ENERGY EFFICIENT

ARCHITECTURE
HARI KRISHNA BA11ARC016
RAZA RAJESH BA11ARC038

CASE STUDIES

1. Himachal Pradesh State Co-Operative Bank

2. Transport Corporation of India Ltd, Gurgaon
3. Redevelopment of property at Civil Lines, Delhi

GRIHA CRITERIONS
No: 15 to No:21

Himachal Pradesh State Co-Operative Bank

Location: Mall road, Shimla.

Building type: Office
building.
Architect: Ashok B Lall.
Climate: cold and cloudy.
Built up area: 1650sq.mt
Building cost: 22 million.

 Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Bank is

oriented at 10 degree west of south the building
has a long narrow profile in plan. The narrow south
face has access to light and air from the adjacent
lane while the east face has no access to light and
air as it abuts another building.
Shimla experiences good sunshine during winters
and plenty of sun falls on the facade of the building
, a considerable amount of solar heat could be
collected from this facade. The bulk of energy
consumption of the building was on two fronts, one
for lighting the deeper parts of the building and the
other for heating the building during winters.
The external walls are 23-cm thick masonry
construction with 5-cm thick glass wool insulation.
The windows are double glazed. The roofing is
made of corrugated galvanized iron sheeting.

Design features

Sunspaces on the southern side.

Solar wall on the southern side.

Specially designed solar air heating system solar heat

collector on Roof-top with duct system for supply to various
rooms.

Double-glazed windows.

Air-lock lobby at the main entrance.

Design Temperature:
The design temperature was taken to be 18 degree Celsius for
winters, considering that it is customary to be warmly dressed
while working.

Limiting conditioning to Workplaces:

It was decided that passages, stairs, toilets, lobbies and stores
need not be conditioned. Only occupied workspaces are to be
conditioned.

Fenestrations:
Double glazing and tight fitting open able panels for windows
have been installed for circulation and infiltration control. On the
top floor the north and west walls and the ceilings are insulated.

Sunspaces:
The balconies adjacent to rooms on the southern
face are converted into glazed sunspaces. These
act as winter gardens and heat collectors for the
adjacent room thereby reducing glare, enhancing
views, increasing comfort, and also livening up the
main faade.

Heat collector wall:

The south facing surface was

designed as a heat collecting wall
by placing a continuous glass
faade on the outer face of the
building.

The wall is to be clad with dark

colored slate and ceramic mural,
which would be visible.

The heated air from the surface of

the wall is drawn out at the top of
the staircase tower. The cool air
from the main banking hall gets
heated through the convection by
the wall.

SECTION OF THE BUILDING WITH HEAT

COLLECTOR WALL HIGHLIGHTING FLOW
OF HEATED AIR THROUGH THE BUILDING

Roof collector:
A roof top solar collector has been installed. This has been
angled at 45 degrees to receive the winter sun. the collector
warms up air, which is circulated into the space with a blower.
An insulated air handling room is located below the attic space.

Details for Roof heating panels:

An electric back-up heating system is linked with the solar

passive heating system. This electric bank is thermostatically
controlled and switches on progressively on demand-during
mornings and prolonged cloudy weather.

The system is switched on at 9.00 a.m., electric back-up covers

till about 11.00 a.m. when solar heating takes over. The system
is designed for 10% fresh air supply, return air goes back to
solar air panels, and supplies hot air to 3 halls.

ROOF TOP DETAILS FOR SOLAR COLLECTOR

Day Lighting and Artificial illumination:

Two light wells against east side of the building were

suggested at strategic locations for the dual purpose of
ensuring sufficient daylight into the banking hall and main
office floor, and return air ducting. However, these wells
were not provided due to high priority accorded to floor
space utilization.

The artificial electric light system have been planned in a

manner such that the lights could be switched on as a
supplement to the available daylight . This arrangement
would not incur any extra cost.

Transport Corporation of India Ltd, Gurgaon

Location: Gurgaon,
Haryana.
Architect: A B Lall
Architects.
Climate: Composite.
Built up area: 2750sqmt
Cost: 55 million.
Building Type: Office

Exposure:

The Building adopts a compact rectangular form and

minimum height above ground to limit exposure to the
external conditions.

