ABSTRACT

The term "Green Building" is used to describe buildings that are designed, constructed
and operated, to have a minimum impact on the environment, both indoor and outdoor.
Most discussions of green buildings refer to the importance of providing an acceptable,
if not exceptional, indoor environment for the building occupants.

However, these discussions of indoor environment quality have not included many
specific recommendations or criteria for building design, construction, or operation.
Building projects described as green building demonstrations often refer to indoor air
quality, but these references are often general and qualitative. In addition, rating
systems that have been developed to assess the "greenness" of a building are based
largely on design features and are not particularly specific with respect to indoor air
quality

This paper reviews the features of indoor air quality that are considered in green
building discussions, demonstration projects, and rating systems. These green building
features are discussed in terms of their completeness and specificity, and are compared
to other guidance on building design, construction, and operation for good indoor air
quality.

A case study of indoor air quality performance in a green building is presented. This
study includes a description of the indoor air quality features of the building and the
results of a short-term indoor air quality evaluation of the building involving ventilation
and contaminant concentrate on measurements.

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1. INTRODUCTION:

1.1. GENERAL:

A green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a structure that is designed.

built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner.
Green buildings are designed to meet certain objectives such as protecting occupant
health; improving employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources
more efficiently: and reducing the overall impact to the environment
Green Building practices promote construction of buildings that are healthier for the
occupants and healthier for the environment Sustainable or "green" building practices
can reduce the tremendous impact that building design. construction and maintenance
has on both people and nature. Energy and material consumption in buildings can
contribute significantly to global climate change.
1.2. OBJECTIVES:
Conserve natural resources Increase energy efficiency
Improve indoor air quality
This project aims to demonstrate:
A commercially viable green building including maximum lettable space with adequate
parking, cost effective design and materials
Resource efficient building
Healthy and beautiful working environment
Design responsive to user needs
Environmentally responsible building and operations Important
determinants of design:
Participative design and construction

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. Passive solar design
Efficient and environmentally responsible resource use
Local availability of materials
Limited finances
Financial viability
Simple structure
Modular layout for easy adaptability
1.3. REASON TO BUILT GREEN:
Reduced urban island heat effect
Reduced building heating and cooling effect
Reduced air pollution and greenhouse gases
Increased building durability
>Increased health factor both inside and outside building
Increased water conservation
Green technology for sustainability:
Architectural design must practice green building as a necessary element in a sustainable
society, and the green building of curtain walls must manage environmental
performance and material recycling. Through our experience in Japan's harsh
environmental and climatic conditions, we have earned an edge in environmental
technologies. We share that edge, and our understanding of the needs of architectural
design, as we collaborate closely with architects. We realize their concepts with curtain
wall engineering solutions that encompass all elements of design, procurement,
manufacturing, construction, and maintenance, while taking us closer to a sustainable
society.
Green Building, also known as green construction or sustainable building, is the
practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible
and resource efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design,
construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction. This practice
expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility,
durability, and comfort

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Although new technologies are constantly being developed to complement
current practices in creating greener structures, the common objective is that
green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment
on human health and the natural environment by:
Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity Reducing
waste, pollution and environmental degradation.
A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to
focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other related topics
include sustainable design and green architecture.

1.4. Contents:
a. Reducing environmental impact
b. Goals of green building o Siting and structure design efficiency o Energy efficiency

o Water efficiency o Materials efficiency o

Indoor environmental quality enhancement o
Operations and maintenance optimization o
Waste reduction
c. Cost
d. Regulation and operation
e. International frameworks and assessment tools

a. Reducing environmental impact:

Green building practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of buildings.
Buildings account for a large amount of land use, energy and water consumption, and
air and atmosphere alteration. Considering the statistics, reducing the amount of natural
resources buildings consume and the amount of pollution given off is seen as crucial
for future sustainability, according to EPA. The environmental impact of buildings is
often underestimated. while the perceived costs of green buildings are overestimated. A
recent survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development finds that
green costs are overestimated by 300 percent, as key players in real estate and

pg. 4
construction estimate the additional cost at 17 percent above conventional construction,
more than triple the true survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development finds that green costs are overestimated by 300 percent, as key players in
real estate and construction estimate the average cost difference of about 5 percent.

b. Goals of green building:

The concept of sustainable development can be traced to the energy (especially fossil
oil) crisis and the environment pollution concern in the 1970s. The green building
movement in the U.S. originated from the need and desire for more energy efficient and
environmentally friendly construction practices. There are a number of motives to
building green, including environmental, economic, and social benefits, However,
modern sustainability initiatives call for an integrated and synergistic design to both
new construction and in the retrofitting of an existing structure. Also known as
sustainable design, this approach integrates the building life-cycle with each green
practice employed with a design-purpose to create a synergy amongst the practices
used.

Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and
ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It
often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through
passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic techniques and using plants and trees
through green roofs, rain gardens, and for reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other
techniques, such as using packed gravel or permeable concrete instead of conventional
concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishinent of ground water, are used as well.
While the practices, or technologies, employed in green building are constantly
evolving and may differ from region to region, there are fundamental principles that
persist from which the method is derived: Siting and Structure Design Efficiency,
Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency. Materials Efficiency, Indoor Environmental
Quality Enhancement, Operations and Maintenance Optimization, and Waste and Toxics
Reduction. The essence of green building is an optimization of one or more of these
principles. Also, with the proper synergistic design, individual green building
technologies may work together to produce a greater cumulative effect.
survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development finds that green
costs are overestimated by 300 percent, as key players in real estate and construction

pg. 5
estimate the additional cost at 17 percent above conventional construction, more than
triple the true survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development finds
that green costs are overestimated by 300 percent, as key players in real estate and
construction estimate the average cost difference of about 5 percent.
On the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustainable design is the philosophy of
designing a building that is in harmony with the natural features and resources
surrounding the site. There are several key steps in designing sustainable buildings:
specify green building materials from local sources. reduce loads optimize systems. and
generate on-site renewable energy.

• Sitting and structure design efficiency:

The foundation of any construction project is rooted in the concept and design stages.
The concept stage, in fact, is one of the major steps in a project life cycle, as it has the
largest impact on cost and performance. In designing environmentally optimal buildings,
the objective function aims at minimizing the total environmental impact associated with all
life cycle stages of the building project. However, building as a process is not as
streamlined as an industrial process, and varies from one building to the other. never
repeating itself identically. In addition, buildings are much more complex products,
composed of a multitude of materials and components each constituting various design
variables to be decided at the design stage. A variation of every design variable may affect
the environment during all the building's relevant lifecycle stages.

• Energy efficiency:
Green buildings often include measures to reduce energy use. To increase the efficiency
of the building envelope, (the barrier between conditioned and unconditioned space),
they may use high-efficiency windows and insulation in walls, ceilings, and floors.
Another strategy, passive solar building design, is often implemented in low-energy
homes.
Energy efficient and environment conscious building design is essentially an integrated
approach. The available options in architectural intervention, building materials and
design methodologies need to be carefully evaluated to minimize energy usage,
minimize the ecological degradation that may be caused by the construction of the
building and provide cost effective solutions. The aim is to achieve the desired comfort

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 with the last input of conventional energy. Nowadays, designers accomplish the task
through solar passive design. use of renewable energy technology systems, and natural
building materials. In general energy efficiency in new buildings can be achieved
through:
Bioclimatic architectural principles:

 Bioclimatic architectural principles:

 Load minimization by the incorporation of solar passive techniques in bun design
 Design of energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems.
 Use of renewable energy systems to meet a part of the building load.
 Use of low energy materials and energy efficient methods of construction
Basic energy sources in an eco-friendly building complex
Sky Sun Air Earth Water

-day -heating -ventilation -roof gardens -roof ponds

lighting
-electricity -heat sink -earth berms -fountains for
-heating sink generation for humidification
insulation
-day lighting -rainwater
harvesting
-greenhouse
effect
-solar chimneys

PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN INTERVENTIONS:

The first stage of green building design is to incorporate solar passive design interventions and try
to reduce the loads on conventional systems. Passive design elements are integral parts of any
architectural components similar to waltz, windows and roofs in a conventional structure. It is
achieved by building orientation with respect to the sun, shading of windows, color, texture,
landscaping etc. The solar passive design generally varies according to the climatic condition
prevalent at the site. Useful daylight is harnessed through appropriate windows, skylights and light
shelves. One of the passive solar cooling devices is the thermal chimney, which can be designed

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like a smoke chimney to vent hot air from the house out through the roof. However, one has to
resort to advanced techniques of passive conditioning such as roof ponds, trombe2 walfs, wind
towers, tee in extreme climatic conditions.
RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY:
Renewable energy systems are installed for meeting a partial load of the building thus considerably
reducing the overall electrical and thermal foam. Solar energy could be utilized for a variety of
purposes and in a number of ways: generating electricity, voiding hot water, and heating, cooling,
and lighting buildings.

 Solar photovoltaics (PV) - provide electricity for lighting

 Solar thermal systems - used for heating water or space heating
 Transpired solar collectors - preheat air for the building's ventilation system.
Water efficiency:
Reducing water consumption and protecting water quality are key objectives in sustainable
building. One critical issue of water consumption is that in many areas of the country, the demands
on the supplying aquifer exceed its ability to replenish itself. To the maximum extent feasible,
facilities should increase their dependence on water that is collected, used. purified, and reused
onsite. The protection and conservation of water throughout the life of a building may be
accomplished by designing for dual plumbing that recycles water in toilet flushing. Waste-water
may be minimized by utilizing water conserving fixtures such as ultra-low flush toilets and lowflow
shower heads. Bidets help eliminate the use of toilet paper, reducing sewer traffic and increasing
possibilities of re-using water on-site. Point of use water treatment and heating improves both water
quality and energy efficiency white reducing the amount of water in circulation. The use of non-
sewage and greywater for on-site use such as site-irrigation will minimize demands on the local
aquifer. Materials efficiency:

 Select sustainable materials and products by evaluating several characteristics such as

reused and recycled content, zero or low off gassing of harmful air emissions, zero or low
toxicity, sustainably harvested materials, high recyclability, durability, longevity and local
production. Such products promote resource conservation and efficiency
 Use dimensional planning and other material efficiency strategies. These strategies reduce
the amount of building materials needed and cut construction costs.
 Reuse and recycle construction and demolition materials.
 Require plans for managing materials through deconstruction, demolition and construction

