Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

E m b o d ied en erg y u se in o ffice b u ild in g s

Construction S ite W ork

7% 6%
Finis hes

3.0 Energy in buildings 13% S ervices

24%

S tructure
24%

3.1 Embodied energy E nvelope

26%

The issue of embodied energy is important as a surrogate indicator of extraction of limited

material resources of earth. Embodied energy refers to the quantity of energy required to
manufacture a product or material, and supply it to the point of use. Energy used in the
construction process and particularly in the procurement, manufacture, processing and recycling
of building materials used should be minimized as a whole. Reduction in embodied energy has a
direct impact on the cost of construction. should influence the choice of materials used within a
project.
Embodied energy, or the energy intensity, is the sum total of the following, most commonly Fig 3.1 Embodied energy use in office buildings.
measured in Megajoules, MJ:

 The primary level energy used in the production of raw materials such as cement. Steel, Primary Material Primary
bricks, etc – MJ per tonne or MJ per peice requirement energy
 The secondary energy used in the making of the building elements such as concrete requirement
blocks, door frames, precast beams, etc. – MJ per m2. Energy spent in transporting high (Gj/tonne)
energy materials like steel and cement is negligible when compared to energy spent in their Very High Aluminum 200-250
manufacture.
Energy Stainless steel 50-100
 The tertiary energy at the system level which takes account of the energy spent in
construction using the building elements, including the transportation energy spent in bringing Plastic 100+
the building materials and elements to the construction site – MJ per m2 . Copper 100+
Steel 30-60
Building materials can broadly be categorized into three types based on their energy intensities. It Lead 25+
may be noted that materials such as aluminium and steel although being highly energy intensive,
can be recycled very cheaply in terms of energy15.It is essential to promote low cost, low energy High Energy Glass 12-25
and medium energy materials for energy efficiency in building construction. The concept of low Cement 5-8
embodied energy supports dcntralized production of materials and a reasonable degree of Plasterboard 8-10
precast construction. However, it is important that these materials, like most high energy Lime 3-5
materials should also be durable, require less maintenance. Recyclability further lowers the
embodied energy and also signifies good quality of the material being recycled.
Medium Clay bricks & 2-7
tiles

15
J.K. Nayak & J.A. Prajapati. Handbook on Energy Conscious Buildings (IIT Bombay/MNES India,
May 2006) End page, pages 75.

35
Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

Embodied energy at the construction level is a result of the building materials, techniques and
structural design we choose to construct the building. It is important to note that precast cement
concrete products and elements, inspite of using high energy materials like cement, have medium
to low embodied energy in terms of the area constructed using them.

Among the low energy walling materials, when compared to burnt clay bricks are compressed
stabilized earth blocks (CSEB), concrete blocks and steam cured blocks. Their durability
compares favourably with that of high energy materials because of a rationalized use of cement
for optimizing the material strength. CSEB masonry and concrete block masonry have 40 to 45%
of energy content of burnt clay masonry.

Embodied energy of a multi-storeyed RC frame structure is the highest per m2 of built-up area.
Building with load bearing masonry structure using burnt clay bricks and RCC slab has less 30%
less embodied energy. Intelligent structural design can be instrumental in reducing embodied
energy of construction. For instance, a short span RCC frame design reduces steel requirement. Fig 3.2: Embodied energy of roof and floor systems
Alternative building technologies such as ferrocement channel roof, shallow domes, doubly
curved shells can reduce embodied energy by at least 30%.

Development Alternatives headquarters, New Delhi: The project symbolizes an architectural

ethos of utilizing products and materials of low embodied energy. Using recycled earth from its
previous office building to make compressed earth blocks, together with new products such as
fly-ash bricks and ferrocemert roofing channel has reduced the building’s embodied energy at
least by 30% as compared to conventional RCC frame construction common for office buildings.

Fig 3.3 A typical bay of the DA Headquarters building uses a

ferrocement channel roof and an insulated cavity wall with inner
leaf constructed of compressed earth blocks from recycled
earth.

