Module: 5
Green Buildings:
Green buildings include the entire built environment, buildings, landscapes, communities and
infrastructure, that connect the quality of life with least ecological consequences.
Sustainable design attempts to balance the economic, social and environmental factors
during all phases of project development- from design to disposal.
Green building includes the principles of resource and energy efficiency, healthy building
materials and ecologically sensitive land-use. They provide the means to create solutions that
optimize building cost and performance.
Buildings account for a large amount of land use, energy and water consumption, and air
and atmospheric alteration. Reducing the amount of natural resources the buildings consume, and
the amount of pollution created is very crucial for its sustainability.Over 80% of environmentally
harmful emissions are due to energy consumption and use.
Buildings require vast amounts of resources in construction and operation, and generate
large quantities of wastes during demolition and disposal. Globally, buildings consume the
following resources:
1. Materials: 50% of all resources go into construction.
2. Energy: 45% of the energy generated is used to heat, light and ventilate buildings and
5% is used to construct them.
3. Water: 40% of water is used for sanitation and other uses of the buildings.
4. Land: 60% of prime agricultural land lost to farming is for building purposes.
5. Timber: 70% of timber produced is used for building construction.
Green buildings and construction practices have the potential to reduce these consumption
patterns and environmental impacts associated with them.
Aim of green buildings:
I. To minimize demand for electricity, water and other natural resources (in construction,
operation and demolition).
II. Generate all of its electricity on site through renewable means.
III. Cater to all its water demands through sustainable processes like rain water harvesting.
IV. Grow their own food on site.
V. Recycle and reuse all its waste on site and load the environment to the minimum.
A building will be called a green building when:
1. It provides its users with an optimal level of comfort catering to local needs.
2. It uses minimum resources sourced locally.
3. It consumes minimum energy and water.
4. It generates minimum waste that are recycled or processed locally.
Thus, there are four main areas in green building, namely material efficiency, energy efficiency,
water efficiency and reduction of waste.
Salient features of a green building are:
1. Minimal disturbance to landscape
2. Use of recycled and environmentally friendly building materials
3. Use of non-toxic and recyclable materials
4. Efficient use of water
5. Energy efficiency and low energy equipments
6. Use of renewable energy
7. Quality of indoor air quality for human safety and comfort
8. Building management systems
Objectives of a green building:
According to TERI (The Energy Research Institute), green design of a building aims to achieve
the following objectives:
1. Reduced energy consumption without sacrificing comfort levels
2. Reduced depletion of natural habitats and biodiversity
3. Reduced air and water pollution with direct health benefits
4. Reduced water consumption
5. Limited waste generation due to recycling and reuse
6. Reduced pollution loads
7. Increased user productivity
Green design maximizes the use of efficient building materials and construction
practices,optimizes the use of on-site sources and sinks by bio-climatic architectural
practices, uses minimum energy to power itself, uses efficient equipment to meet its
lighting and air-conditioning,maximizes the use of renewable sources of energy,uses
efficient waste and water management practices, and provides comfortable and hygienic
indoor working conditions.
The indoor environmental quality maintains indoor thermal and visual comfort and air
quality.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ):
Indoor air quality reduces volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other air impurities such as
microbial contaminants. Buildings rely on a properly designed HVAC (heating, ventilation and
air conditioning) system to provide adequate ventilation and air filtration, as well as isolate
operations (kitchens, dry cleaners etc) from other occupancies. Many building materials and
cleaning products emit toxic gases and formaldehydes, which have a detrimental impact on
occupant’s health and productivity. Avoiding these products will improve a building’s indoor air
quality (IAQ).
Sustainable site planning:
❏ The proposed building should be appropriately oriented and sensitive to natural features
and micro-climate of the site. Its micro-climate should be assessed, taking into account
the exposure, shelter, natural shading of buildings, interaction of buildings, solar access
through the seasons, atmospheric pollution, water and drainage, noise gradients across the
site. This gives a basic profile of the qualities of the site and its potential. Earth
movements and excavations should be minimized wherever possible. Ground water
should be protected and surface water should be managed through natural processes.
❏ The plan of the building should reflect air movement and the provision of sunlight into
the building.
❏ Large skycourts and terraces might function as communal spaces as well as means of
ventilation for upper parts of the building.