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  Design with adequate space to facilitate recycling collection and incorporate a solid waste
management program that prevents waste generation

• Indoor Environmental Quality Enhancement:

The Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) category in LEED standards, one of the five
environmental categories, was created to provide comfort, well-being, and productivity of
occupants. The LEED IEQ category addresses design and construction guidelines especially: indoor
air quality (IAQ), thermal quality, and lighting quality.
Indoor Air Quality seeks to reduce volatile organic compounds, or VOC's, and other air impurities
such as microbial contaminants. Buildings rely on a property designed HVAC system to provide
adequate ventilation and air filtration as well as isolate operations (kitchens, dry cleaners, etc.) from
other occupancies. During the design and construction process choosing construction materials and
interior finish products with zero or tow emissions will improve IAQ. Many building materials and
cleaning/maintenance products emit toxic gases, such as VOC's and formaldehyde. These gases can
have a detrimental impact on occupants' health and productivity as well. Avoiding these products
will increase a building's IEQ.
Personal temperature and airflow control over the HVAC system coupled with a properly designed
building envelope will also aid in increasing a building's thermal quality. Creating a
highperformance luminous environment through the careful integration of natural and artificial light
sources will improve on the lighting quality of a structure.

• Operations and maintenance optimization:

No matter how sustainable a building may have been in its design and construction, it can only
remain so if it is operated responsibly and maintained properly. Ensuring operations and
maintenance (O&M) personnel are part of the project's planning and development process will help
retain the green criteria designed at the onset of the project. Every aspect of green building is
integrated into the O&M phase of a building's life. The addition of new green technologies also
falls on the O&M staff. Although the goal of waste reduction may be applied during the design,
construction and demolition phases of a building's life-cycle, it is in the O&M phase that green
practices such as recycling and air quality enhancement take place

• Waste reduction:

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Green architecture also seeks to reduce waste of energy water and materials used during
construction for example, in California nearly 60% of the state's waste comes from generated by the
occupants as well, by providing on-site solutions such as compost bins to commercial buildings
during the construction phase: one goal should be to reduce the amount of material going to
landfills. Well-designed buildings also help reduce the amount of waste reduce matter going to
landfills
To reduce the impact on wells or water treatment plants, several options exist. "Greywater
wastewater from sources such as dishwashing or washing machines, can be used for subsurface
irrigation, or if treated, for non-potable purposes, e.g., to flush toilets and wash cars, Rainwater
collectors are used for similar purposes.
Centralized wastewater treatment systems can be costly and use a lot of energy alternative to this
process is converting waste and wastewater into fertilizer, which avoids these costs and shows other
benefits. By collecting human waste at the source and running it to a semi-centralized biogas plant
with other biological waste, liquid fertilizer can be produced. This concept was demonstrated by a
settlement in Lubeck Germany in the late 1990s. Practices like these provide soil with organic
nutrients and create carbon sinks that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, offsetting
greenhouse gas emission. Producing artificial fertilizer is also costlier in energy than this process.

c. Cost:
The most criticized issue about constructing environmentally friendly buildings is the
price. Photo-voltaic, new appliances and modern technologies tend to cost more money. Most green
buildings cost a premium of <2%, but yield 10 times as much over the entire life of the building,
the stigma is between the knowledge of up-front cost vs. life-cycle cost. The savings in money
come from more efficient use of utilities which result in decreased energy bills. Also, higher worker
or student productivity can be factored into savings and cost deductions. Studies have shown over a
20-year life period, some green buildings have yielded $53 to $71 per square foot back on
investment. It is projected that different sectors could save $130 Billion on energy bills.
1.5. ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF GREEN BUILDINGS:

 Improving occupant health

 Improving comfort, productivity  Reducing pollution and
landfill waste
2. Building Life-Cycle:

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 1. CONCEPTION
2. DESIGN
3. CONSTRUCTION
4. USE, OPERATION & MAINTAINENCE

2.1 Site Characteristic

• Microclimate
• Solar paths
• Wind patterns
• Temperature Variations
• Site’s connection to surrounding communities.
• Topography
• Drainage patterns

• Vegetation
• Ecosystem
• Soil condition

2.2 Reduce Cost of Development and Environmental Impacts

Industrial Ecology /Networking:
• Share and reuse materials (waste/byproducts), water and waste energy such as
steam, hot water, chemical compounds.
• Consolidation of natural and infrastructural facilities and services-shipping and
receiving, purchasing, security, entertainment and conference facilities.
2.3 Design for Future

• Durability-Resist degradation and obsolescence -Service Life > 20-30 years.

