SUSTAINABLE

CONSTRUCTION

MODULE 4
Syllabus
 Green building rating systems – Guidelines from IGBC – LEED rating system, TERI-GRIHA
rating system.
 Codes - Energy Conservation Building Code (BEE), National Building Code.
 Green Building Case studies – Residential, Institutional, and Commercial.
 Concept of Net Zero buildings – Use of BIPV and other renewable energy in buildings
Green building rating
 Rating systems are a type of building certification system that rates or rewards
relative levels of compliance or performance with specific environmental goals
and requirements.
 Green rating systems for buildings measure and quantify the environmental performance
of a given building. India currently has the below green rating systems for buildings.
 • Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA)
 • Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED)
 • IGBC rating systems
 1] GREEN RATING FOR INTEGRATED HABITAT ASSESSMENT (GRIHA):

 Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is the national rating system of India for any completed

construction, endorsed by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India and TERI. It

is an assessment tool to measure and rate a building’s environmental performance.

 The basic features of GRIHA:

 The scheme was created to assist in ‘designing and evaluating’ new buildings (structures that are still at the

starting phases).
 The stages of the life cycle identified for evaluation are:
 > Pre-construction stage:
 Intra and inter-site problems such as access to public transport, type of soil, kind

of land, location of the property, flora, and wildlife on the ground before

construction activity starts, the natural landscape and land features.

 Building planning and construction stages:
 Resource conservation and resource allocation problems, energy effectiveness, and reuse,
and occupant safety and wellness regulations. The prime resources considered in this
section are land, water, energy, air, and green cover.
 Building operation and maintenance stage:
 Issues relating to the operation and maintenance of building systems and procedures,
tracking and recording of energy consumption and occupant safety and well-being, as well
as problems affecting the global and local environment
GRIHA Rating Criteria:

Weightage of various criteria given by GRIHA

GRIHA provides a rating of up to five stars for green buildings and dispenses points based on

criteria’s met by any builder. It comprises a set of 34 criteria, few of them are:
 > Preserving the existing landscape and protecting it from degradation during the process of

construction can fetch 5 points.

 > Enhancing energy efficiency of outdoor lighting and promoting usage of renewable forms of

energy to reduce the use of conventional/fossil-fuel-based energy resources can gain 3 points.
 > Preventing or minimization of air pollution from construction activities is also a GRIHA point.
 > Reducing volume, weight and time of construction by adopting efficient technology (such as

pre-cast systems, ready-mix concrete) can fetch 4 GRIHA points.

CERTIFICATION
 Steps for GRIHA Certification
 1. Check out the Eligibility: except for the industrial complexes, all buildings such as
offices, retail malls, institutions, hotels, hospitals, health-care facilities, residences,
and multi-family high-rise buildings – in the pre-design & design stage are eligible
for certification under GRIHA.
 2. Registration: A project has to be registered by filling in an online registration
form. The registration process includes access to the essential information related to
rating, application form, list of submissions, score points, and the weightage system.
 3. Evaluation: Project evaluation happens over Pre documentation stage & post
documentation stage by the team of experts. Once the necessary documentation is
uploaded, and systems commissioned on site, the building is evaluated and rated.
 4. Rating: The final score is presented to the National Advisory Committee
comprising eminent personalities and renowned professionals in the field, for
approval and award of the final rating.
 INDIAN GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL (IGBC)
RATING SYSTEM:

 IGBC Rating System is a voluntary and consensus-based programme.

 This rating system would facilitate the development of energy-efficient, water-

efficient, healthy, more productive, environmentally friendly factories

Below is the list of rating
systems by IGBC
Criteria for IGBC
 IGBC Green New Buildings rating system is broadly classified into two types:
 1. Owner-occupied buildings are those wherein 51% or more of the building's
built-up area is occupied by the owner.
 2. Tenant-occupied buildings are those wherein 51% or more of the building's
built-up area is occupied by the tenants.
 Certification Levels
 The threshold criteria for certification/pre-certification levels are as under:
LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
DESIGN (LEED)
 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used
green building rating system in the world.
 It was the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under the Confederation of
Indian Industries (CII) that facilitated the LEED rating
 LEED India encompasses rating systems for:
 • Existing Buildings (EB)
 • New Construction (NC)
 • Green Homes

 These represent the measurable indicators for global and local concerns in the Indian
scenario.
 Based on the points achieved, the building may be eligible for LEED-certified,
Silver, Gold or Platinum Rating.
Criteria for LEED
LEED Certification
Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC)

 Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) was launched by Ministry of Power,

Government of India in May 2007, as a first step towards promoting energy efficiency in the
building sector
 The ECBC was developed under the guidelines of Bureau of Energy Efficiency, BEE with
significant inputs from various other stakeholders such as practicing architects, consultants,
educational institutions and other government organizations.
 The purpose of ECBC is to provide minimum requirements for energy efficient design and
construction of buildings and their systems without compromising on the comfort of the
occupants.
 While the Central Government has powers under the EC Act 2001, the state
governments have the flexibility to modify the code to suit local or regional needs and
notify them.
 In existing building we could save upto 30 percent of electricity by applying ECBC
code.
 For this we could do retrofitting in the existing building and can make building close
to ECBC compliant building.
 The ECBC provides design norms for
 • Building envelope, including thermal performance requirements for walls, roofs, and windows
 • Lighting system, including day lighting, lamps and luminaries' performance requirements
 • HVAC system
 • Electrical system
 • Water heating and pumping systems, including requirements for solar hot-water systems.
 National Building Code