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Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

3.2 Operational Energy

Operational energy is the energy consumed during the building’s lifespan once it has been
constructed, typically by heating, cooling, lighting and appliances. Current estimates put India’s
energy usage per m² of building at 3-4 times more than reasonably energy efficient building
practices in the world, such as the Germany. The extent of operational energy requirement is the
direct result of building material and design choices that we make in a given regional and climatic
context. Also significant in today’s context are the various products and appliances we use in our
buildings, particularly because of the increased availability of energy efficient models in the
market.
Residential Buildings 116 billion units

The global contemporary green building trend is driven towards reduced consumption of
operational energy, primarily electricity. This has reinforced the preference for highly insulated A/C, 7%
Fans
and air tight building envelopes with little user control on altering the indoor environment and Fans, 34% EV Cooler
Lighting, 28% Refrigeration
integration of renewable energy technologies in buildings. However, it is important to interpret the TV

challenge of reduced operational energy consumption in the Indian context. The balance of Others
Lighting

embodied energy and operational energy is a critical one. It is justified to increase embodied
EV Cooler, 4% A/C
Others, 10%
Refrigeration,
TV, 4%
energy of construction by insulating the building envelope because it is more than compensated 13%

for by long-term energy savings because of a more efficient envelope.

During the last decade, there has been about 13% increase in the consumption of eletricyity in
the Indian residential and commercial sector16. Lighting and air conditioning/ cooling are the
biggest consumers of operational – electrical- energy in our buildings. A significant reduction in
Fig 3.4 Break-up of electricity consumption in
energy demand is possible if energy efficient glazing is combined with best orientation (for
residential buildings in india
lighting), opening area (for heat exchange) and building insulation (for increasing the resistance
to heat exchange). Conventional air conditioning is most commonly based on dehumidification of
air to below its dew point which is highly energy consuming and then reheating it to bring it to the
comfortable supply air temperature. At the most basic level, this can be tackled by efficient
passive design which reduces the cooling requirement and thus the running hours of the air
conditioner. At an advanced level, this can involve energy efficient air conditioners.

The load of a building is normally understood in terms of Wattage, W.

The energy requirement of a building is expressed in terms of energy requirement per unit of the
built up area – kWh per m2.
2.5.1 Energy saving potential
16
Inderjeet Singh and Axel Michaelowa, Indian Urban Building Sector: CDM Potential through Energy Efficiency in
Electricity Consumption, HWWA Discussion paper 2004

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Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

In general, HVAC accounts for the largest share in buildings today, specially commercial offices
and as such it is a critical area to address for green buildings. The measure of energy efficiency is
Energy Performance Index – EPI, which is quantified in kWh per m2. Generally, it is observed that
equipments/ systems which cater to indoor environmental control are oversized in response to
building design and comfort criteria which are not fixed in accordance with saving energy. This
includes both the tonnage of air conditioners as well as Lighting Power Density – LPG- which
measures energy intensity of lighting appliances in Watt per m2.

Air conditioning represents the biggest energy consumption in buildings, almost a factor of 5
increase over mechanical options of evaporative cooling or fans. Hence it is of great importance
to make sure that cooling loads on air conditioning systems are reduced in the first place through
building design and an efficient building envelope.

Energy-conscious building design has been shown to reduce energy usage to between 100
and150 kWh/ sq m/ year in India. As a general rule the following energy reductions
can be achieved through energy efficient measures;

 Building envelope optimization – 10%

 Daylight integration and lighting optimization – 15%

 HVAC optimization – 15%

 HVAC controls – 6 to 8%

Through employing green technologies such as passive cooling, heating and ventilation it is

possible to;

 Reduce energy consumption in residential buildings by 30% Cooling Load components

Reduce energy consumption in commercial buildings by 40%

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Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

Lighting
For many day lit buildings, particularly of a commercial scale, supplementary electrical lighting is
a necessity. During daylight hours electric lighting must serve two distinct purposes:

1. Enhance the general brightness of the room, reducing glare and gloominess.
2. Increase illumination on visual tasks.

Achieving very high levels of daylight usually means large windows and tall rooms; these are
associated with excessive heat gain and loss, and a high building cost. Conversely, with very
small windows, little use is made of daylight as a source of energy; in addition, occupant
satisfaction tends to be lower.
Local manual switching is an alternative to automatic control but full energy savings occur only
when electric lights are continuously dimmable in response to changing daylight. The high-
frequency electronic ballasts required to dim fluorescent lamps smoothly have at present a higher
initial cost than conventional controls but can give lower long-term costs. They offer other Fig 3.7: Typical CFL lamp.
efficiency savings too and are likely to become the normal solution. With all types of
environmental control in buildings, user acceptability is essential to energy saving success17.

