What Is a Green Building ?

“Having a green garden or landscaping is not a green building.”

A Green Building is a best practice of constructing a building with more energy efficient, good indoor air quality, reduction in waste material in pre and post construction, more water efficient, and conserves natural resources.

Common objective of a green building is 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

Why Green Building?

It is broadly estimated that buildings worldwide consume about 40% of the planet’s material resources and 30% of its energy, said Dr. Gajanan Sabnis, professor of Howard University.

It is estimated that with proper design and construction we can save energy ranging from 20-30 % and water savings around 30-50%.

Green Buildings addresses the most of the priorities such as Energy Conversation, water conversation, handling of consumer waste, conservation of national resources like wood and fossil fuels, encourages the use of clean energy like wind and solar power and reduce or reuse of virgin material.

The following aspects of the building design are looked into in an integrated way in a green building:

• Site planning
• Building envelope design
• Building system design HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning), lighting, electrical, and water heating
• Integration of renewable energy sources to generate energy onsite.
• Water and waste management
• Selection of ecologically sustainable materials (with high recycled content, rapidly renewable resources with  low emission potential, etc.)
• Indoor environmental quality (maintains indoor thermal and visual comfort and air quality)

Green Buildings in India.

In India a US based LEED rating system is under promotion by IGBC initiative of CII Green Business Centre, Hyderabad. Keeping in view of the Indian agro-climatic conditions, a National Rating System – GRIHA has been developed by TERI, which is suitable for all kinds of building in different climatic zones of the country.