Openings on the external walls are designed for two

separate functions: small peep windows at seating height
provide for possible cross ventilation and views out; larger
windows at ceiling level are designed to distribute glare-free
daylight across the office floor.

The planting scheme along the edges of the site with tall
evergreen (Silver Oak) trees, provides another protective
layer for the building.

Insulation:

The small peep-windows, due to

the deep reveal in which they are
set allow insulation in favor of
winter, cutting out the midsummer sun by the shade of the
reveal on to the glass.

The large daylight windows house

adjustable venetian blinds in a
double-window sandwich, the
blinds can be adjusted to control
direct insulation and to reflect light
towards the ceiling for the
distribution into the office spaces.

Heat transfer:

Wall insulation is 25 mm thick polyurethane foam

protected by a dry red-stone slab cladding system.

The roof insulation is 35 mm thick and has a reflective

glazed tile paving cover to minimize sol-air temperature
on the roof surface.

The daylight windows provide insulation by way of tightsealed two layers of glass with a venetian blind installed
between the two layers.

The glazing panels around the inner courtyard however

are single glazed - it is anticipated that with the tall water
fountain working, the courtyard temperatures would shift
substantially toward wet bulb temperature.

Fountain court:

The tall solid concrete columns of

broad diameters over which the
water trickles down the height of
the courtyard, and the thin sheet
that overflows the sides of the pool
at ground level create a large heat
sink and a body of air close to wetbulb temperature.

The white marble sides of the tank

reflect the courtyard light into the
basement work areas.

Interactive strategy for an air-conditioned building:

Recognizing that climatic conditions range on both the cold and

the hot sides of the comfort zone, building systems are
designed to draw upon the external environment to supplement
the air-conditioning system.

Absorption technology for Air-Conditioning :

After a careful cost-benefit study, an absorption system chilling

plant has been installed. Apart from not contributing to ozone
depletion the plant results in reduction of the capital expense of
the electrical system, particularly its electricity generation
back-up.

The absorption chillers run on a diesel fired furnace. Electricity

generation provides for illumination, office machines and
mechanical equipment.

Air Distribution:

Each of the office floors is served with two air handling units. The
allocation of areas handled by each unit is designed to balance
out peak demands on each unit.

This is done by responding to the orientation exposure of the

building sides to the sun so that peak morning and afternoon
loads are shared by the air handling units even as the loads shift
from the easterly faces of the building in the morning toward the
westerly faces in the afternoon.

Control on air-conditioning loads :

Air-conditioning standards set by acceptance level of office staff

and not by international norms.

Circulation passages and ancillary function rooms have no airconditioning. Toilets and pantries expel air to the outside at a
minimal rate drawing relief air from neighboring conditioned
spaces.

Illumination:

The high windows on the external walls are designed to

throw daylight deep into the office space. This is varied
seasonally by adjusting venetian blinds installed in the
window sandwich to control glare and to modulate
distribution.

On the courtyard side fabric screens would be stretched

over the structural frame to respond to each season.

The control circuits for ceiling lights are arranged in zones

running parallel to the daylight source so that they can be
switched on progressively to compensate for variation in
and/or falling daylight levels.

It is proposed that these will be controlled by automatic

timer switches with timing set for each season.

Structural system and floor-to-floor height:

A flat-slab system is adopted for floors and roofs. This
minimizes the height required for accommodating airconditioning and other services.
With a clear ceiling height for office spaces at 2.65 M the
floor-to-floor height of the building is 3.5 meters.
This compactness of height means minimizing heat transfer
through vertical surfaces of the external skin.

External envelope:

Optimization of structure and

reduction of embodied energy
by use of less energy-intensive
materials.

The external cladding is

undressed split red Agra
sandstone with pre-cast
concrete and terrazzo sills and
jambs. For office areas floors
are pre-polished granite from
Jhansi.

Redevelopment of property at Civil Lines,

Delhi

Location: Civil lines, Delhi.

Architect: A B Lall
Architects.
Climate: Composite.
Built up area: 1687 sqmt.
Building Type: Residential.

Brief Description:

This eco-project includes four courtyard houses

built on a street.

The houses on the north face of the street are

courtyard houses leading towards gardens on the
south side; whereas the houses on the south side
of the street have their gardens on the north side
and are linear.