There are a number of ways through which energy can be conserved by lighting systems.
To name a few, automatic voltage stabilizers can be installed for entire lighting circuits. This
increases the bulb life as also its efficiency; it can save up to 20% of the lighting bill. Compact
fluorescent lamps can be used in areas such as lobbies, corridors, showrooms, etc. These are
highly energy efficient lamps. The chokes (magnetic ballasts) of tube lights can be replaced by
energy conserving electronic ballasts. Key card systems in hotel rooms and offices, or circuit
breakers for lighting and appliances in residential buildings can help reduce energy wastage.
Dimmers can also be used to reduce lighting levels when bright light is not required18.
The lighting load in some buildings could be very high and hence energy efficient lighting
assumes prime importance. This depends on:

• The illuminance level for an application

• The efficiency of various components (lamps, ballasts, luminaires)
• Control
• Maintenance

17
Good Practice Guide 245. Desktop Guide to Daylighting for Architects, (DETR UK, March 1998). Page 11. Fig 3.8: Electricity use by bulb type.

39
Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

State of the art CFLs and LEDs have a huge potential to reduce the lighting energy demand. The
other benefits include less damage to the environment due to their longer life and reduced
mercury content of 70%.

Despite the superior characteristics of the CFLs, still over 1 billion incandescent lamps are sold in
India every year. The CFL bulks only have 3% of the Indian market compared to 33% in
Singapore and 40% in Korea. If CFL lamp sales in India could achieve10% then an emission
reduction of 50 million tonnes CO2 could be achieved. This is the equivalent of one room per
urban dwelling being lit by a CFL. Light Emitting Diodes are becoming more prevalent for lighting
applications. These are solid state bulbs, which are extremely energy efficient. An LED lamp
The use of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL’s) and Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s) have the
potential to for huge energy savings. As well as being more environmentally friendly they offer a
considerably longer lamp life than traditional incandescent bulbs. Shown below is the cost
benefits of CFL’s against using incandescent bulbs.

18
J.K. Nayak & J.A. Prajapati. Handbook on Energy Conscious Buildings (IIT Bombay/MNES India,
May 2006). Chapter 6, page 19.

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Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

Energy efficient appliances

Modern appliances within households and commercial premises constitute a huge energy drain
because of a lack of built in conservation measures and user education regarding their efficient
use.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has several programs to set labels and energy efficiency
standards for refrigerators, air conditioners, motors and other appliances. Energy labelling on a
voluntary basis for refrigerators and tubular fluorescent lighting was launched in 2006, and
such labelled products have been on the market since 2006. Each appliance is ranked on a scale
of five stars, with more stars indicating higher efficiency and more power savings – thus the
program motto of “More Stars, More Savings The labels provide information about the energy
consumption of an appliance, and thus enable consumers to make informed decisions. Almost all
fluorescent tubelights sold in India, and about two thirds of the refrigerators and air conditioners,
are now covered by the labelling programme19.

In China, currently the residential air conditioner market is undergoing a rapid expansion.
Thus, a similar phenomenon is to be expected in India when economic growth continues on its Fig 3.9 BEE energy efficiency label; “More
path. Greater use of available, cost-effective technologies to increase energy efficiency in air Stars, More Savings!”
conditioners such as using a more efficient compressor can lead to sharp reductions in electricity
use. High-efficiency units use only 50% of the electricity compared to the common ones, but
about 2.5 times more. If 1 million air conditioners of the high efficiency type were introduced, 750
GWh could be saved per year20.

 When specifying appliances for a project or recommending them to a client ensure they are
BEE labeled or have an equivalent proof of efficiency.

 Strictly ensure all heating and cooling appliances are correctly specified and installed by
registered technicians to ensure their optimum performance.

 Ensure strict maintenance schemes are in place and end users are educated in their efficient
operation.
19
Energy Fact Sheet, India, 2007/2008. (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors UK, 2007), Page 14.

20
Inderjeet Singh & Axel Michaelowa. Indian Urban Building Sector: CDM Potential through Energy
Efficiency in Electricity Consumption. (HWWA & Hamburg Institute of International Economics, 2004). Page
17.

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Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

Renewable energy solutions

As various technologies push forward, building owners can achieve substantial reductions in the
demand for traditional energy. Through appropriate renewable systems large savings can be
made in energy usage for cooking, lighting, pumping of water and providing hot water. Further
savings can be made through proper energy conservation and management practices.

