The Hindu Business Line : Urban buildings: Green and smart, the way ahead

`Intelligent' and `green' buildings use technology andprocesses to create a space that is safer for its occupants aswell as the environment, and operationally efficient for itsowners. In India, the awareness and concern about suchbuilding technologies is still low, say NAVIN and ANJU BHATIA,arguing that there is an urgent need for their promotionand widespread adoption.

The award of the 2007 Peace Nobel Prize to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change is sure to focus attention in the coming months on environmental issues. Globally, the environment is changing rapidly with ever-increasing pressure from growing populations. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation have resulted in enormous increase in the use of energy and fuel, aggravating the contamination of the atmosphere through the release of toxic pollutants.

One of the major contributors to air quality deterioration are buildings. It is estimated that in the US, residential and commercial buildings together use one-third of all energy and two-thirds of all electricity consumed in the country. They also account for 49 per cent of sulphur dioxide emissions, 25 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions, and 10 per cent of particulate emissions, all of which damage air quality. Further, buildings produce 35 per cent of the country's carbon dioxide emissions - the chief pollutant blamed for climate change.

While the situation is not so acute in India at present, increasing urbanisation may push us in that direction. The percentage of urban population in India increased from 18.0 in 1961 to 27.8 in 2001. The energy consumption rose threefold, from 4.16 to 12.8 quadrillion Btu between 1980 and 2001, putting India next only to the US, Germany, Japan and China in total energy consumption. According to the International Energy Outlook projections for 2030 of the US Department of Energy, China and India account for nearly one-half of the total increase in residential energy use in non-OECD countries.

With increasing activity in urban real estate and building sectors, urban buildings will soon become big polluters. The time to take initiatives in this direction is now, through popularising what are called `intelligent' and `green' buildings.

SAFER, MORE EFFICIENT

An intelligent building is one that uses technology and processes to create a space that is safer and more productive for its occupants and more operationally efficient for its owners.

In such a building, a network of electronic devices monitors and controls the mechanical and lighting systems to reduce energy and maintenance costs. Lighting is controlled with a system based on sensors, which can detect the presence of occupants and the relative darkness, and modulate lights accordingly. Air-handling units mix outside air to regulate temperatures in various parts of the building. Sensors are placed in rooms and air-ducts to monitor temperatures. Such buildings have hot water systems to supply heat to the building's air-handling units and chilled water systems to cool its air and equipment, with sensors maintaining temperatures at optimum levels.

Intelligent buildings also have alarm capabilities. While fire and smoke alarms are common, other types of alarms for reporting critical faults in the mechanical and electrical systems are also increasingly coming into use.

Green buildings possess three main elements: healthy indoor environment, maximum energy efficiency and a conservative and thoughtful use of natural resources.

Worldwide, green buildings are certified through an independent body, the US Green Building Council (USGBC), through its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification programme. This focuses on the following five categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy performance, use of recyclable materials and indoor environmental quality.

According to the USGBC, buildings that meet its LEED certification process may be built with little increase in first costs. It has been stated that if `green' concepts are incorporated early in the design process, a certified green building may cost no more than a code-compliant building.

NOTEWORTHY MODELS

In India, the awareness and concern about green and intelligent buildings is still low. To facilitate such smart building construction in India, a national level council called the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has been formed. It comprises all stakeholders in the green building value chain. But there may be only a few dozen green buildings in the country as yet. A few of them are indeed noteworthy. Among the earliest intelligent buildings in India is the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Its exteriors are so designed that it is cleaned every time it rains. Despite its location at the intersection of two major roads with heavy traffic, the building is devoid of disturbance and protected against tropical sunshine due to its unique design. The use of shaded canopies over large paved courts reduces energy load on air conditioning and produces an improved climate for its occupants.

The Confederation of Indian Industry Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (CII-Godrej GBC) was the first structure in India to receive the prestigious `platinum' rating from the USGBC. This huge business centre in Hyderabad, housing exhibition spaces, seminar halls, offices, meeting rooms and a cafeteria, uses the traditional Indian circular courtyard design to enhance air and light. Besides its design, the energy saving features of the building include wind towers to provide pre-cooled air, photovoltaic panels for generating solar energy, extensive use of recycled and eco-friendly materials and water harvesting and regeneration systems.

The Engineering Design and Research Centre (EDRC) of Larsen &Toubro's Engineering Construction and Contracts Division in Chennai is another such building. It has fully automated energy management, life-safety and telecommunication systems and is possibly the first building in India without any light switch. All cabins are equipped with infra-red detectors to detect occupancy. Entry is only through smart cards with built-in antennas.

The Wipro Technologies Development Centre (WTDC) in Gurgaon is the largest platinum-rated green building in Asia that has been felicitated by USGBC.

The building's courtyard design forms a light well and reduces energy consumption. A big water-body and vegetation in the middle of the courtyard reduces its temperature by evaporative cooling. The highlights of the building include 100 per cent recycling of water and 95 per cent workspaces having direct access to outside view.

With rapidly deteriorating environment, it is imperative to have more green and intelligent buildings in future. With the big boom in the real estate and construction sectors, the time is, indeed, right to address this issue with a sense of urgency.

THE ROAD AHEAD

Intelligent building technologies are generally available but have not yet been widely adopted by the construction industry. There is an urgent need for their promotion and adoption.

It is also important that the costs and values of such buildings are quantified so that their adoption on a larger scale is propagated. The economic benefit in using green and intelligent technology requires deeper study. Financial considerations are important: while builders and project promoters look for low initial costs, the occupants are concerned about recurring costs. Such smart buildings have to demonstrate their strengths on both these counts for their large-scale acceptability.

The technological challenge lies in developing materials at affordable costs. Research in materials science has to focus increasingly on producing widely acceptable eco-friendly materials.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has developed an Indian rating system (TERI-GRIHA) for green buildings. The system has to be given wide publicity and requires adoption by the industry.

At the apex level, the National Housing Bank can consider financial assistance to ventures that propagate green and intelligent buildings. It can set up a dedicated fund by contributing the initial corpus, which may be used to support green projects.

The former President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, inaugurating the Bangalore International Centre in November 2005 had said that the concept of green buildings should enter the houses of the common man in a big way. That indeed is a big challenge for the housing sector in India and all stakeholders must rise to meet the same by adopting a focused strategy in this direction.

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