E.g. careful initial design and selection of materials
BUILDING Wears well, can be retrofitted and adapted for future uses avoids the embodied energy
associated with the demolition and construction of a new building.
REDUCE >REUSE>RECYCLE REDUCE:

• Carefully calculate quantity of material required

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 • Avoid excessive packaging
• Select more durable materials
• Ensure proper on-site Re-use:

• Design material/products/BUILDINGS for disassembly

• Retrofit Existing building instead of New construction
• Relocate entire building instead of demolition
• Salvage materials prior to demolition
• Reuse Building materials Recycle (energy expenditure):

• Diversion and recycling of demolition, land clearing, and construction (DLC)

Debris -clean wood, scrap metal, cardboard, asphalt, concrete and land clearing
waste.
• Select recycled-content building materials and products.
• Design a Recycle plan for building occupants.
Environmental Awareness:

• Reconnect humans with their environment for the spiritual, emotional, and
therapeutic benefits that nature provides.
• Promote new human values and lifestyles more harmonious with local,
regional, and global resources and environments.
• Increase public awareness about appropriate technologies and the cradle-to-
grave energy and waste implications of various building and consumer
materials.
3.0 METHODS AND MATERIAL:
3.1 SITE AND LANDSCAPING:

 Recycled plastic has been developed into a wide range of landscaping products. Plastic
lumber is widely used in outdoor furniture and decking. Plastic lumber has advantages
over wood in that it is impervious to moisture and will not warp, rot, or check.
 Traffic stops and bumpers are also being made from recycled plastic, replacing concrete
and asphalt.
3.2 STRUCTURAL FRAMING:

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  Joist and truss systems, using fabricated lumber or a combination of dimensional lumber
and steel, are also moving from commercial to residential construction.
 Open-web joist and trusses are more economical than traditional 2x12 wood members, and
the manufacturing system ensures even quality.
 Wood, natural product, is subject to a wide range of variables that can affect its structural
strength. Improved sound ratings are also a benefit of these systems. Lum recovered from
demolition is being used in renovations and new constructions, for both environmental and
aesthetic reasons.
 Timber-framed structures are often dependent upon recycled wood due to the difficulty in
obtaining large logs.
3.3. FLOORING:
Finished flooring is available in a wide range of materials and styles. The decision about the type of
flooring (e.g. carpeting versus tile) is generally determined by the program of the building.

 Natural fiber carpet cushions can be made of jute felt. Jute is a renewable crop material,
with a very little energy required in the growth and manufacturing It biodegrades upon
disposal, and can be recycled.
 Linoleum, a product made of linseed oil compressed cork and wood flour, resin binders, and
pigments, is a low-tech and low-energy alternative to vinyl. Because linoleum is made of
natural. non-toxic materials, any VOCs it emits are primarily from the oxidation of the
linseed oil.

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  Ceramic tile is another flooring material noted for its long life, even in high-traffic areas. It
is nontoxic, stain-resistant, and inert when discarded in landfills.
Glazed and unglazed tile can be made using recycled glass as filler, which allows the firing
temperature to be lowered.
3.4. ROOFING:
A roof should be a symbol of safety, stability and protection from Mother Nature According to the
Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA), spray polyurethane foam (SPF) roofing system are
noted for their long life, renewable and energy saving characteristics, as well as their ability to help
control moisture in buildings.

 SPF roofing systems are resistant to leaks caused by hail, wind-driven debris, and high
wind blow-off.
 The SPF’s wind uplift resistance exceeded the capacity of UL’s equipment- validating
SPF proofing systems ‘excellent wind up-lift resistance.
SPF eliminates thermal bridging by providing a continuous layer of insulation over existing thermal
bridges in the roof deck. Also. SPF roofing systems typically are coated with light colored,
reflective coating, which reduces the amount of heat transported inside the building through thermal
bridges.

3.5. SKYLIGHTS AND SKY ROOFS:

 Skylights and sky roofs are increasingly popular, as a way of bringing daylight deep into
the interior of a structure.

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 Periscope- it has a sunlight-gathering acrylic dome on the roof, internal
• Reflector, and a diffuser lens that emerges within the room.
• This brings the advantages of natural daylight into a space without the heat gain
of traditional skylight
 The size of the tube allows it to be installed between roof rafters, so no cutting and rerouting
of structural members takes place. A 13"-diameter tube provides a summer noon output
equivalent to 600 incandescent watts of lights and illuminates up to 150 square feet.

pg. 15
3.6. INSULATION:

pg. 16
 Insulation
3.7. GLAZING:

 Windows and skylights allow daylight to reach the interiors of buildings, reducing the need
for artificial light. Operable units assist in ventilation and cooling, reducing or eliminating
the need for mechanical equipment.
 Windows are the weakest point in the building envelope in terms of energy loss. Improved
glazing techniques offer low-emissivity glass and inert gas-filled air spaces between panes.
 Heat gain through direct solar radiation is the easiest to prevent, by providing shading
devices and using low-emissivity (low-F) glass. Low-E glass acts as a radiation mirror,
reflecting infrared (heat) rays back to the source. This prevents solar heat gain in the
summer and retains heat within the building during the winter.
 The transparent film allows daylight to enter the room but blocks ultraviolet radiation (UV).
UV is responsible for fading and deterioration of textiles and is a primary cause of skin
cancer.
 Fiberglass window systems offer advantages over aluminum or vinyl. Like vinyl and
aluminum, they are low maintenance, but they will not warp or rot. In addition, they have a
longer life and a lower embodied-energy content.
3.8. ECO FRIENDLY CONSTRUCTION:
ECO FRIENDLY CONSTRUCTION

pg. 17
3.9 DRIP IRRIGATION:
Description:
Drip irrigation systems provide a landscape, thus preserving soil moisture, and significantly
reducing water waste from overspray.
Application:
Install drip irrigation systems in place of standard sprinkler systems for all landscape
applications except turf.
Benefit:
Drip irrigation systems dramatically reduce landscape water use and lower water costs.