 The revised version of National Building Code- NBC 2016, the most contemporary building
code to regulate building construction in the country, focuses on new innovative construction
materials and technologies, equipment, and machines for future sustainable developments.
 In view of the growing trend of green/sustainable buildings, the revised National Building
Code seeks to promote ecologically appropriate practices, use of eco- friendly construction
materials and conventional and alternate technology towards the creation of sustainable
human settlements.
Case studies

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad | Greenest Building in India

 The Rajiv Gandhi airport, commissioned in 2008, is one of the leading examples of highly
environmentally sensitive infrastructure design and management in India.
 Spread over an area of 2223 hectares, the airport’s capacity stands at 12 million passengers and
0.3 million tons of cargo per annum.
 The environmental aspects taken into consideration are greenhouse gas emission management,
carbon footprint reduction, material and energy intensity, clean energy use, waste and water
consumption reduction, and management.
 Suzlon One Earth Campus, Pune
 The Suzlon one earth campus situated in Pune is being one of the greenest corporate campuses in the world.
 7% of the energy consumed by the campus is produced by on-site hybrid wind turbines, solar panels, and

photovoltaic cells. Rest 93% is brought in from offsite wind turbines.

 The building as a whole has 154.83KW renewable energy incorporated.
 Designing of each of the components, from HVAC to the solar photovoltaic roof, is done with special care

administered for maximum utilization of green energy.

 Another interesting feature is the landscaping that has employed Xeriscaping with very efficient water

management systems.
 Reflective pools form the main feature of the landscape design, which along with adding to the natural beauty

of the campus, creates a cool microclimate in the surrounding structures

 The ITC Green Centre, Gurgaon
 The ITC green center was the first corporate building in India to be certified LEED platinum in 2004,
and it was the biggest platinum-rated green building with a floor area of 170,000 square feet.
 Green material like Fly-ash based concrete and Glass with 19% recycled content was used for
building the majority of the façade.
 10% of the total materials used were either recycled or obtained from other demolished sites.
 The rest of the construction was carried out by low VOC materials.
 Stormwater harvesting is also provided.
 Raintree Hotel, Chennai
 Raintree was the fifth hotel in India and the first in south India to get an Ecotel certification in 2006.
 Conservation of energy and water, solid waste management, employee environmental education and
community involvement, and a steadfast commitment to the environment are the main focus areas of
the hotel.
 The five-star hotel, constructed by Ceebros Property Development Limited, employed rubberwood,
bamboo, medium density fiber, and Portland Pozzolana cement that contains 15 to 20% of fly ash in
construction.
 The sewage treatment plant recycles water and uses it for air-conditioning, while the heat produced by
air conditioners is used for heating water.
Patni Knowledge Center, Noida
 This campus, that’s spread over an area of 5 acres and seating of 3,500 people, is the second-
largest Platinum-rated building in the world, and the largest Platinum-rated building outside the
United States.
 Over 50% of the site is a green area, 75% receives natural daylight, zero discharge, and 100%
recycling of sewage is carried out, drip water irrigation and solar water heating are provided.
 Eco-friendly and recyclable materials were used along with low VOC emitting materials. Air
quality and CO2 level sensors are also employed.
 T-ZED Homes, Bengaluru
 T-ZED, completed in 2009 is India’s first IGBC Platinum-rated residential apartment complex. The project
was carried out by Biodiversity Conservation India Ltd (BCIL), Bangalore.
 Completed in 2009, the whole construction was done without the use of concrete blocks, bricks, vitrified
tiles, chemical paints, or ceramics in its construction, and a very optimum amount of reinforced steel and
composite cement was used.
 In the complex that spreads in 5 acres, there are 80 apartments and 15 individual houses.
 A 44 interconnected rainwater percolation wells system, that is connected to a 400,000-liter underground
water tank, purification system of water using reverse osmosis, utilization of greywater for irrigation and in
toilets, a biogas digester for generating power from biodegradable wastes,
Concept of Net Zero building
 The NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) publication Zero Energy Buildings: A Critical
Look at the definition explores definitions in detail, and it suggests four ways in which net zero
energy may be defined:
 • Net Zero Site Energy
 • Net Zero Source Energy
 • Net Zero Energy Costs
 • Net Zero Energy Emissions
 Site Energy refers to the energy consumed and generated at a site (e.g. a building), regardless of
where or how that energy originated.
 Source Energy refers to primary energy needed to extract and deliver energy to a site, including
the energy that may be lost or wasted in the process of generation, transmission and distribution.
 Net Zero Energy Cost is perhaps the simplest metric to use: it means that the building has an
energy utility bill of $0 over the course of a year. In some cases, building owners or operators may
take advantage of selling Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from on-site renewable generation.
 A Net Zero Energy Emissions building either uses no energy
 Building-integrated photovoltaics
(BIPV)
 Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are solar power generating products or systems that are seamlessly
integrated into the building envelope and part of building components such as façades, roofs or windows.
 Serving a dual purpose, a BIPV system is an integral component of the building skin that simultaneously
converts solar energy into electricity and provides building envelope functions such as:
 • weather protection (water proofing, sun protection);
 • thermal insulation
 noise protection;
 • daylight illumination; and/or
 • safety.
 BIPV systems can be installed during the construction phase of a building or deployed in the course
of a retrofit of an existing building when one of the envelope components needs to be replaced.
 The built environment allows for many ways to integrate BIPV.
 In general, there are three main application areas for BIPV:
 • roofs (e.g. shingles, tiles, skylights)
 • façades (e.g. cladding, curtain walls, windows)
 • externally integrated systems (e.g. balcony railings, shading systems)
 BIPV modules currently available on the market use either crystalline silicon-based (c-Si) solar cells or
thin film technologies such as amorphous-based silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper
indium gallium selenide (CIGS).
 BIPV can therefore contribute to developing net-zero energy buildings.