buildings will reveal which areas need
to be stressed upon so that we can make an effective
reduction in the consumption of water at all levels.

Fig 8: Methods that can be adopted to reuse water

onsite

B. Grey Water reuse

“Gray water” is wastewater collected from clothes
Fig 6: Consumption of water in a residential building washers, bathtubs, showers, and laundry or bathroom
sinks. If properly collected and stored, it can be safely
On an average we can see that the major portion of re-used, thereby reducing fresh water consumption,
water goes in flushing and outdoor purposes in along with reducing the load on septic tanks. Hence it
residential buildings and in commercial buildings, air can be recycled within a building, either to irrigate
conditioning and cooling also plays a significant role. ornamental plants or flush toilets by separating grey
This makes very clear what our major thrust areas water through well-planned plumbing systems.
should be. Few of the methods which can help are
discussed below:

Fig 9: Proportion of Black water& Grey water in a

typical building

C. Sewage / Black water treatment:

Fig 7: Methods to reduce the consumption of water Perhaps the most significant difference between black
water and grey water lies in the rate of decay of the
A. Reuse Water Onsite pollutants in each. By separating black water we can
Apart from planning for efficient consumption of water, utilize it as odor-free fertilizers and a valuable soil
the professionals should design plumbing systems so as conditioner and even save the ground water from
to allow reuse of water onsite. Water consumed in pollution. Since it is an expensive process, at small

All Rights Reserved © 2018 IJERMCE

MIT-ADT UNIVERSITY, Pune, India

17
 ISSN (Online) 2456-1290
International Journal of Engineering Research in Mechanical and Civil Engineering
(IJERMCE)
Special Issue
.inSIGHT’18,4th National Level Construction Techies Conference
Advances in Infrastructure Development and Transportation Systems in Developing India.

scale, the black water is generally disposed into the B. Terrace Gardens- Terrace gardens help to maintain
main sewer and in buildings at large scale like the internal temperature of the building. The vegetation
commercial and industrial buildings, separate Sewage on the roofs helps to create a healthier environment and
Treatment Plants are installed to treat the black water also keeps the temperature cooler.
and recycle the soft water for air cooling and irrigation. C. Insulated water tank- A water tank is installed which
Following is the process shown for that: receives the hot water from the solar and it stores and
supplies the hot water as per the requirements. This
Rain Water collection: concept ensures equal distribution of hot water
1. By providing impermeable surfaces on the throughout the day.
plot, such as bare ground or pavement, or roof with
gutters and downspouts, some rain can be captured and CONCLUSION
directed to the landscaping.
2. Surface runoff can be directed to turfed areas In conclusion, we can say that, by implementing the
or shallow basins around trees and shrubs by contouring above mentioned green concepts, we can transform an
the land surface. The goal is to collect the runoff, direct existing building into a green building which will save
it to where it can be of use, and slow it down so it has approximately 20-22% of energy consumption. Along
time to soak into the ground. with it the water is also conserved, recycled and reused
3. Rain that falls onto roofs can not only be for various purpose using green methods. By planting
directed to landscape plants, it can be stored in tanks or vegetation around the plot and on the roof, we can
rain barrels for later use in car wash, firefighting or ensure healthy and cooler environment and thus
toilet flush etc. improve the quality of living for the occupants. These
concepts conform with the IGBC norms for existing
HEALTH & COMFORT green buildings and helps the building get a LEED
A. Smoking is prohibited- Minimize exposure of recognition. Such initiatives will also encourage other
non-smokers to the adverse health impacts arising due engineers and builders to adopt green practices and
to passive smoking in the building. promote sustainability not only in new construction but
B. Fresh air ventilation- Provide adequate also in the existing structures.
outdoor air ventilation so as to avoid pollutants
affecting indoor air quality.
C. Carbon dioxide Monitoring & Control- REFERENCES
Continuously monitor and control carbon dioxide level
in the building to provide occupant comfort and well 1. Jigneshkumr R. Chaudhari1, Prof.Keyur D.
being Tandel paper “Energy saving of Green Building Using
D. Eco-friendly Housekeeping Chemicals- To Solar Photovoltaic Systems”International Journal of
encourage the use of eco-friendly housekeeping Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and
chemicals so as to reduce adverse health impacts for Technology Vol. 2, Issue 5, May 2013
building occupants 2. IGBC Green Existing Buildings O&M Rating
E. Occupant Well-being Facilities- The project System-Pilot Version.
has at least 2 occupant well-being facilities (such as 3. “Existing Buildings: It‟s Easier Than You
gymnasium, aerobics, yoga, meditation or any indoor / Think to Green the Triple Bottom Line” - by Jessica
outdoor games) to cater to at least 10% of building Pitts and Mychele R. Lord, Cornell Real Estate Review,
occupants) Volume 5 Article 9, 7-2007.
“Retrofitting Of Existing Building As Per IGBC
INNOVATION CATEGORY Existing Building Norms – A Review” BY Vijay
A. Accredited professionals- To involve green building Kataria1, Hemant Salunkhe in International Journal of
accredited professionals in the project so as to facilitate Civil and Structural Engineering Research ISSN 2348-
design & implementation of environment friendly 7607 (Online) Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp: (250-253), Month:
measures April 2016 - September 2016.

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