These are all large single-family houses, two to

three storey's high. This enables the sections of
the buildings to be designed integrally for
enjoying the winter sun.

Orientation:

The general orientation of the buildings is aligned eastwest,

with most window openings in the north and south faces

The courtyard houses, because of their square proportions in

plan, also face towards the east and west.

The windows on these faces look into narrow protected alleys

or the small courtyard between the houses.

The alley space on the west side is shaded by retaining the wall
of the original double-storey building that had previously lined
the side street.

For the linear houses on the north side, the width of the
driveway that separates the two rows of houses is just
sufficient to enable winter sunshine to enter the first-floor
windows.

The sections of these houses are designed with a cutout

such that the winter sun is brought into the living/dining
space, the heart of the house, on the ground floor.

Terraces on the second floor have skylights that again admit

winter sun into the first-floor rooms on the north side of the
house.

Evaporative cooling:

The West House takes advantage

of the prevailing northwesterly hot
winds that blow during the hot-dry
seasons. A vertical screen tower is
built on the west wall.

This tower houses khus

evaporative pads on its outer
surface, fed by a water pump. The
inner side has adjustable windows
opening into the adjacent rooms.

The natural wind pressure will drive

air through the wet khus pads and
will then flow into the adjacent
rooms. This vertical arrangement
would spread the khus fragrance
across the two storey's of the house.

In the summer, the combination of

ceiling fans and the evaporative
cooling gives a comfortable
environment, except during the
season of very high temperatures
(38C) and high humidity (65 per
cent) before the monsoon.

Courtyard roof:

The hipped steel frame roof is clad with a 20 mm glass sandwich

with a reflective film and frosted underside for the most part, with
a panel of transparent glass on the south slope.

This is under-slung by a pair of quilts, which can be pulled across

to cover the underside of the roof (for insulation) or allowed to
hang down vertically (to allow heat transfer).

The ridge of the roof is a water channel from which water

overflows on to the thin roofing membrane of stone and glass.

Some water evaporates and excess water is collected at the foot

of the slope and re-circulated.

This makes the roof a large evaporative cooler over the central
space of the house. All rooms communicate directly with this
central space.

The roof provides for

Shading from outside/insulation from inside;

Roof evaporative cooling;

Direct radiation.
This method of evaporative cooling will supplement a conventional
evaporative cooler and, in the hot-humid period of July to August,
would give considerable cooling when evaporative cooling is no
longer effective.

Insulation/materials:

The roofs are finished with broken

marble mosaic, which is reflective in
nature. The roof construction
sandwich contains 30-mm-thick
polyurethane board insulation above
the concrete slab.

For the courtyard houses the walls are

insulated using an innovative
construction sandwich of 115 mm
brick + 15 mm plaster + 30 mm
polystyrene foam + 50 mm terracotta
jalis, whose cavities are rendered with
cement sand mortar.

Their resultant construction expresses

the special nature of the wall as a
decorative textured surface.

The windows are single glazed

Criterion:

Criterion 15: Utilization of fly-ash in building structure

Criterion 16: Reduce volume, weight, and construction
time by adopting efficient technologies(such as pre-cast
systems)
Criterion 17: Use low-energy material in interiors
Criterion 18: Renewable energy utilization.
Criterion 19: Renewable-energy-based hot water system
Criterion 20: Waste water treatment
Criterion 21: Water recycle and reuse (including rainwater)

Criterion 15 Utilization of fly-ash in building

structure
Objective:
To use low embodied energy industrial waste fly ash as the
construction material. Fly ash, an industrial waste having the
properties of cement and very low embodied energy is used in
combination with cements that are high in embodied energy.
Commitment:

RC (reinforced concrete) (including ready-mix concrete) to

make use of fly ash by using PPC (Portland pozzolona cement)
containing fly ash. A minimum of 15% replacement of cement
with fly ash in PPC (by weight of the cement used) in the
overall RC for meeting the equivalent strength requirements.

Use fly ash in building blocks for the walls.

Use fly ash in Plaster/masonry mortar by employing PPC. Use

plaster and/or masonry mortar, which utilizes a minimum 30%
of fly ash in PPC, in 100% wall/ceiling finishes and wall
construction, meeting the required structural properties.