❏ Ground floor should be open to the outside and naturally ventilated.
❏ Planting and landscaping should be used not only for ecological and aesthetic benefits,
but also to cool the buildings.
❏ The building type should permit more usable floor space, to make better returns from the
land, put more goods and more people in one place. The environmental justification is
that the concentration of activities enables the reduction of energy consumption in
transportation and services.
Enhancing Biodiversity:
Impact of buildings on their surroundings should be considered while planning a project, so that
there is minimal intervention. New development sites should be on the areas of land of low
ecological value, in order to decrease the destruction of natural habitats and the wildlife. Features
of ecological value should be protected during construction.
Trees and shading:
Planting trees to shield buildings from sun’s rays can reduce the amount of heat the buildings
absorb. Within 10-15 years, i.e.: the time in which the trees grow, strategically placed trees can
reduce heating and cooling costs for a building by 10-20%.
Building Envelope Design:
● In hot climates, the objective of building form and orientation is to minimize solar gain and
to reduce the need of cooling, thus reducing the demand for energy. Building design should
reduce the surface area of heat transfer, by avoiding elongated thin forms, spreading out
single stories or high rise.
● Energy demand in buildings can be saved by proper designing of walls and roofs, windows
and lighting. Improved insulation of walls and roof can reduce the heating and cooling load
by 25%. New compact fluorescent lamps require less electricity than that consumed by
conventional lighting bulbs.
● Buildings are exposed to higher impact of external temperatures and radiant heat. So, the
overall building orientation has an important bearing on energy conservation. Arranging the
building with its main and broader openings to face the north and south gives greatest
advantages in reducing the insulation and air-conditioning load.
● Window openings should be oriented along the north and south direction.
Green Roof:
Green roof is a combination of vegetation, hydrology and architecture.
Modern green roof technology was developed in Germany. Such roofs consist of several layers
of protective materials, including a waterproof membrane at the base, a roof barrier, an optional
insulation layer, drainage layers, a filter fabric for fine soils, the growing medium and the plant
material.
Rooftop gardens are designed landscapes intended for human interactions, and are engineered to
conform to heavier load requirements. Green roofs can either support larger and more elaborate
vegetation, including deep soil bases (intensive) or support mainly mosses using shallow soil
bases (extensive). Depending on the type of green roof, additional structural strength may be
required to deal with increased loading.
Materials with low environmental impacts:
A lot of energy is used in building materials extraction, production and transportation to the
construction site. This is called embodied energy of materials. Material extraction from quarries
and mines, as well as their processing can have adverse environmental impacts.
Some considerations while specifying materials:
1. Locally sourced materials require less energy for transporting to the site.
2. Natural materials are generally preferred.
3. Promoting use of recycled materials, especially for high embodied energy materials like
steel & aluminium.
4. Use of reclaimed materials such as reclaimed bricks for landscaping.
5. Design for ease of demolition, to enable reuse & recycle later.
Building System Design:
1. Natural light & natural ventilation should be used whenever possible.
2. Air conditioning use should be minimised.
3. We should consider the interaction between energy & ventilation strategies to balance
potentially conflicting demands.
4. We should reduce the need for artificial light, and for optimum heat efficiency, we should
cluster the uses that need similar environmental conditions.
5. We need to consolidate utility (water, sewer, drainage & electricity) corridors in utility
ducts along new roads, in order to minimize the cutting & trenching and ensure easy
maintenance.
Solid Waste Management:
i. To employ measures to segregate the waste at site into inert,chemical or hazardous
wastes.
ii. Separate colour bins should be used for collection of different categories of waste from
buildings.
iii. To maximize the recovery of resources from recyclable & biodegradable wastes and to
reduce the burden on landfills.
Energy efficiency:
1. Power demands in cities are growing exponentially and its generation emits about one-
fourth of the carbon footprint.This can be reduced by power demand management, using
renewable energy and resorting to energy efficiency.
2. Renewable energy should be mandatory for public buildings, street lighting, traffic
signals etc.
3. Electrical consumption in bulk amount can be reduced by adopting the following energy
efficiency practices like:
a) Incorporating daylight design in all buildings on a mandatory basis
b) Regulation & energy labelling of lighting, air conditioning and imposition of
minimum efficiency standards of lighting & electrical installations
c) Utilization of heat reflective insulation on roofs
d) Use of renewable sources of energy
e) Use of technology which would consume minimum energy to maintain desired
human comfort conditions.
e.g.: replacement of bulbs by fluorescent lamps or CFLs to bring substantial savings in
electrical consumption.
