27^th March, 2022, Sunday; 12 noon-1pm

• There are different rating systems for green building in India. 
• GRIHA is a national rating system, while LEED is an international rating system for green buildings.
• All new government buildings, including state government buildings, have to be at least 3-star GRIHA rated. Even existing buildings can be green buildings.
• Governments have started giving benefits of extra floor area ratio (FAR) as incentives.
• Green building does not talk of addition, it talks of replacement. There is lack of awareness about this.
• In green buildings, replace the commonly used red clay bricks with fly ash bricks, OPC cement with PPC cement; 25% of TMT bars are made of recycled steel.
• Use passive design e.g., east or west sides should not have habitable rooms. Instead, there should be corridors, toilets, staircases, lifts. This small change in designing will reduce energy consumption by more than 10%. Windows should be more in north and south direction. Give shading to buildings with the use of balconies, overhangs, awnings, trees. 
• By using such passive designing, the building envelope can be corrected.
• Building envelope includes external walls, roof and windows (fenestration). It is a very important part of the green rating system.
• For fenestration, only double-glazed glass should be installed in building anticipating LEED ratings.
• The transformers must be energy efficient as per the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC). All transformers manufacturing companies have been instructed to construct transformers as per 2017 ECBC. Now noncompliant new transformers are not available.
• Capacitor bank should be designed in such a way that power factor of the building is always 0.9 for better energy performance.
• Exit signs, particularly in hospitals consume 1.5-2% of total energy consumption. These exit signs are now available in 2-3 watts and reduce energy consumption by 0.3-0.4%.
• All generators are now compliant with ECBC i.e., they are energy sustainable. They should also comply with CPCB norms for emission standards and must be provided with adequate acoustic solutions.
• Lighting power density (watt per sq m) is a very important parameter in lighting design. If LPD can be reduced by 1%, the lighting load will reduce by 25%-30%.
• Occupancy sensors can be used for lighting in commercial buildings in toilets.
• Daylight sensors can also be used for common areas such as lift lobbies, corridors; if there is adequate daylight, then lights will automatically switch off.
• Provision for electric vehicle charging points in parking is also included in green building norms and building bylaws. A separate panel with electric meter must be designed for EV charging points to measure the electricity consumed by them. Five percent of all parking has to be for EV parking. Governments are giving incentives for this.
• Energy submetering is very important to know the different energy end uses such as elevators, equipments, power backup systems, interior and common area lighting, exterior area lighting, municipal water pumping, ground water pumping, etc. This makes it easy to check defaults and rectify them. Energy submetering should be followed in all commercial or big buildings.
• Air conditioning consumes maximum energy in the building. If we know the air conditioning trends of the building, its auditing is very easy.
• Only that amount of solar, which is required should be installed.
• Rainwater harvesting should be installed after a pre-construction hydrological survey of the site to check the ground water table levels of the site. It ensures that ground water is not depleted and will be maintained. State governments gives incentives for this and not installing a rainwater harvesting system incurs a penalty.
• All water fixtures installed should be low flow. Water closets of 2 liters per flush/4 LFP are now available. Earlier these were 9 liters. This will save water. Kitchen and lavatory faucets should have flow rate below 6 liters per minute and for showers below 10LPM.
• Irrigation systems are useful for buildings with lot of landscaping. They should have a central shut-off valve. Soil moisture sensors can be integrated with the irrigation system.
• In green building, only native Indian grass is permitted. This will reduce consumption of irrigation water. Tress like gulmohar, neem should preferably be planted. Landgrass should not be used as it will finish the water in the area where it is planted. 
• Green buildings have to set up a sewage treatment plant (STP) to treat 100% of waste water generated in the building as per the CPCB prescribed quality standards. In residential buildings, water from kitchen sink or washbasin (not flushing) is treated and reused for flushing and irrigation. In commercial buildings, flushing water is also treated. Without STP, a building of more than 20,000 sq ft does not get environmental clearance.
• Water metering and submetering is important to know the  consumption of each end use such as municipal water supply, bore water consumption, water consumption for flushing or landscape requirements. Installing water submetering will identify water wastage sources and rectify them.
• Every building has a Treated Fresh Air (TFA) unit, which supplies fresh air along with cooled air. AHUs and CSUs should be energy efficient.
• Install CO sensors to check for carbon monoxide in basement parking, while CO2 sensors are often installed in return air ducts in commercial buildings to check for carbon dioxide.
• Twelve new trees per acre should be planted with a minimum of 8 trees on site. If trees already in the site, they should be preserved and incorporate in the design. If this is not possible then the trees should be transplanted. If transplantation is not possible, then compulsory plantation should be done in the ratio of 1:10. Turf area (grass) is not considered vegetation and it should be 30% or less of the total landscaped area.
• A soil fertility test (NPK) should be done before starting construction for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels, to find out if the soil is fertile. If the soil is fertile, then the six inches of the top fertile layers can be peeled off and stored for use on site when landscaping after construction. The stored soil should be kept covered so that it does not become a source for pollution. Temporary plantation can be done; this will prevent soil erosion.
• There should be provisions in the building for the differently abled people such as non-slippery ramps with handrails at the main entrance, user-friendly and easily accessible toilets, dedicated car parking with more space to accommodate for wheelchair. 
• Facilities for construction workers such as proper living conditions, sanitation facilities, first aid facility, clean drinking water, safety (shoes, helmets and other protective equipment), dust suppression measures, creche for workers’ children should be provided. Besides environmental measures, it is also a social measure. 
• Waste management is a very important component of green building. Separate bins for dry and wet waste should be provided. Waste generation can be reduced, if it is managed at source. Kitchen waste such as vegetable peels can be composted in organic waste composter. Construction waste materials should be either sent to landfills or sold to the recyclers.
• Local materials should be sourced within a distance of 400 km from the project site to reduce transportation costs. Recycled materials should be used; this will reduce the consumption of virgin materials. All paints and coating should have low VOC content.
• The green building rating systems focus on the building and not the habitat. This has also to be taken into consideration.
• There is a need for leadership in large buildings and research policy should be uniform across the country.

Participants

Dr Anil Kumar

Mr Vivek Kumar

Mr Paritosh Tyagi

Dr SK Gupta

Dr Dipankar Saha

Dr M Dwarakanath

Mr Ashu

Mr Rajeev Sharma

Mr Neeraj Tyagi

Mr Ankit Sethi

Mr Varun Singh

Mr Pradeep Khandelwal