pg. 18
4.INDOOR QUALITY ENVIRONMENT GENERAL:

 Indoor environment quality is a mixture of the air you breathe, the lighting from indoors and
outside, noise levels, and even the electromagnetic fields produced by electric
powerconsuming devices.
 The basic design, building materials used, and operating efficiency of your green home can
help greatly reduce the threat to you and your family of indoor environmental problems.
 A green home is designed, constructed and can be easily maintained to be free of unhealthy
levels of indoor air pollutants- such as radon gas, excess moisture, mold and mildew,
formaldehyde passive tobacco smoke, particles and dust-mite allergen(feces)- that can
impact occupant health.
GUIDELINES:

 Very basic materials, building techniques and designs distinguish an energy efficient home.
Sealing up air-leaks like construction cracks and holes is very important.  Increased attic,
wall and foundation insulation, and installing high-performance  windows and better
doors complete the building "shell".
 Using efficient electric lighting and plug-in appliances, and upgrading to high  efficiency
furnaces, heat-pumps and boilers further reduce energy waste.

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  A floor plan and building orientation designed to admit winter solar heat, ample day
lighting and avoids summer-time sun further reduces energy waste. Such a "package" may
save up to 65% in your green home versus typical homes utility bills.
DURABILTY:
The durability of materials is an important factor in analyzing a buildings lifecycle cost.
Materials that last longer will, over a building’s useful life, be more cost effective than materials
that need to be replaced more often. By looking at durability issues, the selection of initially
expensive materials like slate or tile can often be justified by their longer life spans.
REUSABILITY:
Reusability is a function of the age and durability of a material. Very durable materials may
have many useful years of service left when the Ladings in which they are installed is
decommissioned, and may be easily extracted and reinstalled in a new site. These materials are used
in the renovation of old buildings as well as in a construction.
5.RECOMEDENTATION OF STUDY:
Green Building Decision Matrix:

I. - ISSUES
II. PRIORITZATION

I – ISSUES RELATED TO MATERIAL SELECTION BACKGROUND:

1. Do we need it at all?
The most important question that can be asked is whether the material, product or component is
actually needed at all. By reducing material usage, we reduce the cost of the project including labor
(and design) but as well we reduce the extraction, manufacturing, distribution, and disposal of the
product, the costs which are largely not included in the price of the product. Thus, reducing material
use not unlike conserving energy is the easiest and most cost-effective means of achieving
environmental and economic savings.
Is it toxic?
Most of us would suggest that a product that will release toxic substances into the environment should
not be used. But today, we are literally surrounded by toxic substances. And contrary to what some
people may suggest, this is not the way it's been. A full 60,000 new chemicals are now in our

pg. 20
environment that didn't exist in 1960. Our environment is increasingly saturated with toxins so much
so that an alarming 30% of Canadians now have allergies or chemical sensitivities.
However, it is often difficult for the purchaser to assess whether a product is toxic. The problem has
many roots. Today and in the past, corporations have only been obligated to indicate a product's
ingredients and abide by toxic chemical legislation set out by the various environments. The onus
was on the government and ultimately the public to show that it is toxic. Unfortunately, in most cases,
only chemicals that had immediate and traceable effects would be investigated. In many cases, hard
scientific data could take years before proof without a doubt. This amount of time was required for 1
chemical in one reaction never mind the extremely difficult case of identifying the synergistic effects
of multiple chemicals reacting together. A release and let's watch rather than a cautionary approach
was and is being taken. Furthermore, it is apparent by the success of tobacco companies in keeping
their toxic chemicals in their products, that there is little hope in this system of corporations taking
any responsibility for the impacts of their products. And finally, for many of us, we just don't have
the background and education to comprehend chemical labels or for see the potential effects of using
these products (many would suggest ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is probably toxic).
Thus, education is definitely required. Place the onus on the manufacturer to prove that the product
is safe. Ask the manufacture for a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Research the product using
one of the many websites or publications that list environmental construction products. One rule of
thumb is to select the product with the least amount of constituents that do not naturally occur in
nature. Take the cautionary approach and avoid the product if it is not necessary and substitute a less
toxic alternative.
3. what is the life cycle cost?
Life cycle cost or price takes into amount the entire cost of employing the product. There are two
levels of life cycle analysis (LCA): two levels of life cycle cost to the purchaser of the product and
entire life cycle cost to the global environment. The first approach is largely just an economic
analysis. For example, when selecting exterior siding for a building, the builder would consider not
only the unit and total cost of the product, but the added costs of transporting the product to the site
(local market or across the continent), labor costs to install, additional costs (electricity, water
consumption), maintenance costs (annual paint and repair), and disposal costs (some building
products contain toxic chemicals which may introduce disposal fees). This approach clearly identifies
the broader costs of employing a product and the economic costs directly to the user. However, a
more thorough approach can be taken to life cycle costing and include the costs that are not included
in the purchase price (i.e. environmental impacts of extraction, manufacture etc.). With this more
thorough LCA, other costs are taken into account besides economic, and impacts on other parties are

pg. 21
identified and assessed. For example, when selecting exterior siding, the builder would consider
where the product originated. If it was wood, was it harvested sustainably? Does the local industry
support the sustainability of the community? How far did the wood have to be transported (since
transportation is the main component of pollution in the process to create lumber)?