Apart from these measures, photovoltaic power generating systems can be used in remote
electric supplies for water pumps, electric fences, communication & navigation
equipment etc.
Water conservation, efficiency & recycling:
Possibilities for conserving water when designing buildings are based on reducing potable water
use, improving efficiency of appliances and adjusting the quality of water for various uses.
Strategies for water conservation:
1. Adopting drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, use of native species of vegetation to
minimize the load on municipal water supply and depletion of groundwater resources.
2. Grey water includes waste from showers,kitchen sinks and laundry water.This can be
reused for various applications like landscaping and irrigation. Grey water from
bathrooms, kitchens and other washings can be suitably treated and reused for irrigation,
flushing, car washing etc.
3. Rainwater from rooftops, paved & unpaved areas can help in replenishment of
groundwater.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA):
Life Cycle Assessment is a specific technique for analyzing the environmental and health
impacts associated with a product, process or service over its entire life cycle, i.e.: from
resource extraction through manufacturing and use to its disposal or recycling and
beyond.
The performance parameters include the following:
● Energy efficiency
● Water conservation
● Renewable energy
● Greenhouse Gas emissions
● Waste management
● Material conservation
● Life Cycle Analysis
● Ventilation, surroundings, site selection and planning
● Transportation planning
● Building design, construction & maintenance
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is called the cradle to grave approach and it is the
basis of sustainability, with materials chosen for their economic value, endurance
in use and minimum adverse impact on the environment.
Life Cycle of a product:
Green Building Rating Systems:
A green building is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient through its lifecycle, from
design, construction, operation to maintenance, renovation and demolition.
The following aspects are integrated in a green building:
1. Sustainable site planning
2. Building envelope design
3. Building system design for HVAC, lighting, electrical & water heating
4. Water & waste management
5. Selection of ecologically sustainable materials with high recycled content, rapidly
renewable resources, low emission potential.
6. Indoor environmental quality
According to TERI, a green building aims to achieve the following:
1. Reduced energy consumption without sacrificing comfort levels
2. Reduced depletion of natural habitats and biodiversity
3. Reduced air and water pollution with direct health benefits
4. Reduced water consumption
5. Limited waste generation due to recycling and reuse
Green building ratings are broadly based upon these aspects.
The LEED rating system was initiated by the US Green Building Council on the basis of which
several indigenous rating systems were developed.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED):
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is
a voluntary standard for developing high performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the US
Green Building Council (USGBC) representing all segments of the building industry, developed
LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution. The USGBC works to promote buildings that
are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.
LEED standards are currently available for the following:
● New commercial constructions and major renovation projects (LEED-NC)
● Existing building operations (LEED-EB)
● Commercial interior projects (LEED- CI)
Standards are under development for:
● Core and shell projects (LEED-CS)
● Neighbourhood developments (LEED-ND)
● Homes (LEED-H)
LEED Certification:
LEED defines a quantifiable threshold for green building and provides a tool to promote and
guide comprehensive and integrated building design. LEED is self-evaluating and self-
documenting but not self-certifying. Certification is done solely by USGBC. The LEED Green
Building Rating System for new commercial constructions and major renovation projects
(LEED-NC) has four levels of certification, based on the number of points achieved by a project,
out of a total of 69.
LEED certified: 26 to 32 points,
Silver: 33 to 38 points,
Gold: 39 to 51 points,
Platinum: 52 plus points.
Energy Audit:
An energy audit can identify energy consumption and energy costs of the facility and it can
evolve over time to develop measures to eliminate waste, maximize efficiency and optimize
supply energy.
An energy audit provides enormous benefits in different areas:
● It helps reduce energy costs in a facility.
● With a reduction in production costs, the competitiveness of the company will be
improved.
● It helps reduce the dependence on foreign energy sources.
● It helps reduce environmental damage and pollution.
● It can increase the security of energy supply.
● It can reduce the consumption of natural resources.
● It can reduce damage to the environment associated with the exploitation of resources.
● It helps reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.
