27-09-2014, 02:07 PM
Abstracts: Green Building refers to a structure and using a process that is environmentallyresponsible and resource efficient throughout a building’s lifecycle. Sincebuildings consume nearly 50% of World’s Total Energy, Green Buildings, on theother hand, consume minimum amount of energy with the use of energy efficientmaterials. Hence, location of green buildings in the close proximity would createa green zone and providing much healthier environment with minimum heatisland effect. In India, there are 2 primary rating systems for green building:GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment); LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy have adopted a national rating system-GRIHA which was developed by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). It evaluates the environmental performance of a building over the entire life cycle and hence subsequently awards the points. It is a 100 point system where the points are allotted as per the ability of the project to successfully meet the criterion standards of construction listed by GRIHA. This point bracket specifies the star allotted to a particular building. GRIHA takes into account the provisions of the National Building Code 2005; the Energy Conservation Building Code 2007 announced by BEE and other IS codes. The LEED Green Building Rating System developed and managed by the USGBC,is the most widely used rating system nationally and internationally. Buildings are given ratings of platinum, gold, and silver or “certified”, based on green building attributes. The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) founded by the collaboration between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the private manufacturer Godrej, has taken steps to promote the green building concept in India. LEED-India rates buildings on environmental performance and energy efficiency during design, construction and operation stages. Green Building when compared to a conventional building seems same externally and in building use but differs in the operational savings and concerns for human comfort and indoor environment. Green Buildings enjoy the benefits of saving 40-50% energy by reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. It also saves about 20-30% water by using rain harvesting or grey water reuse techniques.