Sustainable Building

The concept of sustainable building was started during 17 th  century when Greeks developed technological innovations for passive solar design so that every home can avail solar heat during winters .  Sustainable building  is designed, renovated, operated or reused in an ecological and resource efficient way without compromising with needs of future generation and reduce negative impacts on the environment. In addition to energy efficiency and resource conservation, sustainable buildings make judicious use of renewable energy. Sustainable building is focused on reducing energy consumption by HVAC units and lighting systems as they are major contributor to energy consumption during and post-construction.  Some of the salient features of sustainable building are listed below: Use of fly ash ready mix concrete or light weight concrete / cavity walls for insulation and sustainability. Use of roof insulation method like expanded polystyrene roof insulation or reflective painting etc

Application of solar energy systems in building design saves money and conserves energy, in addition to attractive architectural designs and improving environmental conditions surrounding the building. Passive solar technologies and PV systems can be effectively used in a building in several ways. Passive Solar Design Passive solar technologies directly take advantage of the sun’s light and heat without using any mechanical or electrical devices. Also termed as ‘daylight’, this method is used for floors, window and walls to capture sunlight from high heat zone and relay it to low heat zone For example, we can capture sun’s heat from outside and transfer it to a room during winter and vice versa during summer. Use of building structure to capture sunlight and store heat alone can save upto 50% of the energy used at home. Window placement, use of thermal mass and appropriate solar orientation of building are key aspects of solar passive design. Some major design considerations are

Passive solar design is a method to collect solar energy using windows, walls, floors etc and distribute it to the room during winters to maintain considerably high temperature than outside or reject it to maintain inside temperature considerably cool during summer. The system does not require any mechanical or electrical devices which make it best suited for building design. Passive design takes advantage of climate in best possible way to maintain the comfortable temperature range in a room. Passive solar design eliminates the use of any auxiliary items for heating or cooling systems, which account for 35% or more reduction of energy use, saving substantial electricity bill. Buildings are properly oriented and windows are designed in such a way that they carefully balance energy requirements without adding any mechanical or electrical devices and with minimal maintenance cost. Passive Heating and Cooling Masonry walls properly oriented towards south with allowance of 30 deg