Compliance: Following documents to be submitted.

Fly ash use in RC: Minimum 15% replacement of cement with fly ash
by weight of cement used in the total structural concrete. Provide
supporting document from the manufacturer of the cement
specifying the fly ash content in PPC used in reinforced concrete.

For use of fly ash in building blocks of load bearing and non-load
bearing wall: Minimum 40% utilization of fly ash by volume of
materials, for 100% load bearing and non-load bearing walls. Provide
supporting document from the manufacturer of the pre-cast building
blocks specifying the fly ash content of the blocks used in an infill
wall system.

For use of fly ash in plaster and masonry mortar: Minimum 30% use
of fly ash in place of cement by weight in overall plaster and mortar
requirement. Provide supporting document from the manufacturer of
the cement/ready mix concrete, specifying the fly ash content in PPC
used in plaster and masonry mortar.

Certificate from the architect specifying overall replacement of

cement in the RC, pre-cast building blocks plaster and masonry in
specified format (in prescribed certificate format).

Appraisal (maximum points 6):

Minimum 15% replacement of Portland cement with fly ash

by weight of cement used in structural concrete, as per
clause 15.2.1 1 point (additional 1 point if more than 30%).

Minimum 40% usage of fly ash by volume of materials used

for 100% load bearing and nonload bearing walls, as per
clause 15.2.2 (2 points)

Certify minimum 30% replacement of OPC with fly ash by

weight of cement used in plaster masonry mortar, as per
clause 15.2.3 (2 points).

construction by adopting efficient technologies (for

example,
pre-cast systems, and so on.)
Objective:
Replace a part of energy-intensive materials with less energyintensive materials and / or utilize regionally available materials ,
which use low-energy / energy-efficient technologies.
16.1 Commitment:
16.1.1 Structural application:

Use of low-energy technologies/materials (not based on the utilization

of fly ash), such as roofing/flooring, columns, and load-bearing walls,
for structural applications.

Use such technologies to demonstrate a minimum 5% reduction in the

overall embodied energy, when compared to equivalent products for
the same application, for a 100% structural system used in a building,
thus meeting the equivalent strength requirements.

Examples of low-energy products & technologies used in structural

applications-Technologies such as pre-stressed slab, extruded
structural clay joist and filler slab, hollow floor/roof slabs, composite
columns, stone masonry,

burned clay filler pots with RCC structure, micro-concrete roofing,

precast hollow plank roofing etc.
16.1.2 Non-structural application: masonry/infill wall system:
Use of low-energy technologies/materials (not based on the
utilization of fly ash)
for non-structural applications.
Use such technologies to demonstrate a minimum 5% reduction
in the embodied
energy, when compared to equivalent products for the same
application, for 100% infill wall system used in a building, meeting
the equivalent strength requirements.
Examples of low-energy product and technologies in nonstructural applications
Infill wall system using traditional mud walling system, stabilized
adobe walling, compressed earth blocks, hollow, perforated/
modular bricks, interlocking bricks, traditional stone masonry, precast non-load-bearing concrete blocks, finished concrete blocks,
light weight concrete blocks over dense concrete blocks, pre-cast
brick panels, composite fero cement walling, interlocking concrete
blocks,

16.2 Compliance:
Cut sheets, specification sheets and bill of quantity demonstrating the
percentage
reduction in embodied energy with the use of lowenergy materials/efficient technologies.
Document to demonstrate the use of the aforesaid technologies in the
relevant floor plans, with clear dimensions and enlisting of
specifications.
Narrative showing how the selected technology has amounted to
reduction in high-energy materials or regional availability when
compared with equivalent products for the same application. On-site
photographs and construction project management plan, which would
clearly demonstrate the use/ construction/specifications of low-energy
technologies.
16.3 Appraisal (maximum 4 points):
16.3.1 Structural application:
Use of low-energy materials/efficient technologies in structural
application clearly
demonstrating a minimum 5% reduction in the embodied energy, when
compared with
equivalent products for the same application, for 100% structural

16.3.2 Non-structural application:

Use of low-energy materials/efficient technologies (not based on
the utilization of industrial waste), which are used for nonstructural applications such as infill wall system and cause a
minimum five per cent reduction in the embodied energy, when
compared with equivalent products for the same application, for
100% infill wall system used in a building, meeting the
equivalent strength requirements, as per all the compliance
clauses (2 points).