LCA is not a perfect science. Moreover, results are largely dependent on local and individual analysis
as all variables change. Any form of LCA employed in decision-making is better than none. Making
operating staff more aware of the broader issues and costs of materials is always beneficial.
4. Does it contain recycled content? Post-consumer or post-industrial?
A characteristic that many of us are now aware of and understand is recycled content. Fortunately, it
is a very simple concept that can be easily identified on a product and understood by the consumer.
The designer/builder should select building products in the same manner as it selects paper products
for the office - the higher the recycled content the better (and recycle products at the end of their life).
The only principle to be aware of is that post-consumer recycled content is preferable to postindustrial
recycled content. Post- consumer content is material that is being diverted from the landfill. Post-
industrial content is materials that would likely be reused anyway although still beneficial when post-
consumer content isn't available.
5. How will the product ultimately be disposed of? Can it be recycled whole or in part? Do
facilities exist locally?
The two biggest problems with society today are:
1. the rate of consumption of resources and,
2. the production of waste.
With this in mind, building materials should be selected with decommissioning and disposal in mind.
Select products that can be returned, reclaimed, reused, recycled, or returned to the Earth as
biodegradable material. If it is recyclable, do facilities exist nearby that can recycle it. Can the product
be recycled or just down cycled? For example, plastic companies are notorious for indicating
recyclability but have no interest in indicating to the consumer that facilities don't actually exist to
facilitate recycling of the product. Furthermore, many types of plastic can only be down cycled into
products like parking stops (ultimately creating waste). Avoid products that contain toxins that
ultimately will be released into the environment.

pg. 22
6.Is it biodegradable? Does it break down into natural constituents?
If a product is biodegradable than concerns about disposal are diminished. Be aware however, that
there does not exist any legislation on product labelling with respect to the word biodegradable. For
example, many conventional cleaning products have constituents that biodegrade but the resulting
by-products are toxic in the environment. Seek advice and guidance from labeling programs such as
Environmental Choice logos.
7. Is the product over packaged? Can the packaging be reclaimed by manufacturer?
An easy means of reducing environmental impacts is to select products that have minimal packaging
or recyclable packaging. Educate the manufacturer and distributors when excess packaging is used
and place the onus and cost on them to reduce and reclaim the packaging rather than the builder
buying material that is then discarded.
8. Are there any social impacts to extracting, manufacturing, distributing, using, and disposing
of this product?
Attempt to assess the non-economic impacts of using the product. Some are more obvious than others.
For example, wood from the virgin rainforests should probably be avoided. A great deal of judgment
is required in this case, and research and guidance from reliable sources is valuable.
9. Is the product durable?
What is the expected lifespan of the product? Is the expected lifespan based on the conditions that the
product will be used? A general rule is to select products with the longest lifespan. Often this means
increased initial cost where life cycle costing (see above) becomes important.
10. Is the product low maintenance?
Maintenance is one component of life cycle cost. In most cases, designers and builders only consider
the construction cost, even though the operating expense and in some cases disposal costs can be far
more significant. Attempt to select products that require no maintenance. For example, stainless steel
finishes, concrete pavers vs. concrete pads.
11. Are greenhouse gases produced to extract, manufacture, distribute, use, and dispose of this
product? Are the totals GHG less than other products?
An issue that we are all aware of is our impacts on the global climate due to our collective release
of green.
II-PRIORITIZATION

pg. 23
The environmental issues mentioned above are all important. In many cases, it is difficult to decide
which issue is more important when two issues are in opposition or two products with different issues
are compared. This is the dilemma for the designer and operator.
To date, significant work has gone into trying to prioritize the issues. However, since each issue is
not universal in nature but rather dependent on multiple factors (i.e. distance to extraction and
manufacturing, climate, disposal facilities, etc.) the decisions in many cases are site dependent.
extraction and manufacturing, climate, disposal facilities, etc.) the decisions in many cases are site
dependent.
Thus, the designer and operator must therefore become involved in the decision process and this is
where judgment and values are involved. For example, using steel might replace using wood treated
with toxic preservatives within the park, BUT what about the emissions from the steel manufacturing
down the road?
The first step for any designer/owner or organization is to identify what are the local and regional
environmental threats. By identifying and documenting these threats, decisions as to which issue is
more important will become easier. Some of the issues include:

• Global Warming
• Ozone Layer deterioration
• Water pollution
• Air pollution
• Petroleum spills
• Automobile pollution
• Persistent Organic Pollutants
• Logging of Old-Growth forests
• Habitat destruction
• Maintenance costs and budget cuts
• Labour costs
• Local unemployment
• Durability and climatic factors
• Urban sprawl

pg. 24
Below is the decision path that we are recommending. This line of questioning should be done for
each product introduced into the project. When comparing products, in many cases it will be the
product that makes it the furthest down the list. Others can be discarded.
6. DATA ANALYSIS: - Leed Certification Information what is LEED certification?
In the United States and in a number of other countries around the world, LEED certification is the
recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. Achieving LEED certification is the best
way for you to demonstrate that your building project is truly "green."
The LEED green building rating system - developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building
Council, a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders -- is designed to
promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative
environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being.
What are the benefits of LEED certification?
LEED certification, which includes a rigorous third-party commissioning process, offers compelling
proof to you, your clients, your peers and the public at large that you've achieved your environmental
goals and your building is performing as designed. Getting certified allows you take advantage of a
growing number of state and local government incentives, and can help boost press interest in your
project.
The LEED rating system offers four certification levels for new construction -- Certified, Silver, Gold
and Platinum -- that correspond to the number of credits accrued in five green design categories:
sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor
environmental quality. LEED standards cover new commercial construction and major renovation
projects, interiors projects and existing building operations. Standards are under development to
cover commercial "core & shell" construction, new home construction and neighborhood
developments.
Indian Green Building Council -LEED

Rating Systems:

• LEED India-New Construction

• LEED India -Core & Shell
• IGBC Green Homes
• IGBC Green Factories

pg. 25
LEED Categories:

• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources Indoor Environmental Quality
7. GREEN BUILDINGS and LEED green certification:
Going Green:
Developed by the U.S. Green Buildings council (USGBC), LEED provides buildings owners and
operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green
design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. LEED is an internationally recognized
green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community
was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that
matter most: energy savings, water efficiency. CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor
environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
By going green with LEED certification, there are both environmental and financial benefits. LEED
certification helps to: lower operating costs and increase asset value, reduce waste sent to landfills,
conserve energy and water, reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and qualify for tax rebates,
zoning allowances and other incentives in hundreds of cities.

What is LEED?
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). It is a building rating
system created under the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to ensure greater
environmentally and socially responsible action by encouraging the construction of green buildings.
LEED provides building owners and operators with a concise framework for identifying and
implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and
maintenance solutions. It is an internationally recognized building certification system, providing
third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed
at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most.

These metrics include: energy savings, water efficiency. CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor
environmental quality, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Obtaining LEED

pg. 26
certification brings many financial and environmental rewards. For example. LEED certification
lowers operating costs, increases asset value, allows for qualification of tax rebates, zoning
allowances and other financial incentives. Environmentally, LEED certification helps conserve
energy, reduce harmful greenhouse emissions, minimize waste sent to landfills and shows your
commitment to environmental Sustainability.
Building design issues for solar building:
Careful solar design can:

• Maximize possible solar transmission and absorption in winter to minimize or reduce to

zero the heating energy consumption, while preventing overheating.
• Use received solar gains for instantaneous heating load and stores the remainder in
embodied thermal mass or specially built storage devices. • Reduce heat losses using
insulation and windows with high solar heat gain factors.
• Employ shading control devices or strategically planted deciduous trees to exclude summer
solar gains that create additional cooling load.
• Employ natural ventilation to transfer heat from hot zones to cool zones in winter and for
natural cooling in the summer, use ground-source cooling and heating to transfer heat to and
from the underground, which is more or less at a constant temperature, and utilize
evaporative cooling
• Integrate building envelope devices such as windows, which include photovoltaic panels as
shading devices, or roofs with photovoltaic shingles, their dual role in producing electricity
and excluding thermal gain increases their cost-effectiveness.
• Use solar radiation for day lighting which requires effective distribution into rooms or onto
work planes, while avoiding glare
• Integrate passive solar systems with active heating cooling air-conditioning systems in both
design and operation.
What is design integration?
The most important factor for a successful solar building is "integration" This concept includes not
only the integration of design professionals at the project's start, but also the integration of those who
are responsible for the systems operation. This potential for synergy is usually overlooked because
architects and engineers traditionally do not explore the concepts together closely enough to truly
integrate systems, and they infrequently discuss new concepts with property managers, except when

pg. 27
auditing a building failure. The architect may design the building envelope to passive solar design
principles while the engineer designs HVAC to extreme design conditions, ignoring the benefits of
solar gains and natural cooling. The result is an oversized system that does not use the building
enclosure as part of an integrated energy system in which the components fit together well.
A preferable approach is to consider the building and its HVAC system as one energy system and to
design them together, taking into account possible synergies such as electricity generation, thermal
storage and control strategies.

