Greening our housing sector

The International Energy Agency has estimated that existing buildings are responsible for more than 40 per cent of the worlds total primary energy consumption and for 24 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore,the obvious need of the hour is for us to develop housing projects and all other kinds of buildings which leave less carbon footprints or projects which are green.

THE BASICS

How do we make green housing projects? There are key areas where we can use appropriate materials and adopt suitable practices so that our projects are built green and can be sustainable in the long run. According to the Indian Green Building Council IGBC,a green building is one which uses less water,optimises energy efficiency,conserves natural resources,generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants.

The starting point is the location and natural landscape surrounding the building. The first thing that one needs to do is to examine the site and its surroundings and look for buildability with minimum disturbance of the natural systems.

The building needs to be appropriately oriented and designed in such a manner that the heat gain is kept to a minimum. An attempt needs to be made to ensure that the natural slopes are not tampered with,there is the least amount of cut and fill and all trees and other plant material are conserved to the extent possible. Even if landscaping needs to be done,only native species should be used. Xeriscaping,that is,landscaping designed for dry conditions,results in less usage of water in the gardens.

Use of shading devices is yet another way to keep building heat gain to a minimal. Another way of reducing roof top heat gain is by appropriate roof insulation or if one wants to be more creative,by developing terrace gardens.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Materials are another area where care needs to be taken. Usage of locally available materials rather than materials which are transported over long distances are to be preferred. Further,usage of such materials which have minimal embodied energy are to be employed. For instance,high efficiency glass with appropriate rating can keep excessive heat out of the building,reduce heat gain and thereby reduce airconditioning costs. Further,alternatives to airconditioning itself can be thought of,such as earth tunnel cooling. Good insulation is one area where attention is seldom paid. By proper insulation,cooling efficiency can be increased. This way,one can keep the carbon footprint to the minimum.

Achieving efficiencies in power consumption are absolutely necessary. Today,there are several alternatives for achieving energy efficiency. Appropriate housing design for using natural daylight is the first step. Secondly,usage of technologies based on energy sources such as solar energy and wind energy is absolutely essential. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency BEE has been advocating a series of measures to achieve energy efficiency.

A large number of gadgets are also today designed to consume less power than before. Even a simple step such as using T5 tube lights or replacing conventional incandescent light bulbs with CFL bulbs or LED bulbs can help us achieve substantial power saving. Wind energy can be harnessed using modern devices to generate electricity which can light the pathways and the gardens,thereby saving on precious energy bills.

Water consumption is yet another area where a lot can be done in order to conserve this precious resource. There are various methods and technologies of ensuring that water is not wasted and water is also recycled so that net consumption is kept to a minimum.

Further,use of rain water by way of rain water harvesting is another way of water conservation in housing projects. Installation of electronic sensors on faucets,dual flush toilets and construction of water recycling plants in housing projects are imperative. These measures will also result in reduced water bills.

Waste management in housing projects through a variety of methods including vermi-composting is a good way to manage organic wastes and reuse them for the gardens. Generation of bio-gas is another way to generate wealth out of waste.

Indoor health of the residents is very important. Usage of Zero Volatile Organic Compound VOC paints is essential to ensure a healthy indoor environment. Care should therefore be taken to ensure that proper paints are used.

All the above measures would ultimately reduce the carbon footprint of the building and there by result in checking global warming.

From a more mundane point of view,it results in lower monthly maintenance bills and should be an attractive proposition to resident welfare associations and facility management companies. In the ultimate analysis,green housing is a win-win situation for all the stakeholders in the housing game.

ENABLING GREEN HOUSING

The National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in the year 2007,does express its sustainability concerns. However,this is inadequate and needs to be amended to make it more comprehensive so as to encompass many other components which have been left out by the policy.

What are the efforts of regulating and sanctioning agencies? Any housing project needs to be approved by the local agencies such as urban local bodies and other such agencies. Quite a few of them have included compulsory rain water harvesting. However,beyond that,there is precious little in terms of green housing. But there is the mandatory Environment Impact Assessment EIA clearance which needs to be obtained. The question,however,is whether this is enough? The role for EIA was formally recognised at the Earth Summit held at Rio Conference in the year 1992. While it is a laudable that the environment ministry has brought out this initiative,it does not specify several requirements which are essential for green housing.

In order that there is a standardisation in green buildings,ratings have been introduced. The Indian Green Building Council IGBC Green Homes is perhaps the first rating programme developed in India,exclusively for the residential sector. It is based on accepted energy and environmental principles and strikes a balance between known established practices and emerging concepts. The system is designed to be comprehensive in scope,yet simple in operation.

There is also the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment GRIHA brought out by The Energy and Resources Institute. Both these home grown systems of rating are good initiatives and a step in the right direction. However,they are not mandatory. Therefore,only some private players who are interested in getting their projects rated develop projects on these lines. There are international rating systems as well,such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED,essentially a US based system which is also in vogue in India and quite a few buildings have followed this process.

Another important dimension to green housing is Carbon Credits. These are certificates issued to countries that reduce their emission of GHG which causes global warming. Carbon credits are measured in units of certified emission reductions CERs.

Each CER is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide reduction. For instance,in the year 2005,India received as much as Rs 1,500 crore by selling carbon credits to developed country clients. Of the 391 projects sanctioned,the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC has registered 114 from India,the highest for any country. Therefore,green housing projects also make good business sense.

A large number of people are not aware of the advantages of green housing. Therefore,creating awareness is of great significance. Further,sensitisation of bureaucracies to the inherent benefits of green housing is essential.

In addition to being environment friendly,green housing projects also create markets for new products,bring about substantial health benefits and improve well-being,optimise building life cycle,minimise dependency and strain on municipal infrastructure and improve the overall quality of life.

A few real estate developers have initiated green housing projects. However,this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a huge backlog of housing in the country and we need to build millions of houses. All these need to incorporate green features. How can this happen?

We need a green housing policy and fiscal incentives. We need to encourage the real estate industry to go green and create a regulatory framework so as to make green building compulsory.

It is high time the housing ministry as well as state governments wake up to initiating serious steps. The need of the hour is a green housing agenda to make green housing a way of life. l

The author is Professor,SPA New Delhi.