Criterion 17 Use low-energy material in interiors:

Objective:

To use low-energy/recycled materials/finishes/products in

the interiors, which minimize the use of wood as a natural
resource.

To use low-energy materials and products, such as

composite wood products/renewable materials/reused
wood/low embodied energy products/products which utilize
industrial waste/recycled products.

The various interior finishes used in the sub-system of the

building or the interior, which serve the aim of the credit,
have been divided into the following three major categories.
If any interior finish, acclaimed for credit, falls beyond this
classification, the applicant has to clearly confirm the
criteria that meet the requirements of the credit.

17.1 Commitment:
A minimum of 70% of the total quantity of all interior finishes and
products used in each of the categories mentioned above should
be low-energy finishes / materials / products , which minimize
wood as a natural resource or utilize industrial waste by using
products in any category.
17.2 Compliance:
Cut sheets, specification sheets, commercial brochures or
certificate from the manufacturer of the low energy finishes or
products used in each category.
For each category, clearly demonstrate and differentiate the use
of the aforesaid finishes/products in the relevant interior
layouts/plans in a CAD drawing, either by shading, rendering or
highlighting with clear dimension and enlisting specifications.
The bill of quantity for each of the category, as applicable to the
applicant, clearly
demonstrating that minimum 70% of the total quantity of all
interior finishes and products are low energy.
A narrative and photographs showing how the selected lowenergy finishes or products have minimized wood as natural
resource or utilized low energy material and products, when

17.3 Appraisal (maximum 4 points):

Minimum 70% of the total quantity (gross area) of all interior
finishes and products used for each of the category, as
applicable to the applicant, to be low- energy finishes, for each
of the following category.
Sub-assembly/internal partitions/panelling/false ceiling/inbuilt furniture (2 points)
Flooring (1 point)
Doors/windows, frames (1 point)

Criterion 18 Renewable energy utilization:

Objective:
To use renewable energy sources in buildings to reduce the
use of conventional/fossil-fuel-based energy resources.
18.1 Commitment:

Renewable energy system (solar, wind, biomass, fuel cells,

and so on) with a rated capacity of a minimum of 1% of
internal lighting load (for general lighting*) and space
conditioning or its equivalent is installed on site. Calculations
of energy requirements shall be based on realistic
assumptions, which are subject to verification.

On-site renewable energy system sized to meet the minimum

of the above load. Feasibility of the proposed renewable
energy system to be verified by the competent authority.

18.2 Compliance:

Detailed listing of connected load for lighting and space

conditioning in the prescribed format.

Calculation of connected load for lighting and energy

requirement for the same.

List of all loads that are being powered by renewable energy

sources (other than lighting load) and their energy
requirements.

Design calculations for renewable energy system sizing and

performance including annual energy generation.

Cut sheets of renewable energy systems with necessary

details.

Drawings in CAD format to show location of renewable

energy systems.

18.3 Appraisal (maximum points 5):

Rated capacity of proposed renewable energy system is equal to or more

than 1% of internal lighting and space conditioning connected loads or its
equivalent in the building (1 point-mandatory), as per all compliance
clauses.

Rated capacity of proposed renewable energy system meets annual

energy requirements of equal to or more than 5% of internal lighting
consumption or its equivalent in the building (1 point), as per all
compliance clauses.

Rated capacity of proposed renewable energy system meets annual

energy requirements of equal to or more than 10% of internal lighting
consumption or its equivalent in the building (2 point), as per all
compliance clauses.

Rated capacity of proposed renewable energy meets annual energy

requirements of equal to or more than 20% of internal lighting
consumption or its equivalent in the building, as per all compliance clauses
(3 points).

Rated capacity of proposed renewable energy system meets annual

energy requirements of equal to or more than 30% of internal lighting
consumption or its equivalent in the building, as per all compliance clauses
(4 points).

