Embodied energy in residential cost effective units (Single Storied) Up to 50 Sqm Plinth area

Abstract

It is believed that about 30 % of Energy is used in construction activities alone, and building construction constitutes a major part of all construction activities. Now the emphasis is towards construction of Green buildings with the objective of minimizing the uses of energy in building in terms of Embodied energy and maintenance/operational energy (Electrical, Water, Thermal, Sound, Sanitation, HVAC etc). In Green buildings all the emphasis is on the usage of Fly ash, Construction wastes, materials from the vicinity (To reduce Transportation energy) and materials with less EEV- Embodied Energy Value, besides effective utilization of water, rain water harvesting, Solar, wind , Landscaping and orientation of buildings to minimize the usages of energy in buildings. There are many agencies like TERI-GRIHA, USGBC, LEEDS & BEE- Energy Conservation Building Conservation code, who are advocating the concept of Green Buildings very aggressively in India, by releasing guidelines on the planning and designing of buildings as well as they are doing certification of the green buildings, however they have not yet quantified the basic Minimum EEV of different types of buildings and their minimum maintenance/operational energy required on area or volume basis, so that, this can be quantified easily, by metering these parameters (Embodied and Operational Electrical Energy) rather than doing highly time/cost consuming model analyses on several complicated but not very conclusive hypothesis.