To encourage and promote renewable energy technologies, the Government of India has been
operating an interest subsidy scheme through the Indian Renewable Energy Development
Agency (IREDA). Soft loans can be sought for the installing of renewable systems through IREDA
by Co-operative housing societies and developers.

Technologies including solar hot water systems, solar hot air systems, solar cookers, solar
photovoltaic units, gasifiers and biogas plants are commercially available and can easily be
integrated into a building to reduce dependence on conventional power.

Solar water heating: Solar hot water heating is one of the most common and economically
viable renewable energy sources. The Forced and Thermosyphon systems (figure 3.9 and 3.10)
are two most common technologies available. The forces system is suitable for large capacity use
such as in hotels, hostels, hospitals, multistoreyed buildings where large volume demand is
required. Thermosyphon system is primarily used within low-rise and residential buildings. They Fig 3.9 Solar hot water heating thermosyphon system.
are also called natural-circulation or passive systems.

Solar air heating: Space heating using solar hotwater is usually achieved through using a water
to air heat exchanger. Although these systems can provide both hot water and heating they are
expensive and are not prevalent within India.

Hot water from the storage tank can be used to heat air using a water-to-air heat exchanger and
the hot air can be used to heat the desired space. However, the systems, meeting both the
requirements, become expensive and are not commonly used in India. A common solution is to
direct heated air into cases of rock or pebbles to collect and retain heat. When required, cool air
is pushed through the heat stores, heated and circulated into living spaces. Auxilary heating
maybe required to bring the air to the required temperature. This system has been used
successfully in the H.P. State Co-Operative bank building, Shimla.

42 Fig 3.10 Forced circulation solar water heating system.

Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

Solar cooking: The advent of solar cooking has been a successful adaptation of solar energy in
India. Two systems have been developed; the solar box cooker and the parabolic solar cooker
(figures 3.11 and 3.12).

It consists of an insulated square box with two levels of lids; the first is double glazed and seals
the contained, the second and top lid is mirrored and focuses light through the glass and into the
cooker. Temperatures of about 100° C can be easily achieved within the box, with cooking times
varying from half an hour to 21/2 hours. Depending on the size of the box, multiple dishes can be
cooked at once, leading to LPG savings for cooking. Cookers with electrical backup have also
been developed, ensuring cooking can continue even when the sun isn’t shining.
Fig 3.11 Parabolic solar cooker in
The bulkier parabolic solar cooker focuses a concentrated solar beam directly onto the cooking use.
surface. This system allows greater control and heat but requires more space for the installation
of the parabolic solar dish.

Solar photovoltaic panels: With solar photovoltaic technology becoming increasingly more
affordable and its use has become more prevalent within buildings

Once the desired voltage and current output has been calculated, individual cells are connected
in series and parallel to form modules, and these in turn are connected together to form an array.
The current cost of solar photovoltaic modules is around Rs.125-130 per peak watt (Wp). The
Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources is promoting five different configurations of solar
home systems ranging from 18 Wp PV modules (532 mm x 448 mm) through to 75 Wp PV
modules (1208 mm x 538 mm). The 75 Wp PV produces enough energy to power two 9W CFL
lamps and a fan/TV.

PV panels are easily adapted for use in many situations such as roof tiles and curtain walls. Fig 3.12 Demonstrating a Solar box
Careful integration of the panels is vital to not only ensure their optimum orientation but also that cooker.
they don’t adversely affect the look of a building.

A PV array ensures energy security for a building or community and are very low maintenance,
lasting over 20 years. Outside of applications within buildings, street lighting and running of
services such as water pumping are ideally suited to solar photovoltaic panels.

43
Fig 3.13: Roof top PV array on building, Gurgaon.
Architect, A.B. Lall.
Capacity Building Series (2008-2009), July 2009, TARA Nirman Kendra, New Delhi

HP. State Co-Operative bank building, Shimla: This building utilizes a hybrid system to
distribute warm air. Using a roof top solar collector, mechanically ventilation equipment distributes
the air throughout the building via ducting. An electric heating back-up boosts the temperature if
needed and is primarily used in mornings and during cloudy periods

Fig 3.14 Section of roof top solar collector air hating

system, State Co-Operative bank building, Shimla.

Fig 3.15 Photograph of a roof top solar collector, State Co-

Operative bank building, Shimla.

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