Criterion 19 Renewable-energy-based hot water system:

Objective:
To use renewable energy sources to meet the hot-water
requirement.
19.1 Commitment:

Ensure that a minimum 20% of the annual energy

requirement for heating water (for applications such as hot
water for all needs, like for canteen, washing, and bath
rooms/toilets, except for space heating) is supplied from
renewable energy sources.

19.2 Compliance:

Detailed calculations of hot water requirements.

Detailed calculations on energy required for heating water
for all needs except for space heating (in kWh or liters of

Detailed design calculations for renewable energy system sizing and

performance including annual energy generation.
Layout of the proposed renewable energy system.
Test reports from approved test centre for system performance and
efficiency.

19.3 Appraisal (maximum points 3):

Annual energy saved by proposed renewable energy system is 20%

to 50% of annual energy required for water heating to meet the hot
water requirement of the occupants in the building, as per all
compliance clauses (1 point).

Annual energy saved by proposed system is 50% to 70% of annual

energy required for water heating to meet the hot water requirement
of the occupants in the building, as per all compliance clauses (2
points).

Annual energy saved by proposed renewable energy system is more

than 70% of annual energy required for water heating to meet the
hot water requirements of the occupants in he building, as per all
compliance clauses (3 points).

Non applicability condition: If hot water requirement is less

than 500 litre per day.

Recycle, reuse, and recharge of water:

Recycle and reuse of resources enables us to reduce

pressure on our valuable natural resources.

Recycling of resources and putting these back into use for

the building is significant.

Criterion 20 Waste-water treatment:

Objective:
To provide facility for the treatment of waste-water
generated in the building so as to have safe disposal and
use of by-products.
20.1 Commitment:

Provide necessary treatment of waste water for achieving

the desired concentrations for disposal/reuse.

Carry out water testing for various parameters prescribed in

the Pollution Control Acts, Rules and notifications, CPCB,
1998, for disposal in surface water and on land or other
reuse application.

20.2 Compliance:

Narrative on the type of treatment system being employed.

Drawings with specifications of the system indicating the capacity of
water treated.

Indicate the quantum of treated water generated along with the

use/disposal steps.

Provide the characteristics of waste water and expected

characteristics after treatment from the supplier.

Quality checking frequency and sampling plan of the treatment

plant.

Narrative on disposal and reuse of other by-products such as sludge.

20.3 Appraisal (maximum points 2):

Treated water should meet the disposal/reuse application standards

(2 points).

Non Applicability condition: If waste water generation on site is less

than 10 kl/day.

Criterion 21 Water recycle and reuse (including

rainwater):
Objective:
To utilize the treated waste water and rainwater for various
applications (including groundwater recharge) where potable municipal
water is normally used, to reduce the load on both the municipal
supplies as well as the sewerage system and to improve the
groundwater level.
21.1 Commitment:

Provide necessary treatment of wastewater for achieving the desired

composition for various applications.
Implement rainwater harvesting and storage systems depending on the
site-specific conditions. All necessary steps to prevent possible
contamination of ground water by rainwater harvesting should be taken
(design requirements as per Central Ground Water Board). This is a
mandatory requirement.

Reuse the treated wastewater and rainwater for meeting

the building water and irrigation demand.
Recharge the surplus water (after reuse) into the aquifer.

21.2 Compliance:

Narrative along with drawings and specifications of the type

of treatment and harvesting system being employed.
Drawings indicating the specifications of dual plumbing
system.
Documents indicating the projected quality of water, as per
specifications.
Drawings with specifications of the systems, along with
delivery lines, indicating the capacity of water treated and
harvested.
Calculation sheet representing the total quantity of water
treated and harvested and the amount being used for
different applications including use within the building,
landscape, fraction recharged into ground.

21.3 Appraisal (maximum points 5):

Annual water reuse of 25%, as per clause 21.2.5 (1 point).

Annual water reuse of 50%, as per clause 21.2.5 (1 point).

Annual water reuse of 75%, as per clause 21.2.5 (1 point).

Recharge of surplus rainwater into aquifer (2 points).

Non applicability condition: For sites that have high water

table where recharge is not advisable as per CGWB norms, 2
points related to ground water recharge shall not be
applicable to sites in which recharge is not feasible and the
points related to reuse does not apply to projects which do
not qualify for criterion 20.

THANK YOU