The key aspects of passive solar design are interlinked, dependent design parameters

• Location and orientation of a building;

• Fenestration area, orientation and type
• Thermal massing and envelope characteristics
• Amount of insulation;
• Shading devices-type, location and area:
• Effective thermal storage insulated from the exterior environment, as well as amount and
type.
• sensible such as concrete in the building envelope with exterior insulation
• latent such as phase-change materials.
The ultimate objective of design integration is to minimize energy costs while maintaining interior
comfort. A larger thermal mass within a building can delay its response to heat sources such as solar
gains-the thermal lag effect. This thermal lag can avoid comfort problems if taken into account in
selecting the thermal mass, choosing appropriate control strategies and sizing the heating-cooling
system.

pg. 28
Design procedure
The initial design steps in solar design are to:
1. Set performance targets for energy sources and uses.
2. Minimize heating and cooling loads through orientation, massing, envelope and landscape
design.
3. Maximize solar and other renewable energy to meet the building load, then to design efficient
HVAC systems that are integrated with the building envelope performance characteristics
4. Use simple energy simulation tools and detailed simulations in evaluating options at the early
design stages and later to assess alternatives.
5. Generally, deviations up to 30" from due south reduce solar gains by up to about 12% and are
thus acceptable in solar building design, providing significant freedom in choice of form,

Building orientation
Orientation is crucial since it can provide free savings from the concept stage. There is a difference
between true north and magnetic north. The deviation between magnetic north and true
northmagnate declination-varies between cast and west coasts. In Nova Scotia, the compass points
west of true north; in B.C. east of true north. The maximum difference (as a percentage) between
southfacing and 30E (or W) orientations occurs when the sun is lowest and the days shortest (Dec.
21).

pg. 29
When solar facades or roofs generate photovoltaic electricity that is sold to the grid at time of day
rates, these rates may change the optimal orientation if their peak value is not at noon.

Generally, buildings with long axes running cast and west have greater solar heating potential if
their window characteristics are chosen accordingly For MURBS with a typical double- loaded
corridor, this means half the units face south and half face north. A partial solution could be a
south-facing central atrium or solar heater that pre-heats and delivers air for the north-facing units.
Buildings with east-and west-facing orientations have greater potential for overheating in the
nonheating season and get little solar gain in winter. In figure 5 the Foyer hongro is in Montreal
angles the windows to the south creating a saw tooth plan, to avoid east-and west-facing windows.

DIRECT GAIN OF PASSIVE SOLAR TECHNIQUES:

Pure passive solar design uses the sun's energy directly, without mechanical intervention. In its
simplest form, the sun shining through a window directly heats the space. Thermal mass within the
building can absorb some of the heat and release it at night. Internal thermal mass reduces
temperature swings within a space. In a properly designed passive solar system. thermal mass
absorbs solar energy during the day, preventing the building from overheating. and releases the
energy at night. Thermal mass is most effective when it can gain energy directly from the sun. An
ideal thermal mass for passive solar heating has high heat capacity. moderate conductance,
moderate density and high emissivity. Additional cost is negligible if the material is also structural
or decorative, Concrete and masonry are good thermal mass materials. (Plaster, drywall, and tile are
also useful in this respect, but calculations are needed to determine if they have sufficient mass, as
was done in the Halifax study) Passive solar design in single- family residences shows that
operational energy can be reduced by 30 to 50 per cent window sizing and thermal mass storage. A
recent study of MURBs in Sweden reported that operational energy use in a heavy structure is only
slightly lower than in a similar. lightweight structure. The additional energy used to build the heavy
structure outweighed its operational advantage in a lifecycle analysis of costs. Mass is known to be
able to reduce peak cooling load when night temperatures are cooler than day temperatures.
Exterior and interior masses cool down at night and reduce peak cooling demand while also
delaying the time of the peak solar gain during the day. However, the effectiveness of thermal mass
is proportional to the allowable room temperature variation over a day.

pg. 30
Green building rating systems

Motivated by a desire to appear environmentally conscious, many commercial facilities have

adopted "Green technologies" in order to earn "Green and Sustainable" certifications. The Green
Buildings Ratings and Certification process has gained tremendous momentum over the last few
years Particularly, growth in the number of projects certified by rating systems such as Energy Star
and LEED has nearly doubled in size during this period In India, the Indian Green Building Council
(IGBC) provides LEED ratings to structures and aims to make the country one of the leaders in
green buildings by the year 2015. The Green rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is
the National Rating System of India. It has been conceived by The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI) and developed jointly with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India. It is a design
evaluation system for green building and is intended for all kinds of buildings across every climatic
zone in India. According to a 2008 news report in the Indian Express, Mumbai had registered 30
green building projects, at the time the highest among Indian cities. Thanks to the gradual spread of
awareness about eco-friendly constructions, there has been a considerable rise in the number of
registered green buildings in India. According to 2008 IGBC data, there are 315 green buildings in
India, of which 250 are commercial properties.
SUMMARY OF FINDING & CONCLUSION:
Minimizing your LEED certification costs
The cost of LEED certification depends on a variety of factors, including the type of certification
desired, the project demographics and characteristics, grant availability and the experience of the
LEED design team. Another important factor that can save you money is selecting the right stage of
the design process to seek LEED certification. Universal Modular Building solutions works hard to
ensure cost are minimized while maintaining quality.
PLAN & DATA OF A PROPOSED BUILDING

pg. 31
1. The design data shall be as follows:

• Live load on Floors : 2.0 KN/m2 (as per is 875)

• Imposed load on Roof
• Floor finish
• Weathering course
• Location
• Concrete grade
• Steel grade
• Earthquake load
• Depth of foundation below ground 1.5m

• ⚫ Type of soil
• Allowable bearing pressure
• Story height
• Floors
• Ground beams
Plinth level

• Walls

pg. 32