Sustainable buildings
31 March 2025 15:14
Sustainable Habitat
• Ecosystem that produces food and shelter for people and
other organisms without resource depletion and in such a
way that no external waste is produced
Components
• Space
○ Space needed for species
○ Varies from species to species
• Food
○ Contributes 20-30% of GHG emissions
• Water
○ Essential for sustainable development
• Shelter
○ Protects from weather etc
Green building (GB)
• C/a GB when steps are taken during construction and
operation to keep natural resource depletion min
• Involves
○ Use of recycled materials for construction
○ Use less water
○ Less waste generation
○ Less grid energy usage
○ Provides healthy living conditions (indoor air etc)
○ Harmony w/ env
• Benefits
○ Env benefits
↓ indoor pollution
↓ water consumption
↓ energy consumption ↓ carbon footprint
↓ waste generation
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↓ waste generation
○ Economic
↓ water cost
↓ energy building material → ↓ cost
↑ market value and image
○ Social
↑ health of occupants
↓ strain on local infrastructure
GB materials
• Bricks (made of flyash)
• Cement (made of PPC (portland pozzolana Cement)
(contains flyash))
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Green Building
31 March 2025 15:23
Green building
• Green building design is an ecologically friendly design
approach to reduce the human impact on environment
Characteristics
• Energy efficiency
• Water saving
• Min harm to env
• Rely on renewable resources
• Non toxic building materials
Certifications and standards
• Certification system to certify a building which covers
certain parameters like design, construction and operation
• ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air Conditioning Engineers)
○ Well known standard: 189.1-2020
• BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Assessment
Method)
○ Established by BRE (Building Research
Establishment)
○ Categories
Energy
Water
MOC
Health and wellbeing
Management
Transport
Waste
Innovation
Outstanding - >85
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○ Outstanding - >85
○ Excellent - >70
○ Very good - >55
○ Good - >45
○ Pass - >30
○ Unclassified - <30
• LEED
○ It takes into account elements for best building design
○ Address
Carbon
Energy
Health
Materials
Indoor env quality
Transport
Water
Waste
• WELL building standard
○ Monitor features that impact human well-being and
health
○ Well-being includes
Ventilation
Water
Light
Comfort
Nourishment
Fitness
Mind
• Greenmark scheme
○ Includes parks and buildings like schools, etc
• Green Globes
○ Used in USA and Canada
• GB tool
○ Criteria
Site selection
Project planning
Env loadings
Indoor env quality
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Indoor env quality
Long term performance
○ Score
-1 to +5
• CASBEE
○ Based on building's life cycle
Pre-design
New construction
Existing buildings
Renovation
• GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment)
○ Assess and rates based on
Non AC
□ Commercial
□ Institutional
□ Residential
Partially AC
□ Commercial
□ Institutional
□ Residential
○ Stages
Pre construction stage
□ Issues addressed
Location of property
Soil
Type of biodiversity before activity
Nearness to public transport
Building planning and construction stage
□ Resource Aspects like
Conservation
Utilization
Recovery
Reuse
Health aspect
Well being
Building operation and maintenance
□ Issues addressed
Operation
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Operation
Maintenance
Monitoring
Global and local env
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Life cycle assessment
31 March 2025 21:37
Definition
• Tool for examination of the total impact of a product
through every step of its life
○ From raw material
Factory
Shipping
Selling in store
Using it
Steps
1. Goal and scope
a. Select productor activity
b. Define purpose of study
c. Set boundaries
2. Inventory analysis
a. Identify relevant inputs and outputs
b. Quantify it (ex. Energy consumed, water usage etc)
3. Impact analysis
a. Resulting impact on env (ex. Cancer rate increase, fish
kills, etc)
4. Interpretation
a. Make decisions on own opinion, experience but keep in
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a. Make decisions on own opinion, experience but keep in
mind the main goal
Advantages
• Can claim that one product is better than other
• Reduce env emissions
• Reduce production costs
• May qualify for an eco-label
Drawbacks
• Comparison of two products based on LCA is not useful
• Recycling increases complexity
• Can't tell Which process impacts more on env
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Ways to improve energy efficiency
31 March 2025 21:54
Ways
1. Energy efficiency audits
a. Checks HVAC
b. Influence of design on energy consumption
c. Benefits of energy efficiency recommendations
2. Daylight utilization
a. Use sky light to reduce energy consumption
b. Paint bright colours
c. Automate indoor lighting with daylight sensors
3. Rework insulation
a. Good insulation , less heating and cooling costs
b. Increase occupants
4. Choosing right ventilation system
a. Proper ventilation , fresh air in building
b. UFAD used
i. Air from floor
5. Buy energy certified equipment
a. Energy efficient systems reduces energy costs
b. Ex. Energy star rating on equipment
6. Switch to LED lighting
a. LED emit less heat
b. Cost effective
c. Less energy usage
7. Upgrade to LEED(Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design)
a. global rating system
b. Include occupant comfort
c. Indoor air quality
d. Water conservation
8. Regulate heating and cooling with thermostats
a. Using thermostats to control heating and cooling
9. Leakage fix
10. Switch to renewable energy
a. Solar etc
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