'Green' building to save power

Green building is an idea almost everybody agrees upon, but very few dare to attempt because of prohibitively high costs and architectural challenges. But some steps like proper ventilation and utilisation of natural light in new buildings could save the world a lot of energy and money.

As of now there are only 10 to12 buildings that have been officially ranked as green buildings in India and they are largely in the private sector.

"Anything that is constructed keeping the harmony of the environment in mind, is generally known as green construction. If not meeting all the parameters like eco-friendly building materials, waste management, etc. energy saving methods could go a long way in contributing to the environemnt," says Narain Medury, director, Sustainable Development Strategies.

Researchers at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology, USA, believe that buildings can be designed to encourage airflow and maintain temperatures that minimise or eliminate the need for conventional air-conditioning systems.

They have come up with computer-based tools to help architects design commercial buildings that cool them with natural breezes.

"Our approach improves air quality, ensures good ventilation and saves both energy and money," says Professor Leon R Glicksman, director, MIT's Building Technology Programme in a paper about the new model.

According to the MIT team, they worked on a real building. The building featured multiple floors opening onto a large central atrium, operable windows on each floor and five large vents at the top of the atrium with fans for added ventilation. The model worked. Fresh air came in through the windows, entered the atrium, rose and exited through the ceiling vents. After some fine tuning, the team is now ready with a user-friendly computer tool.

Can these be applied in the Indian situation where electricity is a major problem?

"As of now, there isn't much demand for architects who are well versed with construction and designing of green buildings. Whatever little green developers we have, is limited to the large MNCs or corporate houses. Indigenous construction companies don't pay heed to the need of green building structure nor are interested in taking any initiatives in that direction," says Mukta Naik, an architect from School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi.

Natural ventilation has its limits. For example, during hot summers in Delhi or even Chennai, conventional air conditioning would still be needed. But just using natural ventilation during spring and autumn in Delhi, for example, could save at least half the energy now used for year-round air conditioning, the MIT researchers estimate.

Experts opine that unless the materials manufactured and used for building responsive green structures are customised to Indian climatic conditions and landscape, new researches would not have much of an impact.

In other words, a good deal of research, development and policy support is needed here for any new changes to be incorporated.

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